Launch of e-Government National Awards 2005

The e-Government National Awards 2005 are launched today, inviting nominations to be made, and will highlight the best services improving citizens and business transaction with councils, central government departments and other public sector organisations.



The e-Government National Awards 2005 are supported by the Cabinet Office e-Government Unit, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Society of Information Technology Management. The Awards are organised by e-Government news service PublicTechnology.net, the Awardsí platinum sponsor is KPMG and also a sponsor is Jobsgopublic.

The mission of good e-Government is to ensure that IT supports the business transformation of Government so that we can provide better, more efficient, public services. e-Government is a key tool in modernisation for central departments and local councils - and will impact on the lives of all UK citizens. These Awards highlight good practice which the whole public sector can identify with and learn from, thereby adding value to their own services and strategies.

Cabinet Office Minister Jim Murphy and Ian Watmore, Government CIO and Head of e-Government will both be involved in the awards, which will be presented 25th January 2006 at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Murphy says:

e-Government is one of the most important ways the Government can deliver public services reform. We are committed to developing Government IT systems and services that make real and tangible improvements to the lives of British people and businesses. The e-Government National Awards are our way to recognise the best attempts to deliver on this commitment.

Watmore says:

The Cabinet Office e-Government Unit is proud to support the e-Government National Awards 2005 .

For many government organisations, technology has fundamentally changed their relationship with citizens and businesses. Beyond simple putting services online this is the future of technology in Government ñ using IT to enable a wider transformation of the way Government works.

As the Head of the Government IT Profession I want to promote a greater sense of community amongst us all ñ we can begin building that if we start to share in each other successes and more importantly share knowledge and information. There are many innovative services being provided across the public sector which very often donít get the publicity and reward that they deserve. I hope that these awards can play a part in addressing that and I encourage your participation, says Watmore.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is urging senior figures at Local Authorities to make nominations for the e-Government National Awards 2005, in order to highlight their best practice in:

1) Efficiency - using electronic service delivery to improve the citizen experience of liaising with local government.

2) Take-up - delivering a high take up of an e-enabled service through effective service delivery and marketing.

3) Leadership - electronic joined up public services providing strong local solutions for local circumstances.

Christopher Histed, founder of the e-Government National Awards and CEO of PublicTechnology.net says: The e-Government National Awards are the UKís highest level commendation for the best e-Government services, ones which through innovative online delivery or IT implementation have positively improved the lives of individuals, local communities, business and stakeholder groups. PublicTechnology.net is the leading online news service for those in the e-Government & public sector IT profession.

We expect the Awards to be a yardstick for UK excellence in innovative government services, including those enabling local communities to transact with their councils, national online government services for citizens or businesses, specific services for vertical industry sectors, and government services delivered online through intermediaries and the voluntary sector, says Histed.

Nominations are invited, online, from those involved in e-Government services, public sector IT, Councils, central government departments, the voluntary sector and other public bodies: To make a nomination go to:

Entry to the Awards is free. The closing date for the e-Government National Awards 2005 will be at the second week of October 2005.