Public Sector Innovation More Important Than Ever
At international conference, Bloomberg Center for Cities team shares current research on leadership and innovation
Utrecht, Netherlands (February 7, 2025) — Concerns about the performance of government and debates over its ideal size make headlines these days. Making government more effective, efficient, equitable, accountable, and responsive to social needs was at the heart of an academic conference in Utrecht last week.
Harvard researchers joined scholars from around the world to present and discuss ongoing work on innovation in the public sector. Chaired by Professor Albert Meijer, PUBSIC 2025 (the Innovation in Public Services and Public Policy Conference) convened at Utrecht University’s School of Governance in the Netherlands. Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative researchers Dr. Quinton Mayne, Dr. Katharine Robb, and Fernando Fernandez-Monge presented findings from their work on urban innovation and leadership. Dr. Jorrit de Jong, director of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, delivered a keynote lecture at the conference that highlighted the Center’s work to advance research on capabilities for urban problem-solving.
The conference, centered around the theme of public innovation for societal transformation, provided a space for researchers to present ongoing work on a range of important issues affecting public services and public policy, including climate change, sustainability, digitalization, and social inclusion. Several panels were organized specifically on innovation in local governments.
Since 2017, the Initiative’s research group, working with faculty from across Harvard and beyond, has published research that fills critical gaps in the literature on urban innovation, engaging work from public management, organizational behavior, and urban studies. This research informs the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s curricula and training programs to help mayors and other city leaders apply new approaches to improve services, strengthen community partnerships, and navigate rapid change.
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“The conference provided a great opportunity for us to deepen our existing connections with scholars of urban innovation and to make new ones with researchers doing cutting-edge work on the broader issue of public-sector innovation,” said Dr. Mayne. “Together, we’re building a field of study that underscores the promise but also the challenges that leaders face to build their cities’ innovation capacity to address social, environmental, and technological change.”
Top photo, left to right: conference organizer Albert Meijer (Utrecht University) with keynote speakers Rainer Kattel (University College London), Jean Hartley (The Open University), and Jorrit de Jong (Harvard University) at PUBSIC, February 2025
