A Multiple Case Study of Government Internal Ideation Programs: Understanding Challenges and Identifying Effective Practices

Ideation is a process of generating new ideas or solutions using online crowd-sourcing technologies. This process has the potential to change the ways by which government agencies innovate and solve problems. Although increasingly more government agencies are implementing online ideation programs to tap into their employees' ideas and creativity, little is known about the unique challenges and effective practices of such programs. Thus, many government agencies are undergoing trial and error and often reinventing the wheel. This research aims to address this problem. By analyzing a focus group session and four cases of U.S. federal government ideation programs designed for their employees, this research identifies important organizational and technological challenges and effective practices. Furthermore, effective practices are grouped into different phases of ideation process and strategic vs. tactical levels to provide more meaningful and actionable insights. This research is an important step towards building a theoretical foundation for government ideation programs. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.