Discover what sludge is and how you, as a Belgian civil servant in a project management role, can contribute in the coming months!

Sludge — the friction that slows down innovation in Belgian federal public-sector projects. By spotting unnecessary steps, approvals, or forms, we aim to speed up collaboration, especially with external partners.Want to help make innovation faster and smoother?

In times of scarcity, we need to find ways to maintain innovation momentum and use our limited resources efficiently and deliberately to keep improving our services. Together with the behavioural science unit of OECD - OCDE, we’re on a mission to identify, understand, and remove “sludge”

🚀 Nido’s Sludge Research is Here!

In times of scarcity, we need to find ways to maintain innovation momentum!

Dutch: lnkd.in/gN_ib7er
French: lnkd.in/gp8hztcN

#Innovation #PublicSector #SludgeResearch #Collaboration #Frictionless #AgileProjects #NidoLab

A big thank you to our selection experts Stien Verhaegen and Kevin Gerits for steering everything so smoothly — and to Caroline and her organisation for her commitment to second a junior colleague to the Nido team. We’re now determined to make this partnership truly thrive.

Hopefully, new opportunities will arise soon — it’s heartening to see so much energy to help shape a more innovative public sector.

An success, showing how many recent graduates are eager to work in an innovation lab and help accelerate innovation within government. It was quite the job to go through all these motivated profiles. We’re thrilled with the result, even if it means we’ll have to disappoint many talented candidates.

🚀 A wave of innovation enthusiasm!

For Nido, FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment launched a search for a Junior Innovation Manager — and we received over 70 applications!

#PublicSectorInnovation #InnovationLab #Talent #Recruitment #InnovationInGovernment #Collaboration

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 was awarded "for having explained innovation-driven economic growth" with one half to Joel Mokyr "for having identified ...

At Nido, we believe innovation in the public sector isn’t a luxury, it’s a responsibility.
Every prototype, every fresh idea brings us closer to a government that grows with its citizens.

🔗 Read more about the Nobel Prize in Economics:
www.nobelprize.org/prizes/econo...

#Innovation #NobelPrize

For governments, this means rethinking how public value is created.
It means daring to collaborate differently, to learn from change instead of resisting it.
That’s the heartbeat of a resilient public sector. 🤝

Innovation is more than technology.
It’s about creating space for new ideas, even when they challenge what exists. That’s how progress happens: one brave step, one fresh perspective, one experiment at a time. 💡

quote: "Economic growth is never guaranteed. Societies that block innovation eventually fall back into stagnation.” – Nobel Committee for Economic Sciences 2025. A reminder that progress starts with openness to new ideas.

Want to know more?
👉In dutch: lnkd.in/eh4-CU6Z
👉In french: lnkd.in/embGfbNP

We invited them to design challenges that, in their view, deserve priority action from the government. It’s a great opportunity for the federal public sector to connect with students — and future taxpayers — in a different way.

Last week, we visited Ghent University — Master in Public Administration and Management — to engage students in the next edition of the Federal Innovation Award 2026: the Student Challenges Award.

We also couldn’t help but wonder. Were they enthusiastic about the challenge? What’s your guess? 😉

Would you or your students like to contribute to innovation within the federal administration?

They analyse the problem, formulate it clearly, and then research concrete solutions. This usually happens in groups, under the guidance of a lecturer or supervisor (though individual participation is also possible).

👉 Students start from their own experience or an observed situation and propose ways to improve an aspect of a federal public service – for example in employment, health, taxation, justice, or social security.

Studentenchallenge

More info on:

www.nidolab.be/nl/inspirati... (Dutch)

www.nidolab.be/fr/inspirati... (French)

👉 Submit your proposal before 18 December!

🚀 Still time to join! The submission deadline is 18 December.

This week, almost ten universities and colleges have shown interest in engaging their students to work on federal challenges. 🙌

#innovation #federalservices #students #publicsector #future #belgium

We closed the session with a call for the "Possibility Manager" in our Belgian Federal Government. 🌍✨ Stay tuned for more in the context of the hashtag#Federalinnovationaward2026!

Finally, Robby Vanlaer connected many of these reflections to the new federal competence model, highlighting how the skills for innovation are embedded within it.

Confronted with the latest OECD survey results on the innovative workplace, Carolien Sonck didn’t sugarcoat it: the numbers are worrying. But in her role as chair of the HR managers’ network, she is determined to drive change. In her own organisation, new initiatives are already underway.

Steven Van de Walle reminded us of the importance of bricolage in government – creating space to tinker, test, and innovate from the ground up, even as we rationalise, cut costs, .... Our takeaway: striking the right balance is crucial to both limit risks and let innovation labs thrive.

We were equally inspired by OPSI, who delivered what felt like a tailor-made presentation on the skills needed to innovate in the Belgian public sector. They not only focused on practitioners but also on the enablers who make these skills flourish. (More on their rich contribution in our next post!)

Our inspiration session on Tuesday 16 September truly took off with Walter, who gave us WINGS through his powerful storytelling about the swallow and the rooster 🐦🐓.

✨ Applied Skills to Innovate ✨

Dive into the rich material waiting for you on the Nido website
👉 French: lnkd.in/eMVKqVHQ
👉 Dutch: lnkd.in/eNDrWMff

🚀 This is your last call to strengthen your innovation skills and put them into practice – in a context that needs them more than ever. Join us!

To close the session, Carolien Sonck from Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment and Robby Vanlaer from FPS Policy and Support will bring fresh perspectives from within our own government, because yes – things are moving.

and Steven Van de Walle will highlight the importance of the work context – reminding us that bricolage is something many are naturally good at, yet often challenged as the debate on core tasks and regulations evolves.