Assessing innovation as a learning topic in Canadian public administration programs

Public sectors across the globe are grappling with the need become more innovative. How government have responded to this challenge has varied by jurisdiction though human resources management strategies are one common... [ view full abstract ]

Public sectors across the globe are grappling with the need become more innovative. How government have responded to this challenge has varied by jurisdiction though human resources management strategies are one common approach (OECD 2017). Common to these strategies is their interest in what they can control, that is, the skills and competencies of the public servants currently in their employ. Canada, for example, has identified human resources strategies, including investments in training and development, are integral to the realization of its vision for public service innovation (Canada 2014: 11).  Absent these policy interventions is the question of recruitment strategies and whether new public sector recruits to be innovative.   Programmes in public administration are one educational channel where new recruits may acquire foundational education in the skills and knowledge in preparation for their public sector careers.  The paper proposes to explore the degree to which these programmes introduce the innovation skills and competencies public sectors are looking for is the focus on this study.  The paper explores this question through a survey of courses offered by university programmes accredited by the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA).  In so doing the paper explores the two dimensions of public sector education and training first introduced by Reichard (1998) as a factor lacking in review and analysis concerning how to have an innovation-ready workforce. The results of the paper will be of interest to both public sector practitioners responsible for recruitment and human resources management strategies and academics and university administrators who seek to make their programmes relevant to the needs and priorities of a changing public sector.  In so doing the paper contributes to the broader debate about public administration programmes and their objectives: professional degrees oriented to the workplace or academic fields oriented toward teaching and research (Oldfield 2017).