Giving Wings to Innovations in the Public Sector

摘要

Public agencies and entrepreneurship are traditionally seen to make strange bedfellows. Having to bear public accountability in mind, public agencies often frown upon untested and unproven ideas, which are the lifeline of entrepreneurship. The Enterprise Challenge (TEC), an initiative driven by the Singapore Prime Minister's Office, aims to change that mindset. Launched in 2000, its objectives are to encourage public agencies to be open to new and even risky ideas, as well as to harness innovations that could significantly benefit the public sector. In a nutshell, it plays middleman between the innovator and public agencies, facilitating testing and implementation of promising ideas. TEC is an essential part of the Public Service for the 21st Century (PS21) movement that prepares the public service for future challenges.