Open AccessThe relationship between research and innovation in the public sector – an analysis of five cases from labour and welfare services
Author(s) -
Ann Karin T. Holmen,
Maria Røhnebæk,
Magnus Gulbrandsen,
Gry Cecilie Høiland
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
nordic journal of social research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1892-2783
DOI - 10.7577/njsr.3687
Subject(s) - legitimation , public sector , process (computing) , welfare , politics , norwegian , public relations , business , sociology , economics , political science , market economy , economy , computer science , law , operating system , linguistics , philosophy
Many public agencies promote renewal in the public sector through projects that require a productive combination of research and innovation activities. However, the role of research in innovation processes is a neglected theme in the public sector innovation literature. We address this gap through an analysis of five cases from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration. We find few examples of innovations based directly on research, but several examples of research on innovations and on more complex co-evolutionary processes of the two activities. Research seems to be particularly important for the diffusion and scaling up of innovations. We find that research has an impact on innovation in later phases of the innovation process through the formalisation of practice-based and unsystematic knowledge, codification of experiences, and legitimation to ensure political support and funding. This new conceptualisation contributes to the public sector innovation literature and may help improve policies that set up a rather limited role for research.