Advancing a Culture of Innovation at HHS
By Todd Park
An exciting change is happening in government, and HHS is helping to lead the way. President Obama has made clear that openness and innovation in government are first-order priorities for his administration. HHS is acting as a pioneer in advancing a “culture of innovation” throughout our Department, especially through our new HHSinnovates program.
HHSinnovates is an awards program that helps recognize and reward new approaches to fulfilling our mission that are developed by HHS employees. Equally important, it provides a platform for sharing innovations across the 300-plus programs in our Department. It recognizes successful innovations – and it’s even meant to recognize innovative ideas that don’t quite work out as expected, but that help move the ball forward.
Our first cycle of HHSinnovates, conducted earlier this year,was a significant success:
- Over 100 innovations were nominated last spring, with entrants coming from every Operating Division as well as other offices of the Department.
- Nearly 50 semi-finalists were placed on the HHSinnovates intranet site.
- All employees were then invited to vote for their selections.
- Almost 10,000 votes were cast.
- In August, Secretary Sebelius recognized the top six vote winners, and made her own pick of the top three innovations.
Read more about the HHSinnovates program and how HHS is building a culture of innovation. If you’d like to catch some of the spirit and enthusiasm of HHSinnovates, take a look at our short video from the day of the awards ceremony!
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Hi, I have a question regarding Eligible criteria for HHS Innovate program. My question is: Why single innovator applicant must be an HHS employee? What if HHS-contractor(s) who is working for HHS, has an idea for Innovation..! Can she/he be eligible for award as single applicant..? Eligible criteria page: http://intranet.hhs.gov/hhsinnovates/innovationawardplan.html#eligibility Thank you for your time
Where is the answer to this question. I have some ideas.
I believe the answer to this question lies in the compensation for the innovation. It might be difficult for gov't agencies to further compensate contracted workers as opposed to their in house staff. Just a grab in the dark.
As I was looking for articles relating to culture in the workplace, Google brought this site up. I am very impressed and read and watched the video. It is always a breath of fresh air to see how Government works and innovations they use within their programs. Thank you much for this public information. Respectfully, Romona
Hello Todd, Best of luck with HHSinnovates. FYI, Craig Newmark is a columnist for our blog community, so we carried his post on HHSinnovates: http://secretaryofinnovation.com/2010/10/18/innovation-and-real-culture-change-at-hhs-in-washington/ Claude