The United Nations is calling for nominations for the UN Public Service Awards 2013, which is an international event designed to promote and support innovations in public service delivery worldwide. The awards are open to public organizations of all kinds, including governments and public-private partnerships involved in delivering services to citizens.
An annual United Nations event, the Public Service Awards are bestowed on those public institutions that have distinguished themselves in the following categories: Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service; Improving the Delivery of Services; Fostering Participation in Policymaking Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms; Promoting Whole-of-Government Approaches in the Information Age; and Promoting Gender-Responsive Delivery of Public Services.
“The winners of the United Nations Public Service Awards set an example in improving delivery, promoting accountability and combating corruption. Through the search for innovative approaches to public governance challenges, they are building a better future for us all,” the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon noted in his 2012 United Nations Public Service Day welcome message.
The United Nations Public Service Day was established by the Economic and Social Council in 2003 to promote better delivery of services by governments and to encourage excellence in the public service through the collection, transfer and adaptation of innovative public service initiatives. Learning from other countries’ experiences in reinventing government can inspire new reforms, and in some cases help countries to leapfrog stages of development. “Such successful innovations and initiatives are concrete evidence proving that in order to find solutions to challenges of our times we need to learn from each other and think outside the box,” stressed Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
The United Nations Public Service Awards winners, selected by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration, receive a trophy and a certificate of recognition during the United Nations Public Service Awards Ceremony and Day held annually on 23 June. The global event is organized by the Division of Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in partnership with UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
While contenders cannot nominate themselves, interested institutions deemed to have very good performance in any one of the categories can have their name put forward by governments or civil society organizations. Nominations for 2013 are being accepted online at: http://www.unpan.org/applyunpsa2013 from 24 September 2012 until 7 December 2012.
