ABSTRACT
In the broader public services arena, there have also been a limited number of studies of innovation in public services (see Osborne and Brown (2005) for a more extensive literature review). Most notably in this literature, Borins (2001) has explored the public policy – public services delivery interface and its impact
on innovation in public services. Despite its importance, this work is hampered in its applicability to the UK by its national specificity within the US public policy system. In a European context, Koch and his colleagues in the EU Publin programme (for example, Koch and Hauknes 2005; Malikova and Staroòová 2005; Koch et al. 2006) have explored the public policy context of innovation within public service organizations in the European Union. However, whilst this is useful work at the industry level, the issue of the innovative capacity of VCOs is wholly absent from their work.
