The Public Sector’s Secret: How Governments Drive Innovation

Why Your Smartphone Owes More to Public Servants Than You Think

When you swipe your smartphone or navigate with GPS, you’re benefiting from decades of public investment and risk-taking. Mariana Mazzucato’s 'The Value of Everything' pulls back the curtain on the hidden heroes of innovation: the scientists, engineers, and public servants whose work underpins modern life.

Contrary to popular belief, many of the world’s most transformative technologies were not the brainchildren of lone entrepreneurs or venture capitalists, but the result of government-funded research and bold public missions. The internet, for example, began as a government project. Breakthroughs in medicine and energy, too, often trace their origins to public labs and grants.



Yet, the rewards of these innovations are frequently privatized, while the risks remain socialized. Mazzucato argues that we must rewrite the story of innovation to recognize collective effort and ensure that public investment is rewarded with public benefit. That means designing policies that share the gains of innovation more fairly and inspire the next generation of public-minded innovators.