Public sector innovation and wicked problems in Asia: From reactive to proactive governance

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for governments to break away from complacency and innovate at unprecedented speeds. By analyzing 15 cases of public sector innovation (PSI) in response to the pandemic, using the OECD Framework on Facets of Innovation across India, Singapore, and South Korea, we find that the crisis clearly pushed public sector organizations (PSOs) across Asia away from top-down and incremental approaches to PSI toward bottom-up and transformative approaches. We also find that countries adopt innovation facets differently based on their existing PSI capabilities, which we conceptualize as PSI maturity. Countries with less PSI maturity tend to innovate along the Reactive Axis, which extends between the Mission-oriented and Adaptive Innovation facets, whereas countries with higher PSI maturity tend to innovate along the Proactive Axis, which extends between the Enhancement-oriented and Anticipatory Innovation facets. We also find that collaboration and digitalization were key catalysts for PSI across all 15 cases studied. The article highlights limitations and areas for further research, and concludes with policy directions to help PSOs better equip themselves for future crises.