IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) was contracted by the European Commission to manage the eEurope Awards. Two award ceremonies will take place in 2003, the first on eHealth and the second on eGovernment. Each award competition consists of a call for ICT applications in public services, to be demonstrated at a high-level European conference on the successful use of ICT in public service provision. Erkki Liikanen, Commissioner for the Information Society, announced the launch of the “eEurope Awards for Innovation in eGovernment” back in November 2001 at the Ministerial eGovernment Conference entitled “From Policy to Practice”, jointly organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

The eEurope Awards are based on the experience of the eGovernment label awarded at the 2001 Ministerial Conference to 60 administrations in the EU, the Candidate Countries, the EEA countries and other third countries such as Brazil. Heads of state and government agreed in Lisbon in Spring 2000 on eEurope’s ambitious goal to make Europe the most competitive knowledge-based society in the world by 2010. The eEurope Awards embody the spirit of eEurope by promoting the exchange of best practices among EU Member States and Candidate Countries in the field of eGovernment and in other priority areas covered by the eEurope Action Plans 2005, such as eHealth and eLearning.

In early 2002 the Commissioner gave the green light to the first two Award ceremonies in 2003. EIPA has been entrusted with running the eEurope Awards competition for the European Commission until 2005. EIPA will be an independent base for the project management secretariat for the eEurope Awards for Innovation in eGovernment (PMS) and will contribute to research and the dissemination of results related to the eEurope Awards. Thus, pursuing its mission to contribute to the European integration process by supporting public administrations throughout the European Union, EIPA will serve as the hub for a network of experts dedicated to excellence in government and public administration in an enlarged Europe.

Award Themes in 2003: eHealth and eGovernment

For the coming year, Mr Liikanen has announced two Awards. The first Europe Awards for eHealth will be presented within the framework of the Ministerial Conference “eHealth 2003: ICT for Health” – scheduled for 22-23 May 2003 in Brussels, which will be jointly organised by the Greek Presidency and the European Commission. The second eEurope Awards ceremony will take place at the follow-up Ministerial Conference to the 2001 eGovernment Conference – “From Policy to Practice”, which will be jointly organised by the Italian Presidency and the European Commission, on 7-8 July 2003 in Como (Italy).

Objectives

The overall goal of the project is to launch and organise the eEurope Awards for Innovation in eGovernment for the years 2003 to 2005, making them a driving force in the identification and promotion of excellence and creativity in the public sector within an enlarged European Union. The Awards scheme will be closely related to the eEurope initiative. The project is funded by the European Commission (under the IST programme).

Through 4 Awards, the project aims to highlight, disseminate and promote the efforts made by local, regional and pan-European administrations in using ICT to improve the quality and accessibility of their public services and to support the mutual recognition and adoption of best practices. By offering recognition, the Awards will show that governments can improve the quality of life for citizens and increase public trust in governments.

Method

EIPA will provide the neutral platform for the organisation and smooth running of the Awards scheme. The Awards will cover government departments at all levels – local, regional and pan-European – within the EU Members States and the Candidate Countries, the EEA countries and Switzerland. Each year specific policy areas will be determined as Award themes which will be related to the priorities set out in the eEurope Action Plan, such as general eGovernment services, eHealth, and eLearning. A Jury (Committee of Evaluators), i.e. eminent independent figures in the relevant subject areas, will evaluate and rank the projects according to detailed specified criteria. EIPA will support and manage the selection process and present the conclusion on the selection of the Award winners to the European Commission. A special eEurope Awards Website has been set up to disseminate information on the launch of the Awards, the requirements for participation, the results of the evaluation and selected best practices. In addition, EIPA will produce a state-of-the-art research report on each Award theme, which will be presented at the conferences. EIPA will also deliver a final report on the results of the Awards and compile the catalogue of exhibitors selected for each conference.

Dates and Deadline for the eHealth and eGovernment Awards:

eHealth Awards

(extended) Call closes on 20/02/2003 (24:00 hrs)

Exhibition to take place on 22-23 May 2003, Brussels, Belgium

Award Ceremony to take place in the presence of Commissioner Liikanen on 22 May 2003

eGovernment Awards