June 2017

Innovation in Public Services: High-Level Summit

The European Centre for Government Transformation convened the High-Level Innovation Summit on Delivering Human Services in a Digital World in the Paris Innovation Centre, a state of the art, multi-disciplinary centre comprising strategists, public sector specialists, designers and programmers. The day-long summit brought together an eclectic mix of high-level civil servants and thought leaders from, inter alia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Singapore and Switzerland. Laurent Haug, director of Monito, contributing editor to Wired-UK and Switzerland-based serial investor, delivered the keynote and led a fascinating discussion on the challenge and opportunity offered by the digital era. Mark Pearson, deputy director for employment, labour and social affairs at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presented the highlights of Employment Outlook 2017 and shared his thoughts on the future of work; David Colon, professor and educational director at Sciences Po, described the skills challenges of tomorrow; and Dominique La Salle, director for social security at the International Social Security Association (ISSA), outlined his vision for social security agencies in the fast-emerging digital economy. Later, Anja Block, employment expert at the Bundesagentur für Arbeit in Germany; Vesa Jouppila, development director at KEHA-keskus, the development and administrative centre for the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in Finland; Torbjørn Larsen, chief information officer at the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV); and Mikko Rantahalme, digitalisation project director for operational development at KEHA-keskus; also presented fascinating case studies on reform in their agencies, and discussed the spread of best practice throughout this vibrant community. Kristina Naruseviciute and Lina Navickaite, co-founders of Smartup Visuals, served as rapporteurs, presenting a riveting visual narrative of the day in a flowing illustration. The European Centre for Government Transformation is a leading-edge research centre and practitioner-driven community dedicated to providing pragmatic and actionable solutions to government agencies and public-service providers. It was founded in 2009 by the Lisbon Council, Accenture and the College of Europe.