Deadline: December 3, 2021
Applications are open for the United Nations Public Service Awards 2022. The United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) recognizes excellence in public service at the local, regional and national levels. It was launched in 2003 in order to promote and support innovations in public service delivery.
With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UNPSA is focused on promoting and recognizing transformative action that promotes creativity and innovation in public service delivery and the work of public sector institutions to enhance effectiveness, transparency and inclusiveness to leave no one behind.
Categories
The 2022 United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) is now open for nominations in the following categories:
- Category 1: Fostering innovation to deliver inclusive and equitable services
- Category 2: Enhancing the effectiveness of public institutions to reach the SDGs
- Category 3: Promoting gender-responsive public services to achieve the SDGs
- Special Category: Institutional resilience and innovative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
Eligibility
- Open to all public-sector institutions at the national, sub-national and local levels from all UN member states. In the case of partnerships (including civil society, private sector, academia etc.), the nominee must be a public-sector institution;
- Both self-nomination and nomination by third parties are accepted. Applications should be made by an organization;
- The initiative must be innovative and relevant to one of the UN Public Service Awards;
- The initiative must have been implemented for a minimum of two years, with demonstrated and documented impact;
- The nomination must be duly filled out;
- The submission must include all the required supporting documents;
- The initiative must not have already received a UNPS Award;
- To avoid conflict of interest, the initiative must not be implemented by the United Nations System.
Evaluation Criteria
- Alignment with the 2030 Agenda. The 2030 Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. The initiative should be aligned to the principles of the Agenda and its overarching priorities of leaving no one behind. It should support the implementation of the Agenda and realization of the SDGs at the global, national, sub-national and local levels.
- Innovation. The initiative should present an innovative idea, policy, new approach, or a unique mechanism that supports the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In the context of a given country or region, it could be to improve delivery of public services, solve a problem of public concern, or strengthen public institutions.
- Significance. The initiative should have made a positive impact on a group(s) of the population and address a significant issue of public concern within the context of a given country or region.
- Adaptability. The initiative should be applicable and adaptable to other contexts for possible upscaling or replication. Ideally, it should be conducive to similar innovations in other public-sector institutions within a given country, region or at the global level.
- Sustainability. The initiative should be sustainable in financial, social and environmental terms, that the desired outcome can be achieved and maintained.
- Partnership. The initiative should demonstrate that it has engaged relevant stakeholders and partners. It should not be limited to public institutions and government entities but inclusive of nonstate stakeholders of community, civil society, and private sector.
Application
The Online Application Form must be fully completed. All fields must contain the requested information. In the event that any field is left blank, or if the answer does not directly correspond to the question asked, the initiative will not be evaluated.
For more information, visit UNPSA.
