Minister of State Joseph Harmon said the presentation of International Innovations Awards (IIA) is a fitting conclusion to the 12th Biennial Conference of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM).
CAPAM 2018 concluded, with a banquet and IIA ceremony at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown, on Wednesday evening. Minister Harmon commended CAPAM for celebrating innovation which explores new frontiers in the pursuit of public administration and management.
“I wish to commend the International Innovations Awards ceremony that seeks to promote the spirit of innovation of the public service by recognising organisations that have made significant contributions to improving governance and service in the Public Sector,” Minister Harmon is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying.
This is the first time the Conference was held in Guyana. Minister Harmon said Guyana agreed to host the Conference based on its deep commitment to the Commonwealth’s programmes and activities. “It is our hope that we have been a good and gracious host, that we have properly facilitated the work and success of
Minister of State Joseph Harmon poses with the winners of the International Innovations Awards (IIA)
the Conference and that we have contributed to CAPAM’s objective to improve public administration and management,” Minister Harmon said.
CAPAM was held from October 22-24 at the Guyana Marriott under the theme “Transforming the Public Sector for Climate Governance”. Margaret Saner, former chair of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) and Chair of the IIA Assessment Panel introduced the Awards, noting that, “many of the finalists’ innovations speak to the resilience, determination and leadership of those involved, and often understate the challenges and obstacles faced. These people have demonstrated vision, ingenuity and sensitivity to citizens and colleagues’ needs.” She continued, saying that “some innovations were strongly community-based, while others focused on equipping the public service to better serve citizens or to enhance economic or social potential. They exemplify what is best about the public service and show what is possible even in the face of long-standing, deep-rooted problems.” The winners of the IIA were Unnayan Banka for reinventing education using technology, India, in the category of innovation incubation; Helping Elderly Singaporeans Plan for Retirement in a Digital World, Singapore for innovative policies, programmes, services, and access to services that are outward-facing and client-based in the category of citizen-focused innovation; Unified Agriculture Markets, India, for recognises innovations that are largely internal/inward-facing to government and consist of functional or whole-of-system policies or business processes in the category of innovation in Public Service Management; and InNEAvation (NEA´s Innovation DNA), Singapore in the category of innovation DNA.
The awards ceremony reached its conclusion when Minister Harmon presented the overall gold medal to unified agriculture markets, India. CAPAM enables public service professionals to effectively solve challenges and pursue interests by exchanging knowledge, networking, and engaging in shared learning about leading practices.
