Innovating in a Government Context: An Evaluation of a Dutch Water Innovation Program Using the Cyclic Innovation Model

Innovation is of vital importance, not only to commercial companies, but also to governments. For the Dutch, innovation in the field of water management is even a matter of survival, because much of their country lies below sea level. An evaluation of a water innovation program carried out by the Dutch government, using the cyclic innovation model, shows that there is a broad understanding of innovation, that innovators see innovation as a significant break from the "old" and recognize the connection between innovation and future developments, but that, on the other hand, the innovation processes in the innovation program are quite informal, that outside partners are involved sufficiently adhere to the new paradigm of "open innovation, and that the connection with top management at Rijkswaterstaat (as part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment) could be improved. It is advised, among others, to make a clear distinction between projects and innovation processes, and to adopt a contingency approach to make that different types of innovations (incremental versus radical) are managed differently.