We welcome examples of public sector innovation and Gov 2.0 from federal, state and territory, and local government agencies. Below are details on how to submit an example – if you have difficulties with the instructions, please contact us at psi@innovation.gov.au to discuss it.
Content
The Showcase is about sharing examples of innovation or Gov 2.0 approaches, within government, to inform, educate and inspire others. Each example should include the following content:
- Description
- Challenge – what was the challenge that led to this innovation? What problem was the innovation/Gov 2.0 initiative trying to solve or respond to?
- Options considered and approach taken
- Outcomes
- Wider adoption
- Additional information
- Start date
- End date
Note that not all of these points may be applicable or relevant to your case study.
You may also want to include a video element in telling the story of your innovation initiative.
Before you start
For a submission to be uploaded please ensure that you have the following:
- An image to use to depict your Showcase item (preferably one that displays at 240 x 150 pixels or corresponding sizes)
- Clearance of the submission text and content by the relevant Senior Executive Service (SES) Officer (for those in the APS), or appropriate level of sign-off (for other jurisdictions)
- If you are providing a video, please ensure that you have
- A transcript
- Two appropriate formats for the video
- Clearance for the content to be provided under a Creative Commons licence.
Further detail about these matters is below. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Process
All content of the Showcase will need to be cleared by the submitting agency. For Australian Public Service agencies, this means evidence of Senior Executive Service (SES) clearance on any case study put forward. For state and territory, local government or other public sector bodies in Australia, a corresponding level of clearance will be required.
- Send a request for a Showcase contributor account to us, including details of your agency and the example you want to submit for inclusion on the Innovation Showcase
- You will receive an email notifying you that your account has been created and an accompanying set of account details. To upload your study, log into http://showcase.govspace.gov.au/wp-admin/
- On the menu on the left hand side of the screen, click on Showcase
- Click Add New
Add a title and description for your Showcase item
- This is the showcase entry screen. Most of the information you enter here will be displayed on the site
- Enter a title for your example – generally the name of the innovation or Gov 2.0 initiative
- Enter a description of your example – a high level overview of what it is.
Add other information for your Showcase item
- Enter the URL for where the initiative can be found
- Enter the Challenge information – what was the challenge that led to this innovation? What problem was the innovation/Gov 2.0 initiative trying to solve or respond to?
- Enter the Options considered/approach taken – were there many possible options? Why was this approach tried?
- Enter the Outcomes – what has happened since the introduction of the innovation/Gov 2.0 initiative? How has it been received?
- Advise on Wider adoption – has the initiative been extended beyond its original scope? Have others picked it up as well?
- Enter any relevant Additional information – is there any other information that readers should know about? Is there any more in-depth information about the initiative that can be referred to?
- Insert Start date – when did the initiative start?
- Insert End date – has the initiative ended? Was it tried and then wound up? Not every innovation or trial will be successful. (Or it may have just been for a specific time frame)
Add Contributing Agency information for your Showcase item
- Agency – insert the name of the owning agency
- Agency contact details – insert the contact point for us to talk to (this will not be displayed on the public site)
- Agency Manager contact details – insert the name and contact details of the person responsible for the initiative, if different to the above (this will not be displayed on the public site)
- Agency Alternate Contact details – insert a further contact point for us to talk to if available (this will not be displayed on the public site)
- Agency Public Contact Email – insert an email contact that readers of the example can go to if they have further questions
- In Collaboration With – was the initiative done with other agencies or partners? If so, include them here
Add Featured Image for your Showcase item
- “Featured Image” is located at the bottom of the right-hand-side of the ‘Edit Showcase’ item view. Each showcase item will need an identifying image that will display on the full directory of showcase items and on the individual showcase item page. This image displays at 240 x 150 pixels
- Clicking on Featured Image brings up a menu for uploading and administering the images associated with this showcase item. Images can be uploaded from your computer or from a URL
- For Computer uploads, save your preferred image as a JPEG or GIF file
- Media Library lists the images you have uploaded
- Clicking on the items allows you to edit the details
- Please give your image an appropriate name so that it can be distinguished from other showcase images
- Make sure you have a title that you are happy to display
- Select “Use as featured image” for the image you are happy with (please delete any older versions) – the main “Edit Showcase” page will then show your featured image so you can check that you are happy with it
Preview your Showcase item
- You can see how your Showcase Item will look once published – press on the preview button and review to ensure you are happy with the content and presentation
Submit your Showcase item
- Once you have entered all of the required information, click the Submit for Review button. The case study will then be reviewed and a confirmation will be sent to you
Video
In addition, if you also want to tell the story of your innovation initiative through video, please contact us and we will assist you to add video material to your Showcase item.
Video should be provided in the following formats:
- FLV (flash video)
- AVI
- MP4
A transcript should also be provided of the video. If possible, it would also be desirable if timed captions could be provided in the W3 TTML (Timed Text Markup Language) recommended format.
Licensing
The examples that are on the Showcase are generally under a Creative Commons licence. If this is an issue for your agency, please let us know and we can exempt your material from this license. (Please note this will only be done on an exception basis; the default position is Creative Commons).
Old Examples
We hope that one of the ways that the Showcase will be valuable is by providing a historical resource of innovations that have been tried.
As noted in the report Empowering Change: Fostering Innovation in the Australian Public Service one of the challenges of innovation in the public sector is ensuring that the change will be lasting and understanding what will sustain the idea once it has been implemented. It is hoped that over time the Innovation Showcase will provide a reference of when innovations were introduced to the public sector and this will help us understand how they evolved over time (or did not).
When an example is no longer current (as decided by the owning agency) or has been overtaken by events, we will label it “Archived” and close off comments on it. These examples will not be updated further but will be kept on the Showcase as a historical resource of previous innovations, successful or otherwise.