PUBSIC 2026 Conference
Date: 9-10 February 2026
Location: Gellért Campus, Corvinus University of Budapest
Programme publication: 1 February 2026
Innovation is often posed as a panacea for contemporary social and economic problems. However, existing models of innovation have often drawn from private sector experience in an undifferentiated way that conflates the manufacturing of products with the delivery of services and does not account for the characteristics of public rather than private services.
Whilst public services can always learn from the private sector, their distinctive characteristics mean that you cannot simply transfer lessons from one sector to another. The PUBSIC Conference is therefore dedicated to developing robust approaches to public service innovation (PSI) that address the need for a distinctive ‘public service’ approach to PSI.
The theme of the 8th PUBSIC Conference is how PSI can contribute to the creation of value for citizens and society. Public administration and management theory and practice are increasingly adapting models of value creation from the service management literature to public service contexts. This is a deliberate move away from dyadic models of interaction between public services and citizens and towards ecosystem approaches that capture the complex and dynamic nature of public service delivery. This conference will explore what such public value might comprise and how PSI can foster it.