The sustainable development goals and leadership in public sector: a case study of social innovation in the disability sector of Iran

Abstract

Except for administrative collaborative leadership, the importance of leadership in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) has been the focus of researchers for many years. This study claims that one of the requirements for achieving the SDGs is administrative collaborative leadership. Because, it is the proper leadership style for the governance model, as one of the pillars for achieving the SDGs. To investigate this claim, a social innovation (SI) strategy is examined to addresses whether the public sector uses collaborative leadership in the governance model. To study SI, a successful living lab of SI is investigated by a qualitative case study.‏ This laboratory was created by the Iranian public sector to solve the problem of unemployment among people with disabilities. Qualitative data are collected through participatory observation and interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings of the research show that collaborative leadership is one of the prerequisites of SDGs achievement. And, SI contributes to the realization of SDGs by providing an appropriate environment for the gradual and practical training of collaborative leadership.‏

Keywords:

• Collaborative leadership
• sustainable development goals
• public sector
• social innovation
• living lab
• Iran
• autism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ali Asghar Sadabadi

Ali Asghar Sadabadi is an assistant professor of science and technology policy at the University of Shahid Beheshti. His research interests are social innovation, public policy, technology management.

Azam Mirzamani

Azam Mirzamani is an assistant professor of Management and Public Administration at the University of Tehran. Her research interests are public administration and public policy.