The Nature and Incidence of Workgroup Innovation in the Australian Public Sector: Evidence from the Australian 2011 State of the Service Survey
Using data from a nationally representative survey of all Australian Government employees, 
we explore the nature of innovation implemented at the workgroup level and assess the multidimensionality of the workgroup’s ‘most significant innovation’ (MSI). Of the 10222 survey 
respondents, 48% reported at least one innovation implemented by their workgroup, with 
an innovation more commonly reported with an increase in the respondent’s age, seniority, 
and service experience; among men and university graduates. The results reveal that 54% of 
the reported MSIs incorporate between two and five dimensions of innovation types (policy, 
service, service delivery, administrative/organizational, and conceptual), and most of these 
dimensions reinforce each other. Different dimensions of the MSI draw on different sources 
of ideas (with senior leaders having the broadest impact), face different ‘revealed’ barriers, 
require different levels of workplace creativity, and produce different beneficial effects. Our 
findings help strengthen an understanding of the influencing factors and the effects of multidimensional public sector innovations