In the public sector, as in other fields, innovation can mean many different things. It can mean new ways of managing organisations (such as Public Private Partnerships), new ways of rewarding people (such as performance–related pay) or new ways of communicating (for instance, through ministerial blogs). Distinctions are sometimes made between policy innovations,1 service innovations and innovations in other fields. These fields include democracy (with e–voting and citizens’ juries) and international affairs (with prepayments for new vaccines and the setting up of the International Criminal Court). Some innovations are so radical that they warrant being seen as systemic, for instance the creation of a national health service or the move to a low carbon economy.