Losers in the Government Agency Innovation Lottery: Businesses

Technology Erik Sherman 17/08/2011

Executives who get frustrated by dealing with government agencies might wonder why things never seem to get better. There's a good reason: innovation, or rather, a lack of it. A survey by non-profit organization Partnership for Public Service and management consulting firm Hay Group ranked government agencies and groups by how much employees felt encouraged to be innovative.

Unfortunately, many parts of government that are nearest, if not dearest, to the hearts of business are anything but innovative, according to the workers who would actually have to provide the innovation. The survey asked employees to answer yes or no to the following statements:

I am constantly looking for ways to do my job better.
I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things.
Creativity and innovation are rewarded.

The top innovation environment in government was NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which seems appropriate. Various parts of NASA, the Department of Justice, and the military were strongly represented among those that scored better than 25, based on composite scores from employees. (More than one group could share a single rating, and the lowest rank was 223.) Even the Securities and Exchange Commission got a respectable score of 28.

Other significant business-focused agencies, however, were a ... bit further down the line. Here are some of the places most in need of innovation help, along with their scores (bigger is worse):

EPA Office of the Administrator (90)
DOJ Anti-Trust Division (92)
EPA Office of Enforcement Compliance Assurance (100)
DOJ Tax Division (110)
Food and Drug Administration (149)
Defense Contract Audit Agency (153)
IRS (158)
Defense Contract Management Agency (187)
International Trade Administration (189)
Mine Safety and Health Administration (202)
Customs and Border Protection (203)
OSHA (209)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (211)
Patent and Trademark Office (215)
Transportation Security Administration (221)

That's right. Of all the federal outfits that a business is likely to deal with, the only one worse than the PTO -- the agency that's supposed to deal with innovation -- is the TSA. But it could be worse. At least the Bureau of the Public Debt managed to get a score of 30. Talk about places a country could use some creative thinking.

Related:

6 U.S. Downgrade Dangers for High Tech
Innovation Trick: Turn Something Old into Something New
Senate Passes a Patent Bill, but Don't Hold Your Breath for Actual Reform
Obama Wants the U.S. to Innovate -- but He Has Things Backward
Tech Industry Desperately Seeks More H-1B Visas It Already Isn't Using

Image: morgueFile user katmystiry, site standard license. Erik Sherman

Erik Sherman is a widely published writer and editor who also does select ghosting and corporate work. The views expressed in this column belong to Sherman and do not represent the views of CBS Interactive. Follow him on Twitter at @ErikSherman or on Facebook.

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