Over the past few weeks, I ran a short survey to crowdsource who and what people in our field are paying attention to. Sixty-two people responded — a mix of public servants, practitioners, and friends of the community. Together, they gave us a fascinating snapshot of the ecosystem of public sector innovation today. It's far from inclusive, but it's a good start.
🌟 Who do people follow?
The individuals who are shaping thinking and practice in this space:
- Thea Snow and Christian Bason came out on top, each mentioned by multiple respondents.
- Geoff Mulgan and Indy Johar remain enduring voices, bridging big-picture ideas with practice.
- Alex Ryan, Giulio Quaggiotto, Stephanie Wade, Pia Andrews, James Plunkett, and David Eaves also featured strongly.
Taken together, it’s clear that people look to a mix of thinkers, system-shapers, and hands-on practitioners.
🏛️ Which organisations matter most?
The organisations' people flagged as central nodes in the ecosystem:
- UNDP, Centre for Public Impact, and Apolitical all received the highest mentions.
- Nesta also features prominently.
- OECD-OPSI, Demos, Policy Horizons Canada, and Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation round out the list.
No surprise — it’s a balance of multilateral bodies, think tanks, and labs.
🤝 Where are communities connecting?
When it comes to networks and peer groups, the results were a little more diffuse — but a few stood out:
Apolitical itself was the most-mentioned community platform 🎉.
States of Change and the UNDP Accelerator Lab Network were also cited.
Other mentions ranged from Technologists for Public Good to design-focused groups like Bridgeable and Service Design BC.
It’s a reminder that community remains fragmented, but there are hubs where people are finding peers.
📚 What resources do people turn to?
This space is powered by shared tools and learning hubs. Respondents highlighted:
LinkedIn (yes, the old reliable) as a surprising but practical source.
Apolitical’s articles and resources.
The OECD-OPSI case study archive and Liberating Structures menu.
Smaller mentions included Impact Canada and the Futures4Europe portal.
Clearly, people are mixing “official” knowledge hubs with more peer-to-peer and social learning.
🎪 Which events are unmissable?
No competition here:
- Creative Bureaucracy Festival in Berlin was the runaway favourite.
- Bloomberg CityLab and FWD50 also earned multiple nods.
- Other mentions included the OECD-OPSI symposium and the World Bank GovTech Forum.
The draw? Spaces that combine inspiration, practical exchange, and a sense of movement.
🗺️ What this map tells us
This quick scan confirms what many of us feel: the ecosystem is rich but scattered. We have trusted individuals, anchor organisations, a few strong community hubs, and a handful of can’t-miss events. But there’s no single centre — and maybe that’s a good thing.
At the same time, there are clear blindspots. We’re still missing many key voices and groups from the US, and from much of the global south and east. This is just the beginning.
That’s why we’ll keep the survey open — please keep filling it out and sharing it with your networks.
And to make sure this knowledge grows, as promised, I’m releasing the full dataset as open data. The spreadsheet is still attached to the survey, and as more people contribute, the dataset will continue to grow. Use it, remix it, build on it.
🌍 A call to action
If this scan shows anything, it’s that our space is fragmented. That’s why I’d love to invite you to join Apolitical’s Government Innovation Community. Think of it as a watering hole — a place where people can support each other, share what they’re learning, and connect more easily with the individuals and organisations mentioned here.
Together, we can keep weaving the threads of this field into something stronger.
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