Can service blueprinting be applied to innovation policy implementation?

Abstract

This paper explores the potential application of blueprinting, a public service innovation tool, to the design and implementation of innovation policy. Firstly, we briefly summarize some problems often encountered in existing innovation policy processes, especially in less developed countries. Studies suggest that oversimplification and incompleteness of specification of implementation are common problems. Then, we consider blueprinting as an instrument for checking existing policy to improve it and to support the design of new policy systems, taking the example of innovation voucher schemes to show how it could work. We look in particular at the Netherlands innovation voucher system as an example to show how successful policy making processes often consider the five aspects which are the basic components for blueprinting. Based on this case, the pros and cons of the instrument used in policy design and implementation are considered.