IIPP hold mission-oriented innovation workshop at 2018 Ibrahim Governance Weekend in Rwanda

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose led a workshop on rethinking public service at the 2018 Ibrahim Governance Weekend on the 29th April.

The Ibrahim Governance Weekend is held annually by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, an organisation focused on defining, assessing and enhancing governance and leadership in Africa. 

The weekend, held this year in Kigali, Rwanda, convenes prominent African political and business leaders, regional institutions and major international partners to debate issues of critical importance to Africa.

The workshop hosted by IIPP explored the key lessons from its Mission Oriented Innovation Network (MOIN) and new forms of private-public capability building collaborations around the world, asking how Africa can build and develop the capabilities needed for 21st-century public services.

The workshop was led by IIPP Director Professor Mariana Mazzucato, who discussed how to transform public-private partnerships to become more driven by public purpose, to positively impact societies. Prof Mazzucato was also a panellist on Assessing the supply at the 2018 Ibrahim Forum on the theme of 'Public services in 21st century Africa', on the 28th April. 

IIPP Deputy Director Prof Rainer Kattel spoke on unpacking public sector capacity, emphasising the need to increase ambition for ‘public purpose’ and public sector capacities. Prof Kattel proposed how we can redefine the way that the public sector operates and is perceived, in order to render its internal bureaucracy more dynamic and explanatory.

Pooja Agrawal gave a talk on nurturing dynamic capabilities in public planning, following the loss of planning and design capabilities in the UK in the past few decades. Pooja co-founded social enterprise Public Practice with IIPP visiting professor Finn Williams, which aims to build a new generation of planners to shape places for the public good.

Julius Mugwagwa explored how to use a mission-oriented framework within the health industry, showing how connecting local industrial capabilities and policy capacities have proven key to health advances in Africa. Julius lectures in innovation and development at UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP).