Innovation cannot be directed, but it does not emerge by chance either. It requires a delicate process where enterprising doers lead the way, new ideas are tried out, administrators gradually find their way, and dogged finishers upscale initiatives and make them workable in practice.

In this book, Menno Spaan presents sixteen cases of successful innovation in the Netherlands. These range from infrastructure projects to the development and use of new technology, and from public organisations t...