Beyond the 3 R’s – investigating barriers to innovation in local government

Australian local government stands at a

pivotal point in its evolution, as it seeks to respond

to impending challenges and long-standing, “wicked” problems. Paradoxically, at the same

time as shifting boundaries between federal, state

and local governance provide new opportunities

for local government and local communities, local

councils are facing a crisis of confidence in terms

of relevance, capacity and community trust. The

pressure is on for local government to reinvent

itself for the 21st century, but a variety of internal

and external factors impact on its capacity to do so.

This paper documents the beginning phases of a

study of the phenomena that impede innovation by

and within local government, in particular innovative

practice in relation to local government paradigms

and processes. The presenter, who works in local

government, is seeking to identify the points in the

innovation cycle at which the intent for innovative

practice fails to deliver innovative outcomes and to

explain how organisational attributes, community

characteristics, governance and legislated

delegation, limit the capacity of local government

authorities to innovate.