Awards for local government
2007-09-06
THE Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust has officially launched its 2007/2008 award cycle. More than 5000 application forms have been sent to local authorities and NGO’s.
Measuring and identifying public sector innovation is no easy task, even for an organisation that has been doing so since 1999. The task is massive; some would even say it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Impumelelo intends to identify, reward and promote good governance and exceptional service delivery projects that address challenges such as housing, agriculture, education, health and HIV/ AIDS, the environment, water and sanitation, infrastructure and justice and security.
In order to do so Impumelelo regularly gets to those who frequently remain faceless and nameless in both the public sector and in civil society.
“We are looking for the public and social entrepreneurs who are the backbone of exemplary programmes, who have managed to break through fiscal and structural delivery constraints such as bureaucracy and red tape – then it’s up to them to show us how”, says Executive Director Rhoda Kadalie.
“There can be no more important task than preserving our democracy by showing an already cynical South African citizenry that even with all the bad news that we read daily, there are still government agencies, departments, municipalities and people that implement best practice and do well in delivering social services.”
Aside from the financial benefits of being an award winner, projects that win Impumelelo Innovation Awards are also frequently internationally recognised by global agencies like the UN, Habitat For Humanity and the Dubai Awards.
Kadalie is quick to point out that Impumelelo is no longer merely an awards programme, “it is the work that is done as a follow-up to the awards, that really sets Impumelelo apart from any other award programmes in South Africa, its status as an NGO and its complete independence of government. This is definitely not government rewarding government”.
Previous Impumelelo award winners are invited to train other public managers tasked with similar duties.
Based on a model started some 20 years ago at Harvard University as a partnership between the Kennedy School of Government and the Ford Foundation, Impumelelo is one of ten award programmes around the world that search for public sector innovation with the aim of having these projects replicated.
NGOs and civil society organisations are also encouraged to apply since they too have innovative projects, which if mainstreamed by government could provide creative solutions to some of South Africa’s challenges.
For application forms contact 021-461-3783 or info@impumelelo.org.za. The application form can also be electronically accessed on www. impumelelo.org.za.
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