Guidelines and strategies grounded in Knowledge Management for innovation in the public sector

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to propose strategic guidelines to foster systematic innovation in public institutions. It seeks to address how public organizations can overcome barriers to continuous innovation and enhance service delivery and societal value. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research employs an integrative literature review on Knowledge Management (KM), Organizational Learning (OL), and public sector innovation to identify institutional barriers to innovation and propose guidelines and strategies to mitigate them. Empirical evidence was gathered from institutional surveys and focus groups with employees in a Brazilian forensic institution, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities for innovation in this context. Findings: The analysis reveals key obstacles to innovation, including administrative constraints and the pressure to process large case volumes. The study proposes strategies centered on strategic leadership, continuous learning, knowledge sharing, external collaboration, and effective information technology (IT) use to foster innovation and ensure organizational adaptability. Research Limitations: The findings are based on a single case study, which may limit generalizability to other public institutions. Further research across different contexts is needed to validate and expand the proposed guidelines. Practical Implications: The proposed strategies offer actionable pathways for public institutions, particularly in forensic sciences, to enhance innovation capacity, improve operational efficiency, and increase societal value. Originality/Value: By integrating theoretical insights on KM and OL with empirical data from a public sector case study, this research provides a comprehensive framework for overcoming innovation barriers in public institutions, contributing both to academic literature and practical policy design.