The public sector’s new knowledge: Narrating the life of liquid knowledge in public sector innovation labs

Abstract

Public sector innovation labs (PSI-labs) are emerging as experimental spaces where governments attempt to generate knowledge for navigating uncertain, technology-driven futures. However, the knowledge they produce often remains “liquid”; relational and difficult to embed in traditional bureaucratic structures. This paper investigates these tensions through an ethnographic study of Vonk, Rotterdam’s digital innovation lab which prepares the municipality for emerging digital technologies in policymaking and service delivery.

Based on over 200 h of participant observation and 15 interviews, it examines how knowledge is created, shared, and embedded - or fails to be. Employing Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes as a metaphor, the analysis highlights the relational and processual nature of knowledge in PSI-labs.

The findings reveal that PSI-labs hold potential for future-oriented governance, but face challenges in translating and embedding their "liquid" knowledge. We argue that knowledge becomes actionable through enactment within dynamic actor-networks. Knowledge is thus not merely a product of PSI-labs, but a shared accomplishment that materialises in the “doing”. This paper argues for strategic mechanisms to ensure the visibility and usability of such knowledge. By combining ethnographic insights with creative storytelling, it offers fresh perspectives on the governance of public sector innovation.