Public sector innovation in Vietnam's socialist republic governance structure has evolved significantly over the years. The government has moved from traditional command-control state management to a more inclusive and participatory approach, putting citizen needs at the center of development. This shift requires a new mindset and tools for public servants to effectively innovate within this new governance structure. The ideal organizational capacity to develop an innovation culture requires not only skilled and knowledgeable human resources but also an encouraging learning environment, experimentation, and collaboration. The government lab studio approach helped public servants to innovate in a safe working environment. Due to the incentive system, many key public servants work in silo, putting their agencies or ministry first and do not connect on cross-cutting matter, often waiting higher level designation to be gatekeeper of certain field rather than act and someone else might get credit for it. This limits the development of innovation ecosystem in Viet Nam. In this changemaker transformation and public sector innovation playbook development journey, AccLab VN succeeded in bringing 2 key public drivers in the ecosystem (NATEC and NIC) and their subsidiaries to work together to learn about innovation concept, innovation tools and design the playbook together for public servants like themselves. Numerous innovation tools which have been used not only in private sector but also in public sector can be adapted for daily work of public servants in Vietnam. We let the public servants test and experience different tools including behavior science, design thinking, lean startup, system thinking, and collective intelligence. Several controversial conversations happened, which was very good for us to select the most appropriate tools for the governmental context.  

We plan the handover process to happen in Q1-Q2/2024, involving a cooperative effort between government partners, innovation experts, and the UNDP Accelerator Lab team and other UNDP units. The development of the playbook is facilitated through a number of intensive studio and design sprints, incorporating feedback from a variety of stakeholders and experts into the content and process. In collaboration with UNDP Climate Change team, the Lab plans to scale up the Playbook by using the PSI in joint training activities targeting civil servants departments in 3 provinces and cities (Quang Ninh, Hue and Ho Chi Minh) in QI, II. 2024 through a coming series of trainings on plastic waste management. Key members who are public servants of the task force will facilitate the training, using knowledge and tools learnt from the studios to train other public servants in those provinces. The tools will be tested again to make sure that they are appropriate for public servants at provincial levels. Additionally, the Playbook will be used as a basis for training curriculum for civil servant with our partners agencies of NATEC and NIC under Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) respectively. We plan to integrate into their existing training program to bring the social innovation elements into their local provincial departments. Following testing and any necessary adjustments, the playbook is digitized to enhance its accessibility. This process includes visualizing the playbook on an online platform, making it easily accessible and usable by different working levels. The final step involves disseminating the digital playbook to the relevant governmental organizations. 

These data types were chosen to ensure that the playbook is comprehensive, user-focused, and grounded in both practical and theoretical knowledge. They address the need for a deep understanding of the current policy environment, the theoretical underpinnings of innovation, the experiences of end-users, and the creative methodologies that can drive public sector transformation. 

Applying these innovation methods was necessary to address the frontier challenge of fostering a culture of innovation within Vietnam's public sector. These methods helped to unpack the system by: Clarifying Complex Systems: Visual thinking and system thinking provided clarity on the complexity of the public sector, making it easier to identify where innovation could have the most impact. Centering the User Experience: Design thinking ensured that any innovations were grounded in the real needs and experiences of those who would be affected by them. Accelerating Development: Design sprints allowed for rapid development and testing, which is crucial in a fast-paced environment where timely solutions are needed. Leveraging Diverse Insights: Collective intelligence ensured that the solutions were not developed in a vacuum but were informed by a broad spectrum of knowledge and experience.