Programme
Public Sector Innovation
Our goal
To help public institutions develop and deliver more responsive, accessible, and effective services and public policies through research, co-creation, prototyping, and practical support for implementation.
How we work
Our Approach to Public Sector Innovation
We work with public institutions, municipalities, communities, and experts to turn complex public challenges into practical solutions.
Our work usually starts with understanding the problem and the people affected by it, then moves through co-creation, testing, and support for implementation. The aim is not only to generate ideas, but to help institutions put better ways of working into practice and build ownership around them.
What this work aims to change
- Stronger institutional capacity
- Public institutions can identify, test, and implement practical responses to complex challenges.
- Better public services
- Services and implementation processes become more accessible, responsive, and effective.
- Meaningful participation
- Citizens and affected groups have a real role in shaping public solutions.
What we offer
- Facilitating participatory innovation processes
- We design and facilitate processes that help institutions and stakeholders define challenges, generate ideas, and work through solutions together.
- Redesign of public services and spaces
- We help public institutions rethink services, processes, and public-facing spaces to improve accessibility, user experience, and how things work in practice.
- Engagement of citizens and other stakeholders
- We create participatory processes that bring citizens, community organisations, and expert stakeholders into the design and improvement of public solutions.
- Service digitalisation and data visualisation
- We use digital and data tools to help simplify processes, improve service delivery, and support more informed decision-making.
Selected projects
City of Skopje Innovation Center – SkopjeLab (North Macedonia)
SkopjeLab, the City of Skopje Innovation Center, was the first public sector innovation centre founded within a public institution in the Balkans. Managed by SmartUp from July 2017 to February 2022, it brought city staff, citizens and partners together to redesign city services, open city data, co-design public spaces and build innovation skills in the administration.
Public Sector Innovation Training for Public Sector Leaders in BiH
SmartUp designed and delivered a public sector innovation training for UNDP BiH in Sarajevo, engaging 72 senior policy leaders and civil servants from across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The programme combined a three-day innovation training, a two-day policy lab that addressed seven challenges chosen by participants, and a month-long Train-the-Trainers programme for 15 national experts, creating a lasting network to sustain public sector innovation practice.
Researching Mechanisms for the Operationalization of the National Development Strategy
SmartUp supported the operationalisation of North Macedonia's National Development Strategy 2024–2044, testing co-creation and foresight mechanisms with a focus on migrant and refugee integration. Three participatory workshops brought together 93 public servants and stakeholders from government, business and civil society, who were trained in strategic foresight. The process produced 15 policy measures, including three policy pilots presented to the National Council.
Related guides & platforms
Guide
Public Sector Innovation Guidebook: Practical Tools and Approaches for Designing Better Public Services and Policies
A practical guide for public sector professionals that introduces innovation concepts, frameworks, and hands-on tools for solving complex public challenges, improving services, engaging stakeholders, and creating more responsive and effective institutions.
Guide
Impact Investing Guide
A guide to developing an impact investment portfolio for local government.
Guide
Co-creating Crowdfunding Models
A handbook for municipalities on alternative financing for renewable energy projects.
Platform
Community Mobility Initiatives – Seed Funding Platform
Community-led mobility co-operatives transforming sustainable transport in North Macedonia and the region through shared electric vehicle fleets and charging infrastructure.
Platform
SkopjeLab – City of Skopje Innovation Center
The first public sector innovation lab in North Macedonia, improving public services with the City of Skopje.
Platform
ReDesign Skopje – Urban Transformation Program
Documentation and public engagement platform for the redesign of public spaces in Skopje.
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