Formez lands in Harvard and breaks the "Frontiers of Innovation"

On March 31st to April 2nd 2008 in Cambridge - Massachusetts, the biennial conference “Frontiers of Innovation: Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation in Government” was held with reference to the activities of the Global Network of Government Innovators of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the prestigious Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The conference in which 500 participants from 70 countries were present, aimed at promoting dialogue, debate and the sharing of concrete examples on how to render administrative innovation effective as well as to support democratic governance in order to solve the world’s key problems and improve citizens’ lives.
The conference topics were the following:
- Innovations in governance: ethics and accountability in the public sector 
- Innovations in participation: participation of citizens in implementing democracy 
- Innovations in global health: new approaches to “minor” diseases
- Innovations in emergency management: rendering governments more flexible and responsible
- The future of innovation: governance models in the 21st century
 
A roundtable followed on the topic of innovation and social justice. The Global Network of Government Innovators is an international community of leaders aimed at rendering governments and public services more creative and efficient. Individuals and governmental institutions, no-profit organizations, media and academics are involved in the network. The Global Network is backed by an online platform which supports the community of innovators through the organization of online events and archives of best practices. Thus, the network is a marketplace of ideas and best practices for policy makers, policy advisors and civil servants. Under the conference and in the scope of Panel 5 “The Future of Innovation: Governance Models in the 21st Century”, Formez submitted the Agenda for the PA, in particular by emphasizing the areas of innovation for which intervention is a strategic priority. Furthermore, with regard to the instruments directed to augment cohesion and sharing of best experiences, Formez highlighted its long-term commitment to acknowledging best practices through the databank BuoniEsempi.it. To give support to the international conference and the Global network, Formez elaborated two papers:

• “Corruption and its effect on economic development: the case of Italy” for Panel 1 (Ethics and accountability in the public sector)
• “The Vicenza airbase: an Italian case of poor participation” for Panel 2 (Participation of citizens in implementing democracy).