The Partnership for Public Service has released a report titled “Achieving a Culture of Innovation” which analyzes the agencies in the federal government that are innovating well and those that are struggling to foster effective innovation.
The report draws its data from the 2011 OPM Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey to determine the views of federal workers towards innovation in the federal workplace.
According to the report, most employees are willing to innovate – 91.5% said they are looking for ways to perform their jobs better – but only 59.2% said that they are encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things which suggests they lack the necessary support to be more innovative. Additionally, only 38.8% of the federal employees surveyed said that creativity and innovation are rewarded in the workplace.
Which agencies are seen as the most innovative? NASA was at the top of the list followed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Department of State.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was seen as the least innovative. Other agencies towards the bottom of the list include the Departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development.