Inovação no setor público: um estudo da Secretaria de Estado da Fazenda do Rio Grande do Norte no contexto pandêmico

Abstract

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic generated strong repercussions on a global scale, causing significant changes in professional, economic and social spheres. In this context, several activities were rethought so that they continued to be carried out in the pandemic scenario. In view of the need for adaptation, many organizations began to implement innovations as an alternative to face these difficulties. In this way, the study seeks to analyze the process of generating and incorporating innovations in the State Department of Finance of the Government of Rio Grande do Norte (SEFAZ), a direct state Public Administration body, in the face of the pandemic context. To achieve this objective, an exploratory-descriptive research with a qualitative approach was carried out. Data were obtained by conducting semi-structured interviews aimed at SEFAZ employees and surveying documents for the collection of secondary data, complementary to the interviews. For data processing, the content analysis technique was applied, responsible for the investigation and division of the interview content into the categories of identification of innovative initiatives and drivers and barriers to innovation. As a result, several innovation initiatives developed during the pandemic by management and the organization’s innovation laboratory were identified. From this perspective, the initiatives were classified according to the type of innovation and the innovation process was analyzed based on its stages. In addition, the tools used by the organization were also observed, which made it possible to identify a model oriented towards open innovation. As for drivers and barriers to innovation, participation in innovation networks, technological accessibility, employee motivation and support from top management were identified as drivers. As for the barriers, the lack of an exclusive team designed for projects, the lack of investment in training, poor internal communication and burnout were identified. Finally, it is recommended for future studies to expand this research through the application of a questionnaire with a quantitative approach with the employees, aiming at observing their perceptions regarding the dissemination and impact of innovation within the organization.