Why policy failure is a prerequisite for innovation in the public sector
本文论证政策失败往往是成功政策学习与创新的先决条件，利用商业研究中的“创新者困境”理论，分析选民短视、决策者规避责任和问题结构不良如何导致失败，并探讨不同创新路径。
Researchers and practitioners agree that collaborative innovation is crucial for problem-solving in public policy. This article contributes to our understanding of innovation in public governance, by arguing that failure in public policy is often a prerequisite for successful policy learning and innovation. Using insights from the ‘Innovator’s Dilemma’ – a theory from business studies – to develop its argument, the article emphasises how voter myopia (Nair and Howlett, 2017) plus blame avoidance by decision-makers and ill-structured policy issues, create an ‘Innovator’s Dilemma’ that produces failure before successful innovation. The article compares this theory with other concepts of innovation in the public sector and theorises different pathways to successful policy innovation. It concludes that decision-makers need to take the Innovator’s Dilemma more seriously and integrate its lessons into existing innovation models designed for the public sector.