A Policy Lab for the EU?

Denmark, France and UK have one, and seem to be quite happy with the results – so is it time for the Commission to get up to speed and start using design thinking in its own work? The Expert Group organized by DG RTD in 2013 to work on Public Sector Innovation was definitely of this opinion. The report recommends the establishment of a EU Innovation Lab as part of a broader proposal for a new architecture and governance system for fostering innovation in the public sector.

In fact member states have recently reaffirmed a strong call for innovation in the public sector. The ministerial meeting of the European Public Administration Network (EUPAN) held in December in Rome restated the importance of innovation the public sector, acknowledging that the quality of public administration strongly affects competitiveness, growth and social cohesion in Europe and therefore the need to modernize administrative systems is a top priority across the EU.

So time seems to be ready for the Commission to introduce new and innovative methods in its way of working. The JRC has taken up the challenge and decided to establish a laboratory for innovation in EU policy making: the EU Policy Innovation Lab. The EUPILab will draw on design thinking, foresight and behavioural sciences to experiment with new ways of developing EU policies and delivering programs.

The EUPILab pilot

So…where to start from? To stay true to the design methods, we have decided to use a learning by doing approach and use a concrete project to develop the lab (more on the project). The pilot will run for the next four months.

This Blog is an attempt to share the story with colleagues interested in what we are doing and experiment a different way of communicating. Instead of waiting to have a final and polished product we will try to tell the story as it unfolds…so let us know it you find it useful by commenting on this blog !