Dubai, March 31, 2015: Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation (MBRCGI) organised a seminar entitled Innovation in the Public Sector as part of events organised by the Centreto raise awareness about innovation culture in the public sector.Attended by about 100 employees and officials from various government entitiesin the UAE, the seminarfocused on the importance of innovation in government performance by reviewing various approaches in the government sector.

Devoted to the development of innovation skills of national talents in cooperation with INSEAD, the seminar also discussed the similarities and differences between innovation in the public and private sectors, as well as risks as a key element challenging innovation in the public sector.

Huda Al Hashimi, Executive Director at Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, said the seminar camewithinthe framework of the National Innovation Strategy in line with the government directives to promote the culture of innovation through events organised and hosted by the Centre. The aim is tohelp transfer this strategy into reality and support the government sector in the bestpossible way, Al Hashimi said.

Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation focuses on developing knowledge using innovative ideas that can contribute to finding solutions to serve various sectors. The process of qualitative and comprehensive development cannot be achieved without making the government sector a part of this trend. That is why innovation is necessary to develop mechanisms of government performance, Al Hashimi said.

Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Government Innovationworks to promote the culture of innovation to keep pace with the latest developments, and to develop an integrated system of modern tools to help government entitiesadopt a corporate approach to innovationto enhance services provided to customers and raise the competitiveness of the UAE in the government sector,Al Hashimi added.

Aiming to achieve these objectives, Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovationwill continue to organise seminars and workshops until the end of 2015.Activities include lectures, case studies, group activities, workshops, government innovationlaboratories,training of national talents and building a global network of partnerships with universities, research centres and specialised institutes,Al Hashimi said.

Al Hashimi said the seminars scheduled to be held this year includeInnovations in financing large-scale government projects,Government services centred on customers, Settingthe innovation agenda,The role of the partnership between government and private to promote innovation andGovernment innovation indicators.

Addressing the seminar, Dr. Sami Mahroum, Academic & Executive Director, Innovation & Policy Initiative at INSEAD, commended the efforts of the UAE government to promote the culture of innovation,citing the strategic initiatives this year, including the establishment of Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation and the launch of the National Innovation Strategy, in addition to announcing year 2015 as the Year of Innovation in the UAE.

He added that the UAEs progress in the area of innovation in government performance has enhanced its potential to build a knowledge-based economy by creating a large data sector as a key part of the emerging service economy.This has improved the UAEs competitiveness in this sector amid increaseduse of smart technologies and applications, leading to enhanced opportunities for innovation in government sector.

During the seminar, he explained that innovation challenges can be overcome through a systematic process that identifies solutions to requirements in the society. He also highlighted a number of international experiences and case studies on innovation, including the experience of Germany in promoting the use of solar energy.

The seminar witnessed huge interaction by the participants, who said it was an opportunity to enhance the innovation process in government entities. They stressed that specialised seminars organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation series will add considerable value to their expertise and will reflect positively in the development of government performance.

Jassim Al Awadi, Director of Safety and Inspection Department at Emirates Post, said the seminar was a milestone in the efforts to stimulate and strengthen innovation in the government sector. It was an opportunity for communication between the employees to establish cooperation on a larger scale, especially in training, which will have a key role in promoting innovation, Al Awadi added.

Abdul Latif Abdullah, Director of Information Technology Department at Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA), said the seminar was a unique initiative of Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation to contribute to establishing the innovation culture and raising awareness about this concept. He pointed to the need to develop a framework for supporting innovation as government entities compete with private companies on the efficiency of the services they provide.