INVITATION FOR APPLICATIONS TOWARDS PARTICIPATION IN THE INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT AWARDS (2022)
The Ministry of Public Service, through the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM), is pleased to extend an invite for participation in the Thirteenth Innovative Management Awards (IMA) 2022. The awards will be given away in December, 2022 at the 41st AAPAM Roundtable Conference in the University of Western Cape, South Africa.
The AAPAM Innovative Management Award is a continent-wide award programme designed to recognize government ministries, departments and agencies; local governments; municipal authorities; institutions of higher learning in African countries; non-governmental organisations; civil society organisations; and international organisations which have developed and implemented creative managerial initiatives for improving the delivery of public services. Winners and other leading entries will be extensively publicised with their executive summaries and featured in the AAPAM Website, publications and other international networks.
HOW TO APPLY
To make submissions, applicants are requested to send their entries by e-mail to:
ABOUT AAPAM
The African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) was established in 1971 as an international professional organisation that promotes best practice and excellence in public administration and management in Africa. The Office is located in UN Avenue, Nairobi Kenya. The key activities of the Association include research, publications, training, seminars, consultancy, conferences and awards. The AAPAM membership is comprised of African governments, private sector, civil society, international organizations, practitioners, academicians and young professionals. The innovative management concept emphasizes on the importance of service delivery in the public sector. It puts emphasis on continuous learning without necessarily having to attend formal training. It further promotes environments whereby employees are able to come up with solutions and new methods of providing service and dealing with customers. A pivotal way of executing this mandate is through research, which in turn allows employees to come up with solutions. The efforts of AAPAM date back to 1962, when a group of Permanent Secretaries in charge of Public Services from several African countries, met to discuss problems facing the African Public Services then. Such meetings continued and led to the culmination of the Association in 1971. The Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini is an official member of APAAM and therefore participates in their events, which include sitting in forums to exchange information and ideas with other African countries on pertinent issues affecting public sector performance. Other activities include participating in management awards, fellowship programmes and calls for research papers.
INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT AWARDS (IMA)
The Innovative Management Awards were established in 2005 as one of AAPAM’s initiatives to enable African countries to participate and showcase innovations in service delivery which are contributing towards a high performing public service. AAPAM IMA is consistent with Agenda 2063 and the SDGs which promotes innovations, a key driver for the transformation and modernization of African public services as well as sustainable development. Similarly, the Eswatini Government’s Strategic Roadmap and the Ministry of Public Service Strategic Plan advocate for innovation in order to attain the culture of service excellence in the public service.
As per the Government In-Service Training Policy, the Department of Human Resource Development (HRD) also seeks to foster continuous learning through innovation in Government. Innovation enables the learning process to continue in the workplace, even post formal training. This culminates through the generation of creative ideas which address organizational challenges and improve performance.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT AWARDS
- To recognize and publicize innovations in the public sector which are worthy of emulation.
- To enhance the image of the public sector in Africa.
- To promote innovation in the public sector by encouraging and recognizing organisations and people for the creative and effective ways of solving specific problems of administration and management.
- To facilitate the transfer of innovations and best practices as a way of improving the quality of Public Administration and Management in Africa.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS
- All entries shall be made by a Ministry/Organisation/Authority. Submissions can also be made by a division/branch within organisations.
- The following entities are eligible to participate in the competition:
- All government ministries, departments and agencies;
- Public sector institutions;
- Local governments and municipal authorities;
- Institutions of higher learning in African countries;
- Non-governmental organisations;
- Civil society organisations; and
- International organisations.
- All awards will be handed to organisations and not individuals.
- All applications should be submitted using the specified application form and shall not exceed 1,500 words with an executive summary of not more than 50 words. All supporting materials and documents shall be attached to the completed application form.
- Entities who have participated in the competition in previous years but did not receive an award are eligible to re-enter the competition for consideration by the Jury, provided that no submission shall be considered more than three (3) times.
- The Jury shall be comprised of five (5) renowned and well-informed individuals with regards to public sector management.
- The Jury will shortlist a final list of five (5) applicants who will thereafter be invited to appear before the Jury to present and defend their submissions. The Jury will then decide on the winners for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards.
- The five (5) finalists will be required to present their entries at the Annual Roundtable Conference and the winners in the above stated categories will be announced and the Awards given.
- The decisions of the Jury shall be final and also has the right to decline to award prizes if the submissions in any one (1) year are not up to standard.
- The best three (3) entrants shall receive the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards in order of merit. The other two (2) finalists may receive recognition trophies.
- Entries may be made in English, French or Arabic.
- All entries become the property of the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM).
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF SUBMISSIONS
- Innovativeness
Entries should be genuinely innovative and not have been carried out anywhere in Africa. Such innovations will include the following:
- A successful experiment;
- Effective implementation of organisational change;
- Translation of new ideas into practice; and
- Harnessing new technology.
- Relevance
- The innovation should be relevant to core organisational functions;
- Clearly outlined motivation, purpose and objective for the change;
- Positive outlook for the future; and
- Implications for other organisations.
- Significance
The benefits of the innovation, either actual or potential are significant at local and national level.
- Sustainability
The innovation has been entrenched for a substantial period of time and has displayed evidence of being institutionalized and self-sustaining with local resources.
- Replication
The innovation has the potential of universal appeal, replication and transfer. In other words, the innovation has components that can be applied to solve similar problems in similar organisations and/or countries.
Dr George Scott, AAPM Secretary General.
Ministry of Public Service Under Secretary (HRD), Senzakuthi Bhembe.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Sipho Tsabedze.
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