Time to Catch Up with Past Winners of the Awards

For two decades, the United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) has celebrated excellence in public service at the local, regional and national levels.

UNPSA was first introduced in 2003 to promote and support innovations in public service when the UN General Assembly designated 23 June as Public Service Day.

UNPSA has since then recognized more than 500 initiatives worldwide, showcasing the vital role of public service innovation in promoting sustainable development and inclusivity.

In celebrating UNPSA’s 20th Anniversary, we re-connected with past winners to find out how winning the UNPSA has impacted their initiatives. Various winning projects from ten different countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Kenya, Panama Portugal, Republic of Korea and Ukraine) told us how the Awards encouraged further innovation and eventually progress towards achieving the SDGs.

A beneficial spotlight

UNPSA is a well-recognized and prestigious international prize that rewards excellence in public service. It sheds spotlight on the winning initiatives which gain much visibility in the process.

“The projects gained national repercussions and several municipalities sought out the work teams to find out about the initiatives and replicate them”, said Jaboatão dos Guararapes in Brazil, which won two Awards - one in 2019 with a local waste collection programme, and one in 2020 with a special education initiative.

Other initiatives were scaled up after winning the UNPSA.

A local city bus service in India (MoBus) won a UNPSA in 2022 and managed to become “a model of urban development in the region”.

Victorian Rabbit Action Network in Australia won an Award in 2019. Its managers said that the “heightened exposure, recognition, and credibility resulting from the Award empowered [the initiative] and those involved to shape invasive species management and biosecurity policies beyond just rabbits. As a result of the Award, the programme has secured additional government investment, expanding its scope and impact.”

Public Sanitary Pads Support Policy, winner of the 2019 UNPSA for gender-responsive public service in the Republic of Korea also saw an activity spike after the Awards: “The number of participating organizations has grown significantly from 11 to 300. Seoul's public sanitary pad support project has also inspired other regional municipalities. As a result, over 50 regional governments in Korea have initiated support projects for women's menstrual health.”

A boost for staff morale

Many recipients of the Awards mentioned that the prize had a direct and positive impact on the staff morale and motivation.
“Receiving the Award brought a lot of pride to the staff who contributed to the implementation of the initiative”, said the team behind the Pay Equity Act in Canada, 2022 UNPSA Winner. It has been “a vector of motivation for all the staff of our organization”.

Jaboatão dos Guararapes in Brazil also said that “winning the UNPSA generated pride and motivation for all public servants.”

Portugal's Automated Social Energy Tariff initiative, winner of the 2020 UNPSA for delivering inclusive and equitable services for all, noted that the Awards “bolstered the morale of our teammates, lending credibility to their ideas and fostering an environment where calculated risks are embraced, and novel solutions are celebrated.”

A catalyst for innovation

Innovation is a key component of the UNPSA as it seeks to reward innovative public service delivery. The Awards ignites and encourages further innovation for many of the recipients.

“Winning the UNPSA helped foster interest in creating a culture of innovation in the organization. The Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund approved the "Institutional Policy for Research and Innovation" in the organization and expanded an economic fund for the development of projects” said the team in charge of the Unique Digital Health Record, a Costa Rica based initiative who received an Award in 2019.

COMPAZ, a Brazil-based network focused on violence prevention, social inclusion, and community strengthening, felt encouraged to innovate further following winning the Award in 2022. "Winning in the category of improving public service effectiveness to achieve the SDGs positioned COMPAZ as a reference and enabled the expansion of our network of support and collaborations. We further developed ongoing agendas, action guidelines and interventions, seeking innovation in early childhood, drug use and abuse prevention policies, and the creation of safe and sustainable urban spaces,” COMPAZ representatives noted.

More progress towards the SDGs

Ultimately, helping initiatives that work on advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development brings more progress towards the SDGs, as many initiatives attested.

A regional COVID-19 Vaccination Information System in Panama (Panavac19), 2022 UNPSA winner, reported that the Award had a positive impact on the vaccination registration process for adults and children, on access to vaccines and also improved people’s access to their medical information.

In Kenya, two sanitation-related initiatives won UNPSA in 2019 and 2021, which allowed to increase overall funding and sanitation access in low-income areas.

ProzorroSale,2022 UNPSA winner, a Ukrainian platform to manage public assets in a transparent and efficient manner, is helping Ukraine’s economic resilience. “The platform has helped to raise millions of euros in revenue for the Ukrainian government and municipalities, which can be used to help rebuild infrastructure and support sustainable development initiatives. Additionally, the platform continues to increase transparency and reduce corruption in the assets management”, ProzorroSale noted.

The 20th anniversary of UNPSA in 2023 arrives at the half-way point towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Embracing innovative solutions to boost SDGs progress is more crucial than ever. The UN Public Service Awards serves as a shining example of the dedication of public institutions to the SDGs, and we must strive to build upon its success to pave the way for a better future for all.

The 2024 UN Public Service Awards are currently open for applications with a deadline of 16 October 2023. More information at here.