Participation as an indicator of public innovation. Experience of the government laboratory of the University of Bío-Bío

Abstract

The paper presents a reflection on the inclusion of participation in local management within the framework of public innovation initiatives. This arises from the experience of advising on public innovation processes of the Government Laboratory of the Universidad del Bio-Bío in 7 municipalities of the Biobío region. The approach first considered proposals made by the municipalities themselves, which according to an internal diagnosis presented areas in which they proposed as a challenge to generate innovations. On the one hand, LabUBB prepared a work team by training it in open innovation methodologies, but adjusted to the concept of sustainable public innovation. This implied reviewing the state of the art regarding innovation processes and making the pertinent adjustments to the local reality of the region. This process involved generating participation indicators. As a result, it can be seen that one of the foundations of innovation is participation, which makes these innovations relevant and based on the needs of the territory and the users affected by the different issues addressed (immigration, entrepreneurship, inclusion, etc.).