Barriers on Innovation in Australian Public Sector Organisations

The diversity of interpretations of public sector innovation leads to a plethora of management strategies. These tendencies are evident in the literature. In this chapter, the author argues that barriers to innovation, leadership characteristics and organisational climate are activities that influence innovation processes. These determinants are not independent of each other but instead support and reinforce or offset one another. The in-depth analysis revealed that (a) barriers such as rules and regulations and funds and budget; (b) leadership characteristics such as strategic leadership, national leadership and inclusive leadership and (c) organisational climate issues such as workplace planning, measurement tools, initiatives, embracing diversity and collaboration and networking are critical factors that stimulate or hinder innovation in the public sector.