Press Release:United Nations Calls for Nominations for Global Public Service Awards for 2013

New York, 12 November

The United Nations is calling for nominations for the UN Public Service Awards 2013, an international programme 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.

At 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,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted. “Through the search for innovative approaches to public governance challenges, they are building a better future for us all.”

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 UN 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 UN 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 of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in partnership with UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

While candidates 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: 

www.unpan.org/applyunpsa2013 from 24 September until 7 December 2012. For background information about the UN Public Service Awards and past winners, please visit:www.unpan.org/unpsa. 

All winning cases of the UN Public Service Awards from 2003 to 2011 are available as iPad and iPhone applications atitunes.apple.com/us/app/un-innovations-in-publicgovernance/id443218537?mt=8#

It can be downloaded for free and as an eBook at: unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan046119.pdf.

 Contact Information:

 Haiyan Qian,Director, Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs(UNDESA),  qianh@un.org

John-Mary Kauzya, 

Chief, Public Administration Capacity Building, DPADM, UNDESA,

kauzya@un.org 

Sirkka Nghilundilua, 

Coordinator of the UNPSA Programme, 

DPADM, UNDESA,

 + 1 212 963 3927,

nghilundilua@un.org

Media contact: 

Newton Kanhema,
Department of Public Information,  

                                                                    +1 212 963 5602,

kanhema@un.org

Mohsin Mohi-Ud-Din,

 mohi-ud-din@un.org