About the Course

The Innovation Skills Accelerator

Based on research with thousands of public servants across three continents, our problem-solving curriculum gives you the digital, data and innovation skills to deliver more effective, equitable and engaged policies and services.

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Through videos, self-assessments and worksheets, we share practical lessons learned about improved ways of working, including:

How to use new technologies responsibly
How to define actionable problems
How to use data and human-centered design
How to design effective and equitable solutions
How to learn what’s worked elsewhere
How to forge powerful partnerships to implement change
How to measure and scale what works

15 modules and 26 lecture videos

Optional readings

Interviews with leading faculty

Worksheets to apply course learnings to your work

Certificate of completion

This course complies with WCAG2.1 web accessibility standards

At-your-own pace

People-centered and data-driven

Course curriculum

1. Innovative Problem Solving Pathways

Introduces the concept of public problem solving - a set of strategies to understand problems and to take solutions from idea to implementation.

2. Problem Definition

Introduces the concept of problem definition, why it matters, and will teach viewers how to effectively define a problem, including developing a hypothesis, defining root causes, and reframing the problem.

3. Human Centered Design

Introduces the benefits and limitations of human centered design, a set of methods that enables public servants to gather valuable input from citizens to better understand problems.

4. Data Analytical Mindset

Introduces how data can be used to help solve public problems, defines a process for applying data analytical thinking, and identifies key risks and mitigations when using data to solve public problems.

5. Expanding Your Solution Toolkit

Provides an overview of the tools and methods available to government to address public problems

6. Collective Intelligence

Introduces how co-creation, collaboration, and crowdsourcing can be used to define problems and identify solutions and available tools to put collective intelligence into practice.

7. Equitable Engagement

Introduces a practical guide for how to engage communities in identifying solutions, with an emphasis on how to reach underrepresented voices and communities.

8. Fast Field Scanning

Introduces a set of research strategies that enable public servants to identify and evaluate solutions in place in other jurisdictions and adapt them to our context and community.

9. Behavioral Insights

Introduces how public servants can use insights from behavioral sciences to improve the delivery of policies and public services.

10. New Technologies and the Public Sector

Introduces several new technologies that are enabling new ways of working in government - namely, big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, blockchain, predictive analytics, chatbots and voice assistants.

11. Implementation: Powerful Partnerships

Introduces the benefits of partnerships in implementing projects, goes over the how-to's of partnership and collaboration with accompanying practical worksheets and guidance, and lays out the challenges of partnerships and how to mitigate them.

12. Implementation: Theory of Change

Introduces the concept of a theory of change (also known as a logic model), teaches how to create a logic model, with accompanying practical worksheets and guidance, and lays out steps to implement a solution in practice, including how to break down the solution into milestones and deliverables

13. Implementation: Writing the Killer Memo and Letter

Introduces strategies for persuasive memo writing in order to pitch your projects persuasively and teaches how to write an effective and persuasive letter

14. Evaluation and Evolution: Designing Pilots

Introduces how and why to design experiments and pilots and also how to use more participatory and democratic techniques to measure the results and know how to scale the learnings.

15. Evaluation and Evolution: Designing Experiments