Between Security, Leadership and Innovation
06.08.2025
How can public administration act creatively, responsibly, and with foresight in security-related contexts? At the 2025 Creative Bureaucracy Festival, our partner, the German Federal Ministry of Defence, presented a range of perspectives on how security policy, leadership development, and innovation can be interconnected.
In the Games & Creativity Area, interactive simulation exercises invited participants to explore complex decision-making scenarios in the context of security and public responsibility. The aim was to open up new ways of thinking and expand the space for action within the public sector.
How can public administration act creatively, responsibly, and with foresight in security-related contexts? At the 2025 Creative Bureaucracy Festival, our partner, the German Federal Ministry of Defence, presented a range of perspectives on how security policy, leadership development, and innovation can be interconnected.
In the Games & Creativity Area, interactive simulation exercises invited participants to explore complex decision-making scenarios in the context of security and public responsibility. The aim was to open up new ways of thinking and expand the space for action within the public sector.
Key themes from the Ministry’s innovation portfolio were shared, including strategic foresight (in cooperation with the Federal Academy for Security Policy), military design thinking, mobile innovation labs, conflict management, and the Navy’s Female Leadership Programme.
This programme supports young female officers at the beginning of their careers in developing and asserting their individual leadership identities – through coaching, mentoring, and networking. Personality-focused modules, such as communication and team leadership, encourage self-reflection. Participants are accompanied by experienced mentors or one of three dedicated coaches. To ensure long-term support, participants and mentors can access an extensive alumni network. The programme does not aim to standardise – it aims to strengthen the individual. True to the programme’s motto: Be who you are – as a woman in leadership.
An open fishbowl discussion explored the central question: how can systems be effectively transformed? The responses made it clear – transformation requires courage, integrity, and practical expertise. Those seeking to shape change must be willing to share responsibility and create space for new approaches.
One key takeaway: there is growing demand in the public sector for hands-on, reality-based formats that make complexity tangible and reveal new opportunities for collaborative action.
