The current report has put forward a new model for anticipatory innovation governance based on the theoretical work done by the OECD and the experience of the Finnish governance system (its assessment and pilot cases studies). The model outlined in Part I of the report builds on the assumption that public officials need the ability to act – agency – and a feedback system – authorising environment – that gives licence to anticipation and involves critical stakeholders to the work. The aim of the model is not to build additional burden on top of existing governance structures, but to integrate the principles of anticipation into existing governance functions or create new ones when they are found lacking. Thus, for example the model proposes clear roles and responsibilities among others for the legislative, strategic planning, human resource, budgeting, futures and foresights functions of government. In addition to the aforementioned, a need to create more specific government planning and government transition functions was established. The first sets out to describe how governments tackle new and emerging issues: how they are analysed, how responsibilities and ownership over them are assigned, how new organisational configurations and needs to tackle the aforementioned are discussed etc. The second new function – transition function – tries to address the continuity of reforms and sustainability of complex issues and learnings connected to them in the government agenda across different government terms. Connected to the latter there is a need for more collective sense making around complex issues and systematisation of anticipatory knowledge. The outlined functions were analysed in Finland and concrete actions to develop the Finnish governance system were proposed.
The anticipatory innovation governance model – its mechanisms, functions, roles and responsibilities – can be used as a blueprint for building anticipatory innovation capacity not only in Finland, but other countries worldwide. The model does not aim to add an extra layer to existing governance structures, but to integrate anticipatory innovation into how policy making and innovation processes happen in the public sector. As was used in Finland, the model and the connected frameworks can be used to assess other countries and their anticipatory innovation capacity and also use it as a diagnostic in specific reform and transformation processes. The conducted four pilot case studies showed that it is effective in identifying gaps in existing processes, capacities and organisational structures and can be used to co-design actionable solutions to make change management more effective and sustainable.
Finland, on the whole, is one of the most advance countries in the world and while the current report is at times critical of its ability to anticipate and innovate, it is expected that in other country context these gaps will be much wider. The OECD hopes to test the developed model in other country contexts and facilitate the learnings from Finland in the future.
