Publications & Documents

This publication examines the opportunities and challenges, for business and government, associated with technologies bringing about the “next production revolution”. These include a variety of digital technologies (e.g. the Internet of Things and advanced robotics), industrial biotechnology, 3D printing, new materials and nanotechnology. Some of these technologies are already used in production, while others will be available in the near future. All are developing rapidly. As these technologies transform the production and the distribution of goods and services, they will have far-reaching consequences for productivity, skills, income distribution, well-being and the environment. The more that governments and firms understand how production could develop in the near future, the better placed they will be to address the risks and reap the benefits.

Ces dernières années ont été marquées par un phénomène de rejet de la mondialisation. Jamais les coûts d’une ouverture et d’une connectivité accrues – y compris les conséquences de la libéralisation des échanges et de l’investissement – n'ont été autant mis en balance avec leurs avantages, bien des voix se faisant entendre pour plaider en faveur d’une pause, voire d’une inversion, du mouvement mondial d’intégration qui a été la marque des trois dernières décennies. Si ce rejet s’explique par de multiples raisons économiques, sociales et politiques, on dispose d'éléments en nombre suffisant montrant que les oubliés de la mondialisation sont nombreux, en particulier dans la moitié inférieure de l’échelle de distribution des revenus, notamment dans les pays avancés. Ce rejet montre que nous devons agir rapidement pour remettre la mondialisation sur les rails et nous assurer que ses avantages seront plus équitablement partagés. Les conséquences d’une possible inversion de l’intégration mondiale pourraient être graves : un regain de protectionnisme pourrait se traduire par une perte nette de richesse et d’opportunités, et l’adoption de politiques de repli national mettrait en péril nombre des avancées acquises au fil des dernières décennies.

Public sector innovation does not happen by itself: problems need to be identified, and ideas translated into projects that can be tested, implemented and shared. To do so, public sector organisations must identify the processes and structures that can support and accelerate innovation. This report looks at how governments can create an environment that fosters innovation. It discusses the role of government management in inhibiting or enabling innovation, and the role that specific functions such as human resources management and budgeting can play. It suggests ways to support innovation – including by managing information, data and knowledge – as well as strategies for managing risk. Drawing on country approaches compiled and analysed by the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, the report presents a framework for collecting and examining data on the ability of central government to foster public sector innovation.

The Government of Chile has set out a vision to develop a more inclusive society, and sees public sector innovation as a means to achieve it. But in order to achieve these ambitious goals, the Government will need to improve the innovation-related skills and capabilities of the Chilean public service. This report, the first of its kind on an OECD country, assesses the abilities, motivations and opportunities in Chile’s public service for contributing to innovation, and provides recommendations on how to further develop them.