he COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important public sector capacities and capabilities are in terms of reacting to crises and re-configuring existing policies and implementation practices. Climate emergency and other similarly wicked challenges show that the public sector needs to develop dynamic capabilities to shape societal responses and markets. Yet, public organisations are notoriously risk averse and focused on stability. In this talk, Rainer Kattel – Deputy Director and Professor of Innovation and Public Governance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) – argues that public organisations must find a sweet spot in balancing capabilities for agility and for stability. He will share recent examples of public organisations that have succeeded in building such capabilities and draw some lessons of what the main challenges are in growing and maintaining dynamic capabilities in public agencies.
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Can You Grow Dynamic Capabilities in Public Institutions?
Rainer Kattel
Deputy Director & Professor of Innovation and Public Governance / UCL IIPP
Rainer Kattel is Deputy Director and Professor of Innovation and Public Governance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). Before joining UCL IIPP, Rainer led Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance for 10 years, building it into one of the leading innovation and governance schools in the region.
Rainer has also served on various public policy commissions, including the Estonian Research Council and European Science Foundation. He has worked as an expert for the OECD, UNDP and the European Commission. Currently, he leads the Estonian Government’s Gender Equality Council, and is a member of E-Estonia Council advising the Prime Minister of Estonia. In 2013, he received Estonia’s National Science Award for his work on innovation policy.
Rainer has published extensively on innovation policy, its governance and specific management issues. His recent books include:
- How to Make an Entrepreneurial State: Why Innovation Needs Bureaucracy (with Wolfgang Drechsler and Erkki Karo; Yale, 2022)
- Innovation Bureaucracy (with Wolfgang Drechsler and Erkki Karo; Yale, 2020)