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Fostering innovation in a large human services bureaucracy
Abstract
One of the fundamental challenges facing human services organizations is how to foster innovation by drawing on the experience, knowledge, and creativity of staff members. However, innovative behavior is often hard to find in bureaucratic organizations and may even be discouraged. The author describes a program designed to make it possible for staff to develop and test out new ideas in the context of a large public agency. The program involves the creation of a special fund managed by staff that awards small grants in response to staff-initiated proposals. In the first three years, nearly $60,000 was awarded to 27 separate projects. The fund provides a potential mechanism for empowering staff, addressing agency problems, and ultimately changing the nature of the organization. (Journal abstract.)
Journal
(1999)
vol23
no2
pages47-59
Categories
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Nonprofit Organizations (Theory)
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Structures and Processes
