Inside Public-Sector Innovation: How Local Governments Put Ideas into Action (McGill-Queen's Studies in Urban Governance) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 022802725X ISBN 13: 9780228027256

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2026

Synopsis

Faced with increasing demands from residents, and amidst growing legal and resource constraints, municipalities are experimenting to find new ways of making things work. Inside Public-Sector Innovation profiles the expertise and experience of local administrators in Canada who have successfully moved innovation from conception to reality. A practitioner-oriented guide, this volume features multiple innovations from rural, urban, and suburban governments of various sizes. Exploring organizational, process, and service innovations, public administrators directly involved in their implementation highlight lessons for other practitioners considering similar strategies. Chapters cover challenges across policy domains including diversity and inclusion, public health, environmental sustainability, and service delivery inefficiencies. All together, these case studies enhance our understanding of what local public-sector innovation entails and how enterprising public servants can put it to immediate use. Recognizing local governments in Canada as drivers of experimentation, Inside Public-Sector Innovation advances research through its rich descriptions and analysis of municipal strategies, drawing attention to the unique complications and opportunities associated with innovation at scale.

About this title

About the Authors

Zachary Spicer is associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration and the head of New College at York University.

Joseph Lyons is assistant professor of political science and director of the Local Government Program at the University of Western Ontario.

Tyler Romualdi is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 022802725X
• ISBN 13: 9780228027256
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 348
• Editor: Zachary Spicer, Joseph Lyons, Tyler Romualdi