What's in this issue: Our Public Service 2020
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FEBRUARY 2021 | VOL. 5 What's in this issue: Minister McGrath launches the Public Service Innovation Fund 2021 Innovation Fund Webinar Series, February 2021 Excellence in Quality Customer Service - Case Studies OECD Anticipatory Innovation & Innovation Networks Public Service Innovation News
Our Public Service
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OurPublicService
INNOVATION FUND CALL FOR APPLICATIONS!
Minister McGrath launches Public Service Innovation Fund 2021 Call
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, today (4th February) opened the
2021 call for projects under the Public Service Innovation Fund as part of Our Public Service 2020
framework - the overall strategy for development and innovation in the Public Service.
Public servants are invited to make applications to the competitive fund which aims to support
innovative ideas and projects from across public service organisations. To date the fund, which is in its
third year, has supported 52 diverse projects with c. €1.5 million in funding. In 2021 the minimum grant
awarded will be €25,000 with a general ceiling of €60,000. Applications are welcomed that include new
service delivery mechanisms or that offer better user experiences for the public. Projects are also
sought that propose new ways of working and that can make processes more efficient or cost effective.
Launching the fund, Minister McGrath said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for
governments around the world to strengthen their resilience. Governments have had to pivot quickly
and change the way they work to respond to the various impacts and to meet the needs of their citizens.
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Our Public Service has responded commendably, establishing new and effective channels to deliver
services, while also taking measures to lessen the pervasive impact of the virus on our economy and
society. We need to be ready for the emergence of more widespread events connected to health, climate
change and geopolitical situations and it is therefore crucial that we integrate innovation into our
operational and strategic planning.
“As we plan and navigate our recovery from this pandemic, it is imperative that we identify ways to
sustain the enhanced culture of agility and innovation that in many ways were unimaginable before the
crisis. It is incumbent on Government to foster and encourage innovation throughout all sectors of our
Public Service. “The Public Service Innovation Fund is an initiative developed by my Department to fund
innovative ideas and projects that will add value and create better outcomes for the public. I would
encourage public service teams to collaborate on projects and to develop proposals that have the
potential to be scaled across organisations and sectors,” the Minister concluded.
The Fund is now open for applications until 24th February. Full details of the scheme are available on
www.ops2020.gov.ie/funding.
Laura Mahoney, Head of Public Service Reform and Minister Michael McGrath, TD, Department of
Public Expenditure and Reform
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INNOVATION FUND WEBINAR SERIES
This February we launch the 2021 call for innovative projects under the Public Service Innovation Fund.
This is the third iteration of the Innovation Fund, first launched in May 2019.
With that in mind, we want to invite you to join us for our Innovation Fund-themed webinars in
February. We will host three sessions on the 4th, 11th and 18th of February to discuss all things fund
related. In these sessions we will hear from 2020 awardees who will tell us about their ideas and
experiences with the Innovation Fund. We hope this might inspire people to come up with ideas for their
own organisations and apply to the fund this year. In addition to our speakers, we will set aside time in
each webinar for a Q&A so if you have any questions in relation to any part of the process we’d be
delighted to address them here.
Please visit the events section of our website www.ops2020.gov.ie to register for our upcoming
webinars.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Our first speaker for our first webinar on 4th
February is Niamh Murphy, who is a Senior
Neonatal Dietitian at University Maternity
Hospital Limerick and her project aims to
support the use of IT in the generation of safe
and optimal nutrition plans for preterm and
critically unwell infants and children. It is a
partnership between UL hospitals and CHI at
Crumlin.
Next up will be Eddie O’Loughlin, who is PMO
Manager in the LGMA and his project applied
Robotic Process Automation to Handle Core HR
Exceptions. Using a cloud based robotics service
to automate the update of the Core HR time
Eddie O'Loughlin
and attendance system to record agile working Local Government Management Agency
days.
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Following Eddie we have Carmel O’Hare. Carmel is
the Head of Information Systems & Innovation in
Monaghan County Council and Chair of Monaghan
County Council Innovation Team. Carmel and her
team created a 360-degree virtual house tour
creator and AI enabled housing inspection app.
Their solution also uses voice recording and
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to log specific categories of
damage for repair.
Carmel O’Hare, Nuala Woods and Sinéad McCann from
Monaghan County Council
Next we’ll hear from Robert Murphy, who is a
health and behavioural economist working in
the Research Services and Policy Unit of the
Department of Health. He works to support the
use of research evidence across the
Department and leads on the application of
behavioural science to health policy and
implementation. Robert’s project sought to
reduce the numbers that don’t turn up to
hospital appointments
Left: Robert Murphy and Carol Taaffe, part of the
Department of Health project team, holding an example
of redesigned patient correspondence
Last but not least, Gráinne Curtin will present. Gráinne works in Communications Unit in the
Policing Authority, where her responsibilities include Stakeholder Engagement. Her project aimed
to encourage wider and more meaningful engagement with individual citizens through public
consultation on policing priorities. Software is used to enable an interactive consultation whereby
the consultee has a finite number of points to allocate to various areas which they consider a
policing priority.
There will be a Q&A session after the speakers present so the audience can pose questions on any
element of the Fund process. This will be the first of three webinars on the 4th, 11th and 18th
February.
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EXCELLENCE IN QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE
CASE STUDIES
OPS Action 2:
Improve services for
our customers
Improving how the Public Service
engages with its customers and
improving service design and delivery is
a core part of Our Public Service 2020
(OPS2020). The Reform Delivery Office
(RDO) has developed the Excellence in
Customer Service Case Studies in
conjunction with the Quality Customer
Service Network (QCSN), as a
commitment developed under the
OPS2020 Development and Innovation
Framework Action 2 Improve services
for our customers and Action 3 Make
services more accessible to all. This
collection of case studies demonstrates
how our Public Service is continually
working to improve customer service
and put our citizens at the centre of
service design and delivery.
It is intended that these case studies will inform customer service design and continued improvements
in the future. They also demonstrate how public service collaboration, digital innovations, optimised
use of data, and people and process innovations can deliver significant service level improvements for
our citizens.
You can read these inspiring case studies here.
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Featured Case Studies
Activation of the Department of Foreign Affairs Crisis Centre
Department of Social Protection PowerAPP
Establishment by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) of the COVID-
19 Business Support Call Centre
The Community Call
Enhanced Customer Service to Meeting Emerging Public Need in the Citizens Information
Board
Public Libraries Response to COVID-19
Processing Housing Application Forms (HPL1)
Online Renewals Project in the Department of Justice
Supporting People living in Direct Provision in Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo during COVID-19
Cavan County Local Development Cavan Food Centres
Appointments Booking System in Kildare County Council
Gateways to our Services: Dublin City Council Channel Management Strategy
RTÉ Home School Hub and Home School Extra
Home Education using Lexia and TTRS in Wicklow County Council Library Service
Health Service Executive Delivery of the Online GP Portals and Electronic Prescriptions
Tallaght University Hospital Patient Care Package and Sending Love Services
MyEnquiries Tracking System in the Revenue Commissioners
Customer Engagement Contact Centre at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
SUSI Entitlement and Payment Web Service
Integration of Quality Systems within Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Laboratories
Online Training of Temporary Veterinary Inspectors at the Department of Agriculture,
Food and the Marine
Legal and Mediation Information Helpline at the Legal Aid Board (LAB)
Delivering Dispute Services in Challenging Times in the Workplace Relations Commission
(WRC)
Office of Government (OPG)Procurement Proactive Customer Engagement throughout COVID
National Shared Services Office (NSSO)Client Service Issues Log- Jitbit Technical Solution
Office of Public Works (OPW) Response during COVID-19
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Proactive Policy
Making
The OECD recently launched a working
paper which introduces the key
concepts and features of anticipatory
innovation governance– i.e. the
structures and mechanisms to allow
and promote anticipatory innovation
alongside other types of innovation in
the public sector. This paper draws on
academic literature and OECD work on
a range of areas including public
sector innovation, foresight,
anticipatory governance and emerging
technologies. The paper starts
outlining an emerging framework to
guide policy making in complex and
uncertain contexts and sets out some
questions for further research in the
area of anticipatory innovation
governance.
Rather than policy determining the activities of individuals and groups within a system, individual
experiments contribute to shaping policy and its effectiveness. The OECD say this is done by
outlining the parameters around which policymakers wish to make change and then by
conducting one or more series of experiments testing and iterating on these parameters
continuously with individuals or groups that would be affected and in a real world setting. As a
result, governments are able to move towards their ideal future not by simply anticipating
potential outcomes and developing innovative policy approaches to address them, but by taking
action to ensure that these policy approaches work. The paper is available here.
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Our Public Service
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INNOVATION NETWORKS
Does your organisation or sector have an innovation network?
Innovation networks can be a valuable way to connect with like-minded people who you can learn
from, share with and sometimes just vent to about frustrations or challenges. In the OPSI’s latest
blog post they reflect a little on why they see these forums as being important.
The OPSI are also seeking your help in identifying and cataloguing the different relevant networks,
formal and informal, that exist when it comes to public sector innovation.
Apart from the Public Service Innovation Network led by DPER, if you lead a local, sectoral or other
type of innovation network please visit here to add your network details.
News and resources for our OPS Innovation Network can be found at
https://www.ops2020.gov.ie/actions/innovating-for-our-future/innovation/network/
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Our Public Service
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OurPublicService
OPS2020 NEWS AND EVENTS
Project Management Network
On March 2nd the first 2021 PMN conference will take place using the Webex platform. The theme and
speakers are still being decided but more information will be available in due course. Please keep
checking the Events notifications on OPS2020.gov.ie or email reformoffice@per.gov.ie to request to join
the PMN notification list.
Slides from the Quality Customer Service Conference
The 2020 QCS Conference took place online in December and had high attendance from across the Civil
and Public Service. There was a diverse range of speakers and presentations from An Garda Síochána,
Cork County Council, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), Libraries Development,
the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and the Workplace Relations Commission.
The Conference slides can be viewed at the Action 2 resources page.
Public Service Innovation and Collaboration Space
Did you know we have a Public Service Innovation forum? It's a place to connect with public service
colleagues, join or form groups and share ideas, problems and solutions. We have recently made
changes to our notification settings so if you are a member, please check your Email Options are set to
'All Email' so that you will be notified of new posts in group.
If you are not yet a member you can register at https://forum.ops2020.gov.ie/register/ and please use
your public service email account.
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