CHAPTER 6 – Innovation and Creativity in Public Sector Management in Nigeria by Chuku Chuku and Felix Obioesia

Introduction
Innovation in public sector management (hereafter, IPSM) is an extremely important research area especially in the context of a developing country where the public sector plays a central role. However, very little of it has been studied in Nigeria. Most of the research on innovation has been traditionally focused on innovation by profit-oriented private firms, and the innovations studied have tended to be on physical products or the
technological processes used to produce them.
However, it has long been widely recognized that effective public policies are the pre-condition for success in a competitive global arena. A well-functioning public sector management strategy backing up a responsive regulatory ‘Framework, high-performing public policy programs, highly productive public service delivery framework, and high-performing public organizations have become indispensable to any large or small territorial community striving for sustainable economic development and rapid growth. As in the business world, success in the Nigerian public sector is increasingly dependent on innovativeness and creativity and, thus, on public sector organizations’ transformative and innovative capability.