Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
INTRODUCTION
Manuscript received March 30, 2012; out for review May 16, 2012; review completed July 9, 2012;
accepted July 16, 2012.
The Korean Journal of Policy Studies, Vol. 27, No. 2 (2012), pp. 143-173.
2012 by the GSPA, Seoul National University
144 Challenges for Government Innovation in Bangladesh
Government innovation is a broad term that includes the overall process of initiating
new steps, changing existing conditions, and accelerating the development orientation
of the government. It has become an increasingly important issue as Bangladesh seeks
to achieve economic development and political stability. It can be defined as the effort
by a government to find an optimal solution to problems it faces by undergoing a
change within itself. Various political, social, economic, and environmental factors
affect government innovation, but from an administrative point of view, transparency,
efficiency, and participation are the three axes that support government innovations
(Royall, 2000).
Innovation, at the government level, means formulation of adequate policies to
attract foreign investment, create an innovation culture, facilitate the integration of
new technologies, and support innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
and creators and produce market innovations (Tenenbaum, 1999). For some countries,
government reform and innovation involve the reform of an old bureaucracy in a newly
democratic state. For other countries, they entail an all-out fight against corruption.
While different countries have come to government reform for different reasons,
reform and innovation are global phenomena. In some countries this movement has
been called reinventing government; in others it is referred to as building state capacity
or modernization of the state, and in still others it is called the New Public Management
(Kamarck, 2004). In todays knowledge-based world, government innovation is a key
tool to make the government more responsive to citizens and meet the progressive
demand of the state. In sum, innovation in governance and revitalization of public
administration are imperative for governments that wish to effectively deal with
emerging national, regional, and international challenges and to strengthen democratic
governance.
According to Drucker (1974), innovation is the process of equipping with improved
capabilities or increased utility. He argues that innovation has to be market oriented. It
should be not a one-off event but a continuous response to changing circumstances.
A sustainable innovation system not only helps to solve a problem but also creates a
new capacity, opening up opportunities for further innovation. A long lag between
innovation and invention, being an effect of lacking proper conditions for commercial
implementation, makes the difference between innovation and invention distinctive
(Fagerberg, 2004). Radical innovations shape big changes in the world, whereas
incremental innovations fill in the process of change continuously (Schumpeter,
1934). Drucker (2001) advises us not to confuse innovation with novelty and argues
that three conditions must be met for an innovation to be successful. First, innovation
requires work, knowledge, and creativity. Second, to succeed, innovators must build
on their own strengths. Third, innovation must cause a change in the behavior of
customers, teachers, farmers, doctors, and people in general.
The academic literature contains a number of definitions of innovation, each reveal-
ing important aspects of it. Various authors have emphasized newness, including
anything perceived to be new by the people doing it (Rogers & Kim, 1985), or inno-
vation as something different for each organization into which it is introduced
(Downs & Mohr, 1976), or the generation, acceptance, and implementation of new
ideas, processes, products, or services (Thompson, 1965) in an applied setting (Mohr,
1969). Some see it as early adoption of a new idea (Rogers & Kim, 1985), others as
synonymous with creativity (Jacques & Ryan 1978), and a final group as involving
substantive but not revolutionary changes (Merritt, 1985).
Osborne and Gaebler (1992) argue that the American government bureaucracy
that was appropriate to the industrial era and times of economic and military crises
during which it was created is not the best system of governance for the post-industrial
information age. Since the 1960s, the American public has increasingly demanded
quality and choice of goods and services and efficiency of producers. However, quality
and choice are not what bureaucratic systems are designed to provide, nor is efficiency
Despite its history of eight major regimes since 1971, Bangladeshs ultimate goal is
to achieve the image of a stable welfare state through continuous innovation in various
sectors. For example, the Bangladesh government has decided to require financial
statements by political leaders and civil servants to help uncover political corruption. It
has adopted the Citizen Charter, which proposes to make public service provision less
bureaucratic and more citizen-led. To achieve greater economic democracy, innovation
in economic activities, and higher levels of economic growth and employment, the
government is pursuing privatization. Microcredit for self-employment of the poor,
pioneered in Bangladesh, is an innovation that is now being replicated worldwide as a
Knowledge Factors
Because of brain drain to abroad and inadequate education, the lack of qualified
personnel is becoming an important factor inhibiting innovation in developing countries
like Bangladesh. Rothstein (1998, p. 69) observed that to ensure effective program
implementation, available resources should be placed in the hands of skillful and moti-
vated organizational actors. In order to create a knowledge-based society, Bangladesh
needs a knowledgeable workforce and government support and incentives. But the
country lacks a solid base of technologically skilled and experienced and properly
organized government personnel within the ministries and other government bodies,
and this is seriously hampering government innovation.
A study of e-government in Bangladesh (Taifur, 2004), covering 303 government
institutions with 35,658 officers and 103,126 staff, was conducted to assess the current
situation of IT in the government sector. This study showed that about 58 percent of
ministries and divisions, 65 percent of departments and corporations, and 35 percent
of academic institutions have no IT staff. The growth and status of e-governance
varies from country to country. The low level of ICT aptitude among government
officials is responsible for the slow growth of e-governancea prime example of how
the lack of highly qualified human resources hinders the countrys innovation process.
this initiative was infected with corruption as well: 22 percent had to pay an illegal fee
for inclusion in the stipend program, and 38 percent reported receiving less than the
full amount of the stipend.
Institutional Factors
Lack of Infrastructure
Legal Factors
Cost Factors
The strategic management literature associates risk with novelty. An idea involving a
high level of novelty is associated with a high degree of risk. Thus, managers attitudes
toward change and willingness to take risks affects innovation. The risk-adverse mindset
that is so typical of many state-controlled agencies might reduce innovation, whereas a
risk-oriented mindset might enhance it. Innovation is inherently risky. To innovate,
one must step beyond what is known and accepted by society. That is why it involves
risks. Efforts to invent may fail, as may efforts to win public approval and commercial
success. But unnecessary or excessive perceived risk is not conducive to innovation.
In Bangladesh, public personnel have an exaggerated sense of the risk involved in
developing or adopting any new ideas, which negatively affects their willingness to
innovate. They forget that innovation is inherently risky and that risk taking is an
important characteristic of innovation.
and economic prosperity. Most public enterprises consider the level of sophistication
of financial markets in Bangladesh lower than international norms. Bangladeshs
domestic investment was 24.7 percent of GDP in FY2006 and 24.3 percent of GDP in
FY2007. This was higher than that of Pakistan (21.8 percent and 23 percent, respec-
tively) but notably lower than that of India (35.9 percent and 38.4 percent) (Asian
Development Bank, 2008).
In addition, financial market imperfections such as informational asymmetries,
transaction and contract enforcement costs, poor financing for establishing and
expanding businesses, poor credit distribution, lack of venture capital, lack of financial
auditing and reporting standards, high interest rates, and inadequate support for
exports are constant threats to SMEs in Bangladesh.
High Costs
Market Factors
Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, though the first telecommunications company, Citycell, was intro-
duced long ago, the telecommunication device did not become pervasive until 1997,
the year when the biggest telecommunications company in the country, Grameen
Phone, hit the market with its GSM (Global System of Mobile Communication)
technology. After that, there was no looking back. The industry grew at an almost
unimaginable rate for a decade. Efforts they made to capture the market and create
customer satisfaction include modern technical facilities, cheap rates, bonus offers,
and profit sharing.
Political Factors
Absence of Democracy
Confrontational Politics
Bangladesh lacks the strong, innovative political leadership essential for leading
the nation toward progress, stability, and creativity. Criminality and corruption among
party leaders has become increasingly common. Instead of attempting to eradicate
corruption, ministers, parliament members, and civil servants have used their power to
benefit themselves. This has serious implications for democracy. There is no vision, no
future direction, and no strong will to save this independent country. Leaders are
unwilling to accept new political orientations or ideology or the presence of a new
generation in politics. They consider themselves as leaders of their respective parties,
not of the nation as a whole, and fail to ensure an innovative environment. Leaders
want to use power to increase their wealth and utilize good facilities, not to serve the
citizens. For example, political elites are not only engaged in misappropriating money,
but they are sending the plundered money abroad. This reflects their lack of intention
to associate their future with that of the country that they are looting. The present
Hasina government has become isolated from people due to its fragile leadership.
Political Corruption
Administrative Factors
Bureaucratic Corruption
World Economic Forum (2006) identified Bangladesh as the most corrupt country
among 125 in the corruption sub-index of the Global Competitiveness Report for
2006-2007.
The rise of corruption in all corners of the bureaucracy and politics is hindering
Bangladeshs socioeconomic growth, undermining its competitiveness in local and
international markets, interfering with the allocation of resources, and harming the
investment climate. For example, a report of the United Nations Development Program
found that bureaucratic corruption and inefficiency are causing hundreds of millions of
dollars in losses in terms of unrealized investments and income (UNDP, 1997). If
Bangladesh were to improve the integrity and efficiency of its bureaucracy, investments
would rise by more than 5 percentage points and its yearly GDP would rise by over
half a percentage point.
Bureaucratic Complexity
Centralized Decision-Making
Social Factors
democracy. This proposal is based on democratic values and suggests ways to overcome
barriers to government innovation in Bangladesh (figure 2).
Political Institutionalization
Social justice refers to the fair administration of laws so that all people, irrespective
of ethnic origin, gender, wealth, race, and religion, are treated equally and without
prejudice. Social justice encompasses economic justice, under which everyone, from
the poorest person on the margins of society to the wealthiest, deserves equal economic
rights and opportunities. Economic and social justice are essential for inspiring social
innovation and stability. Although the constitution proclaims socialism, meaning
economic and social justice, as one of the fundamental principles of the Bangladeshi
republic, Bangladeshi socialism is not socialism in the real sense.
In Bangladesh society, wealth inequality, absence of the rule of law, and minority
problems are acute, and the poor are becoming poorer and the rich are becoming richer.
Justice is ignored; influential members of society always gain from this. Ethnic
minorities are also deprived of equal opportunities and rights. So the Bangladesh
government has to undertake initiatives for economic and social justice that represent
socialism in the true sense, by ensuring human rights and equitable distribution of
wealth and opportunities among rich and poor, men and women, and urban and rural
areas, and by strengthening and democratizing social institutions.
In todays globalized world, good governance is one of the most widely recognized
and important phenomena. Good governance means a participatory, transparent,
accountable, effective, sustainable, and equitable governance system that promotes the
rule of law at all levels and ensures that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable
in society will be fully heard and considered in decision-making about the allocation
of development resources. The welfare state means that the state plays a key role in
protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based
on the principles of equality of opportunity and wealth. The concepts of government
innovation, good governance, and the welfare state are interrelated and interdependent. It
has become a truism to say that good governance is essential for successful government
innovation and development. Innovations take place in the government, the market,
and civil society.
Good governance helps the innovation process by creating a positive environment
in which sustained outcomes become achievable. Good governance is associated with
accountable political leadership, enlightened policy-making, and a civil service imbued
with a professional ethoswhich are also preconditions for successful government
innovation. Government innovation must also be seen as an integral part of the global
effort to promote democratization, good governance, and socioeconomic development.
Innovations contribute to the promotion of good government and to the creation of
new democratic spaces.
This is certainly true for countries like Bangladesh that are trying to attain an
economically developed status and politically mature culture and democratic institu-
tions. It is also true for advanced democracies, since good government is a key factor
in strengthening democratic governance. Introducing government innovation aims at
simplifying governing procedures, motivating civil servants, accelerating the imple-
mentation of decisions, facilitating access to services, ensuring security and justice,
reducing costs, and fighting corruption and poverty. All these factors help to establish
good governance and the welfare state. In Bangladesh, government has passed a
law to require financial statements from all political executives in order to reduce
corruption and illegal acquisition of wealth. And it has separated the judiciary from the
executive branch to ensure justice. These innovative steps help ensure good governance.
Good governance ensures a countrys welfare. Good governance and the countrys
welfare both strengthen the innovation process of the Bangladesh government.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
Jacques, J., and Ryan, E. J. 1978. Does management by objectives stifle organizational
innovation in the public sector? Canadian Public Administration, 21: 17-25.
Jahan, F. 2006. Public administration in Bangladesh. Working paper, Centre for
Governance Studies, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)
University, & BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Kamarck, E. 2004. Government innovation around the world. Faculty Research Working
Paper Series, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA.
Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. 2006. Governance matters. Washington,
DC: World Bank.
Khan, M. M. 2003. The state of governance in Bangladesh. The Round Table, 92 (1):
391-405.
Kiggundu. R. 1998. Civil service reform: Limping into the twenty first century. In M.
Minogue, C. Polidano, & D. Hulme (eds.), Beyond the New Public Management
(pp. 155-171). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Manzoor, H. 2007. Public sector corruption in Bangladesh: Political and bureaucratic.
Paper prepared for the Victory Day Commemorative Seminar, Bangladesh
Institute of International and Strategic Studies.
Merritt, R. L. 1985. Innovation in the public sector: An introduction. In R. L. Merritt
& A. J. Merritt (eds.), Innovation in the public sector (pp. 9-16). Beverley Hills,
CA: Sage Publications.
Mohr, L. B. 1969. Determinants of innovation in organizations. American Political
Science Review, 67: 111-126.
Morgan, C. T., King, R. A., Weisz, J. R., & Schopler, J. 2005. Introduction to psychology,
5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Nathan, R. P. 1995. Reinventing government: What does it mean? Public Administration
Review, 55(2): 213-215.
Osborne, D., and Gaebler, T. 1992. Reinventing government: How the entrepreneurial
spirit is transforming the public sector. New York: Penguin Books.
Osborne, D., & Plastrik, P. 1997. Banishing bureaucracy: The five strategies for
reinventing government. New York: Addison-Wesley.
Regional Workshop on Science and Technology Statistics. 2005, September 19-22.
Measuring innovation in developing countries. Entebbe, Uganda. www.uis
.unesco.org.
Rogers, E. M., & Kim, J. I. 1985. Diffusion of innovations in public organizations. In
R. L. Merritt and A. J. Merritt (eds.), Innovation in the public sector (pp. 85-
108). Beverley Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Rothestein, B. 1998. Just institutions matter: The moral and practical logic of universal