The United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) programme was set up in 2003 by the former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, as a way of rewarding those who offer outstanding public service around the world. The intention is to enhance the role, professionalism, image and visibility of public service.

Although there are several awards in place for innovation in the public sector at national and regional levels around the world, the lack of a global initiative has meant that best practice couldn’t be shared across continents.

The key aims of the awards are to:

> Discover innovations in governance
> Reward excellence in the public sector
> Motivate public servants to further promote innovation
> Enhance professionalism in the public service
> Raise the image of public service
> Enhance trust in government
> Collect and disseminate successful practices for possible replication.

Since their inception six years ago, there is little doubt that the awards have become the ‘Oscars’ of public service, according to Hayan Qian, Director of the Division for Public Administration and Development at the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

“Respondents say that receiving this international recognition has energised and motivated them to promote either new innovative practices or upscale and/or transfer their winning initiatives to other countries and regions,” she notes. “Receiving an award translates into a greater propensity to continue on the path to innovation and further promote a culture of change in the public sector.” This year there were a total of 168 nominations from 41 countries. For more information on awards and how to enter visit: www.unpan.org.