ISSUE 4

Commonwealth Association for Public Administration Management: International Innovations Awards Programme

I am pleased to introduce the second CAPAM International Innovations Awards Programme. The theme of this second Awards Programme is "Service to the Public" and emphasises the role that governments and agencies must play in the future to provide high quality services citizens are now expecting. The Awards Jury will be looking for innovations that:

• tap the creativity of front-line employees, through changes in work design and supervision;
• reshape organisational culture in profound ways that improve public performance;
• implement significant policy innovation;
• uphold just and honest government and directly or indirectly prevent or eradicate corruption;
• exemplify multi-agency, inter-governmental, public-private, NGO and voluntary sector collaboration;
• demonstrate effectiveness in performance-based management.

The purpose of the Awards Programme is to:

• promote new initiatives in government reform;
• provide other Countries with a different perspective on change models;
• create a rich repository of innovations to inspire and inform other Countries;
• promote the theme, "Service to the Public", which describes the ways in which governments and their agencies are providing needed services to their public
• strengthen continued communication and exchange among Countries.

I encourage you to participate in this exciting initiative by submitting to CAPAM an innovative project you or your organisation has embarked upon. The Inaugural Programme in 1997 - 1998 attracted 121 submissions from 24 countries.

Submissions to the 1999 - 2000 Awards Programme must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2000. An independent Jury of 10 internationally recognised individuals will be reviewing the submissions to determine 10 finalists. The finalists will be interviewed on October 12 and 13, 2000 in South Africa. Finalists will also be asked to present their innovations to the delegates at the 2000 CAPAM Biennial Conference. During the Closing Ceremony of the Conference up to 6 winners will be announced (one Gold, two Silver and three Bronze).

The winners will receive their Awards along with international recognition and permission to use the Awards logo on all of the winner's official communications. A list of all submissions to the Awards Programme will be published by CAPAM. The 10 finalists will be featured in CAPAM's Newsletter Commonwealth Innovations and on the CAPAM Web Site.

Once again, I encourage you to submit your innovative initiatives to CAPAM no later than March 31, 2000. If you require further information regarding the CAPAM International Innovations Awards Programme, please contact the CAPAM office at:

Telephone: +1-416-920-3337
Fax: +1-416-920-6574
E-mail: capam@compuserve.com
Website: http://www.capam.comnet.mt/
Art Stevenson, Executive Director, CAPAM.