Developing a Public Sector Award A General Guideline

Why an Award? - RATIONALE Recognition for Exemplary Performance Incentive to change. Celebrate Teamwork and success Pride for stakeholders. Benchmark for others to Emulate Constructive Feedback Reports to all for Improvement and Change Catalyst for others to follow.

Implementation Phases of Public Sector Award ConceptualizationDesign Awareness Application Ceremony Award Positioning Assessment Award CreationAward Implementation Feedback and Continuous Improvements

Award Creation Award Concept What is the purpose Of the award What are the overall benefits Who are the participants Where does the award reside How do we brand the award Sustainability What is the reward

Purpose for UAE Innovation Award To encourage innovation in public service organizations and stimulate a rethinking of organizational missions and how those missions can best be accomplished in ways that better serve their stakeholders.

Award Creation Award Design Award Categories Evaluation Criteria Application Process Assessment Techniques Implementation Plan

Award Categories When deciding award categories bear in mind what are you aiming to recognize and how will these recognition be integrated into the overall scheme for improving public administration. What do we recognize –Quality/Efficiency in Service Delivery, –Improving Governance, –Use of ICT –Better use of financial resources, –Improving productivity –Reducing Bureaucracy All recognitions should be integrated into the overall public sector improvement plan.

Award Categories Different variations exist Based on categories – Eg 2005 UNPAN Award categories –Improving transparency, accountability, and responsiveness in the Public Service; –Improving the delivery of services; and –Application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Government: (e-Government). Based on theme – CAPAM International Innovation Award –2006 Citizen Engagement and Service Delivery –2004 Innovation on Governance Other variations such as by functions also exist and it is more focus- eg Best Innovation in Public Health. Best E-Government project. Award categories need to be dynamic – be ready to change them.

Evaluation Criteria The most important element as this acts as a filter to remove the applicants that did not meet the requirements. Almost all international (UNPAN, CAPAM) and some national (USA, UAE) innovation award observed have the common and functional criteria below: Common Criteria –Significance –Replication –Novelty –Effectiveness Functional Criteria –Improving service delivery –Improving governance –Improving citizen participation

Criteria Selection Use a team with diverse background to brainstorm on all possible criteria before selecting them. Selected criteria need to be easy to understand and not overlapping to each other. Criteria should be beneficial to the proposed applicants.

Application Process Design Almost all awards will have an application phase. The application process defined what information is required by the organization managing the award from the applicant. It is also a tool for applicants to systematically submit their “projects”. Application process will usually have 2 parts: –Applicants Information –Project Description Make the application easy for the applicants.

Assessment Techniques Assessments of applicants depends very much on the assessment tools and the assessors themselves. Usually there will be a two/three phase assessment –Paper assessment – Filtering and ranking –Site assessment – Verification –Final Presentation - Optional Assessment tools include: –Matrix Ranking –Questionnaires –Peer review –etc Selection and training of assessors is very vital. Prepare an assessment kit.

Award Positioning Awareness Formal Launch PR Campaign Seminars Marketing Educational Documents Website

Award Implementation Application Registration of Applications Inquiries Handling Office Management

Award Implementation Assessment Process Assessors Selection Assessors Training Application Distribution Site Assessment Results Presentation Records Management Selection of Judges Presentation to Judges

Award Implementation Award Ceremony Separate PR Program Invitations Press Releases Prizes

Objective of the Award Guidelines To provide information on how to design and implement a Public Service Award. To be used as a checklist. Will have best practice examples from various countries. Can be used as a benchmark with other countries.