Innovation isn’t just for the private sector

For 40 years, the UAE has defined success in development and diversification — with governments facilitating growth through prudent investment, but also by nurturing a culture of private sector innovation which has established cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi as global centres of cutting-edge commerce.

The thing with innovation however, is that it must not stop. As countless previously great multinationals around the world lay testament, to rely upon the status quo or a short-term advantage is often a fast-track to failure.

This need for constant progression is as true in the Gulf as anywhere else in the world. Compounded by the fact that oil reserves are no longer a guarantor of growth and security, the ongoing creation of economic opportunities, expansion and employment, especially for young people, must be a priority. But how best to further catalyse what has clearly stood out as one of the most ambitious regions of our day?

Increasingly, leading governments around the world are moving from being enablers of private sector innovation, to co-contributors, participants and pioneers of innovation. At PwC, we call this approach innovation-driven government (IDG) — where innovation becomes an organisational imperative for the public sector itself, rather than exclusively the domain of the private.

Central to operating an IDG is an understanding that innovation cannot be reduced to a definition — but instead must be a holistic, nurtured, organic process founded upon both an organisational and individual goal of progressivism. Key to this in the public sector is an accurate acknowledgement of the challenges facing societies and an ability to be open-minded about different approaches to solutions.

Other elements of IDG include:

Collaboration and engagement