ABSTRACT
Most governments upscaled technological adaptations and integration into public service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic policy responses globally. This article analyzes the context of open innovation (OI) applications and initiatives that characterized public innovation trends and impacted government agencies' responses to contain different consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in four critical areas: economic recovery strategies, logistics and supply chain, digital health-care partnerships, and collaborations. We show how policy responses increased the uptake and upscaling of OI strategies in Kenya and South Africa. In both countries, government agencies, among other things, upgraded innovative or created online integrated portals for instant data sharing and used knowledge management platforms to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic prevalence in transportation systems and the delivery of vaccines. These enabled effective policy communication and tracing of COVID-19 patients, organizing the population for the vaccination drive, and generating timely data for further action in the four mentioned sectors. Related Articles: Lachapelle, Erick, Thomas Bergeron, Richard Nadeau, Jean-François Daoust, Ruth Dassonneville, and Éric Bélanger. 2021. "Citizens' Willingness to Support New Taxes for COVID-19 Measures and the Role of Trust." Politics & Policy 49(3): 534-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12404.Liu, Zezhao, and Zhengwei Zhu. 2021. "China's Pathway to Domestic Emergency Management: Unpacking the Characteristics in System Evolution." Politics & Policy 49(3): 619-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12407.Pelizzo, Riccardo, and Abel Kinyondo. 2014. "Public Accounts Committees in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Comparative Analysis." Politics & Policy 42(1): 77-102. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12062.
La mayoría de los gobiernos mejoraron las adaptaciones tecnológicas y la integración en la prestación de servicios públicos durante las respuestas políticas a la pandemia de COVID19 a nivel mundial. Este artículo analiza el contexto de las aplicaciones e iniciativas de Innovación Abierta (OI) que caracterizaron las tendencias de innovación pública e impactaron las respuestas de las agencias gubernamentales para contener diferentes consecuencias de la pandemia de COVID19 en cuatro áreas críticas: estrategias de recuperación económica, logística y cadena de suministro, digital asociaciones y colaboraciones de atención médica. Mostramos cómo las respuestas políticas aumentaron la aceptación y la ampliación de las estrategias de OI en Kenia y Sudáfrica. En ambos países, las agencias gubernamentales, entre otras cosas, mejoraron o crearon portales integrados en línea innovadores para el intercambio instantáneo de datos y utilizaron plataformas de gestión del conocimiento para monitorear la prevalencia de la pandemia de COVID19 en los sistemas de transporte y la entrega de vacunas. Estos permitieron una comunicación política efectiva y el rastreo de pacientes con COVID19, organizando a la población para la campaña de vacunación y generando datos oportunos para acciones futuras en los cuatro sectores mencionados.
ABSTRACT
This study mapped the role of ICT, digital platforms, the internet connectivity and skills of the personnel vis-à-vis implementation processes of SDGs in public organizations in Kenya. Findings show cross-cutting institutionalization and internalization deficits as a result of limited mastery of ICT skills and training of the personnel, insufficient ICT platforms, mainly, computers, poor internet connectivity and poor investment in digital platforms by the government institutions. An organizational culture that predisposes institutions to change resistance also constrained integration of SDG goals in public organizations. The article concludes by providing critical policy recommendations for addressing these problems.