The Centre for Public Service Innovation opens doors to multimedia innovation centre in Pretoria.
The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) has opened the doors to its multimedia innovation centre in Pretoria which aims at creating a learning and incubation facility for the public sector on innovation implementation, in support of government’s efforts to entrench the culture and practice of innovation.
Inaugurated in June 2010 by Minister for Public Service and Administration, Richard Masenyani Baloyi, the centre consists of a number of interactive multimedia installations and learning tools as well as hosting facilities for workshops with public servants around the subject of innovation. The interactive exhibits were designed around strategic content relevant to the endeavour of enhancing innovation in the public sector. The interactive displays show best practise studies and explain methods and strategies for innovation implementation. Included in the centre are digital learning and planning tools designed to assist public servants to consolidate innovative ideas within workshop scenarios.
The centre was designed in collaboration with Cape Town’s innovative media company, Formula D interactive, who are responsible for conceptualisation and production of the centre’s interactive installations. The cutting-edge media technology developed by the company is an outlook on potential technology used by governments in the public sector in future and includes a multi-touch table, a large scale multi-touch screen and interactive projections. Together with technology partner HHI Fraunhofer, a German research and development council, Formula D interactive further provided a 3D display which does not require polarisation or shutter glasses as well as a contact free multimedia kiosk system which tracks pointing gestures of the visitor.
All displays provide content crucial for the implementation of innovation in the public sector and beyond. “Steps to innovation”, a 6 metre interactive projection welcomes visitors and informs about the 6 most vital elements in an innovative organisation. An interactive floor projection let’s visitor eliminate “Barriers to innovation” in a playful manner. Two gesture controlled kiosk systems display “Factors that foster innovation” and “Best practise in innovation” locally and around the world. The 2 metre by 2 metre multi-touch wall provides a “Public service explorer”, a learning and planning software, which takes users step by step through various processes in public service in South Africa. After viewing the current situation, the application offers editable flow charts of all processes viewed which then can be discussed and improved. A multi-touch table let’s groups of visitors simultaneously, or one after the other, contribute to various discussion threads initiated by CPSI. The interface displays these discussions as a “topographical map”, which can be zoomed in and out by visitors in order to browse through the collection of entries.
The CPSI multimedia Innovation and Incubation Centre is the first of its kind in the South African public sector and on the entire African continent. The prospect objective is to demonstrate, showcase and, eventually mainstream innovations within the workings of the public sector.
