Innovation is becoming the keyword in public sector reform: it is seen as a solution for austerity, user-led demand for better services, coordination problems, increasing effectiveness and broader societal challenges. In many cases, these processes are led by new technologies entering the public sector.

Post-industrial public administration focuses on innovations and people as the reason behind the change of the paradigm of the state and municipal management. We are entering a period of "smart states” the main value of which are people and technologies, targeted at modern requirements.This is the period of the formation of new management questions and approaches based on, first and foremost, innovations and technologies of effective process management in a fast developing environment. Transition to the sixth techno-economic paradigm, the main points of which are biotechnologies, artificial intelligence systems, global information systems, and high speed integrated transport systems, makes us reconsider all these new approaches to public administration scholarship. The living space is changing, as well as the main principles of cooperation, psychology, everyday demands, and the scale of values transformation. Intellectualization of labour, transition to a continuous innovative process in the main industries and continuous education in the main professional branches are the main tendencies of modern society. Progress in technologies of information processing, systems of telecommunications, and financial technologies is the main reason for changes in the global structures of the administration of states, regions and municipal entities. Smart technologies are being developed, as well as digital government, direct democracy, crowdsourcing etc. In the course of establishing a brand new technological mode of life education, health care, and scientific developments, the development of the IT sphere is becoming the main competitive advantage. Moreover, state support in the creative development of people, protection of the environment and high standards of living, and anticipating the development of the key industrial and technical systems are important key elements of the brand new technological mode.

These factors are the basis for presenting new requirements both for innovative systems of public and state administration in general and for people working in these spheres, because effective and continuous enhancement of the state and public administration system are presently in great demand. The employees of these systems should always be ahead of all the processes taking place in society.

Taking into account the complexity and multi-dimensional character of the activity we can suppose that a public management system’s development depends on how the authorities themselves understand the necessity for change and are ready for the development. This can be influenced by both the administrative structures and organisational routines in place within a country, but also demands of international organisations (EU etc.).

Thus, the main conference theme will not only concentrate on different innovations in the public sector, but ask more broadly how bureaucracies innovate, what organisational structures and processes support the innovation process and what do not, and how contextual factors influence the process. We welcome papers that deal with these issues both theoretically – how to conceptualize innovation governance in the public sector – and empirically – both at the state and municipal (‘smart city’) level.

We are expecting paper proposals from a wide range of topics. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

•How can a system of innovations in the country and in the authoritative bodies be built up? How can ‘system thinking’ specifically be applied to public service development?

•Which innovations are the most necessary in the sphere of the state and municipal management?

•What problems can we encounter in countries when implementing innovations in the sector of public management and which of these are the most important? How do contextual factors (both country, intra- and inter-organizational level factors: capacity, cultures, resources) influence the process of innovation in the public sector?

•What factors influence the adoption, diffusion and sustainability of innovations in the public sector? What role do administrative, technological, and behavioural factors play when implementing innovations in the public sector? How does risk-behaviour and risk management influence innovation governance in the public sector?

•What is the role of politicians, citizens, private sector and media in public sector innovation governance?

•How do legal provisions support and/or hinder innovative governance?

•What is the relationship between institutional rigidity and the rate of change/innovation in the public sector? Can we see differences across different regulatory/administrative systems?

•What are good practices regarding an innovative approach towards parties in administrative procedures, at the regulatory and implementation levels?

•How do technologies affect public sector organisation (centralization/decentralization; authority)? How do technologies and innovations shape strategic decision-making in public sector organizations?

•How do we organize the effective innovative behaviour of state and municipal authorities? What are the institutions we need to create to tackle the innovation challenge within the public sector?

•How do (new) experimental forms of governance (i-labs, i-teams etc.) influence the process of innovation in the public sector?

•What is the role of state-owned enterprises, public enterprises and agencies in public sector innovation governance?

•How do old and new process development tools and frameworks (quality management, lean management, agile development etc.) support innovation governance and success in the public sector?

•Where is the place for open innovation and public procurement for innovation (PPI) in the innovation governance of the public sector?

•How do open/big data and data analytics (and related concerns: data quality, privacy, security, access etc.) influence innovation governance in the public sector? What are the possible future scenarios for public sector innovation and innovation governance?

•How should public sector innovation and innovative governance be measured?

•What makes innovation governance systems/innovations effective in the public sector? Are there trade-offs between different values (efficiency, equity, privacy etc.) when implementing innovations in the public sector?

These questions, as well as many others dedicated to the problems of special offers and practical approaches in the sphere of innovations in state and municipal activities, are to be discussed at the 25th annual NISPAcee conference.