Debate: Whether and how public innovations create value

Public innovation has come of age. It is now a distinctive field in its own right, and no longer overly reliant on evidence, concepts and norms derived from private sector research (for example Arundel et al., Citation2019; Windrum & Koch, Citation2008; Hartley, Citation2005; Bekkers & Tummers, Citation2018). A key feature of public innovation is its publicness—it occurs in, and is linked to, a formal political context rather than being driven by market pressures.