Are “creative” and “bureaucracy” mutually exclusive terms?

Erma Ranieri is working hard to prove otherwise. As commissioner for public sector employment in South Australia, she is leading Change@SouthAustralia to speed change in government. For her efforts to make government bureaucracy creative and responsive to citizens she was named 2014 Telstra South Australia Business Woman of the Year.

Change@SouthAustralia initiatives, such as the Public Sector Values, 90-day projects and High-Performance Framework, encourage change and contribute to a vibrant public service that works together and solves problems for and with the community. 

Here are five things you should know from my conversation with Erma:

1.     Public sector employees are not aliens. Creative bureaucracy can exist if we set the right conditions.

2.     A community’s innovation system cannot evolve unless the public sector evolves, as well. Modern public service requires service redesign, engaging community (“we are better together”) and simplifying regulation.  

3.     Change requires forming a coalition of the willing. New ideas are never born with majority support.

4.     Every change initiative needs its champions. And champions of change are not necessarily in positions of leadership. Social media can help you find the people who want to accompany you on the change journey.

5.     Government, routinely faced with complex problems, can use 90-day projects to overcome inertia. In the case of change@southaustralia, 90-day projects required collaboration among multiple government units, consultation with industry and citizens, integration of multiple reform tools, contribution to one or more strategic priorities of the state, and a contribution to a progressive agenda.

Listen to my conversation with Erma here. And sign up for the “Knight Cities” newsletter to get alerts as soon as new conversations are posted.

Look for new “Knight Cities” content posted every Wednesday. You can follow us on Twitter at #knightcities or @knightfdn. And if you have ideas for people you’d like to hear from, please email me.

Carol Coletta is vice president of community and national initiatives at Knight Foundation. Follow her on Twitter @ccoletta.