89 finalists announced in the e-Government National Awards 2006

Finalists include a great diversity and spread of excellence in e-Government and public sector IT right across the UK - Councils, central government departments, non-departmental public bodies and voluntary organisations are all represented in this 'best of the best'. Organisations and services among the finalists include Birmingham City Council, Department for Education and Skills, the Highways Agency, Environment Agency, the NHS, Shelter, and many more across the UK.

The annual e-Government National Awards (whose Platinum Sponsor is KPMG) have become the UK's highest level commendation for the best e-Government services - services which, through innovative online delivery or IT implementation, have positively transformed the lives of citizens, local communities, business and stakeholder groups.

This year's finalists have been chosen from among the record 345 nominations that were submitted by senior professionals working across the public sector. The winners will be announced and presented with their e-Government National Awards on 17th January 2007 at a black-tie dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Pat McFadden, Cabinet Office Minister with responsibility for Transformational Government (pictured, left) says:
"Using technology in reforming our public services to fit around the needs of the citizen is essential. But it is not just central government which has a role to play here, organisations across the public sector all need to provide the best possible service to their users – whether individuals, businesses or whole communities. We support these Awards and in doing so we support the efforts of all those organisations who are committed to best meeting the needs of their customers.'

John Suffolk, Government Chief Information Officer, says:
"It is essential that together we professionally transform Government in order to provide better, more efficient, public services. The Cabinet Office is supporting the e-Government National Awards in order to recognise and praise services designed around the needs of citizens and businesses that do make tangible improvements to people's lives."

John Oughton, Office of Government Commerce Chief Executive, says: "Good e-Government is essential to creating an efficiency culture across the public sector. Local government leads the way on many efficiency and e-government efforts - so I'm proud to put OGC's name to an award that recognises this excellence."

"The Prime Minister is spot on - good things are happening in the public sector, and we need to turn those good practices into the norm. The e-Government National Awards help us do exactly that."

Keith Bannister, Partner, at KPMG Government Advisory, Platinum Sponsor of the Awards and a lead member of the judging panel comments, "KPMG is once again extremely proud to support the e-Government National Awards. Genuine achievement should always be acknowledged and celebrated - not least because it fosters confidence in the minds of the people and organisations at the forefront of the transformation and delivery of public services."

"This year, we have received more entries than ever before, which demonstrates that public bodies truly are embracing the Government's e-agenda. In particular, we have been struck by the calibre of nominees this year. Once again, the bar has been raised and there is much for us to learn from their collective efforts and achievements."

Christopher Histed, founder of the e-Government National Awards and CEO of PublicTechnology.net says: "The Awards are a yardstick for excellence in innovative government services in the UK, 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".

On the judging panel were central and local government leaders with great experience of delivering strong services for citizens and stakeholders. The panel includes Peter Ryder, head of ICT at Preston Council and President of the Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM, which represents this involved in ICT management in local authorities). Ryder says: 'It was good to see such a breadth and depth of entries from local authorities, reflecting the excellent work that we know to be going on up and down the country.'

Awards judge and sponsor Nigel Dutton of O2 says 'It has been a privilege to judge these awards. It's inspiring to see the public sector seizing the golden opportunity presented by e-government, and by mobile e-government in particular. Being mobile can enable public servants to deliver better outcomes and better fulfil local needs, increasing job satisfaction. There are no losers in these Awards.'

Head of Business Systems at the London Borough of Havering, Ray Whitehouse, another Awards judge, says: "e-government has made major contributions to the way central and local government have transformed the delivery of services to the benefit of everyone who uses them. Myself and Havering were delighted to be asked to contribute to the judging of these awards and see them as a way of recognising and rewarding those who have excelled in the delivery of e-government."

Judge and sponsor, Graham Dupree of SunGard Public Sector says: " "SunGard Public Sector is proud to have this opportunity to acknowledge excellence within the public sector - recognising strengths and rewarding them by way of this award helps to promote best practice across the sector and ultimately assists in providing quality service to the public."

The Awards are supported by the Cabinet Office e-Government Unit, the Office of Government Commerce, the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm), and SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers). Platinum sponsor is KPMG, and also a sponsor are SunGard and O2.

The charitable beneficiary of the e-Government National Awards 2006 is the Charitable Trust of the Information Technologists' Company, the 100th City of London Livery Company, which helps a wide range of not for profit organisations to gain the maximum benefit from their IT, and to benefit the needs of the disadvantaged.

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Finalists in the e-Government National Awards 2006

Category 1) Central e-Government excellence: Citizen-focused online services
• Transport Direct
• Directgov
• DWP e-Services Project (Part of the DWP WATCh2 Programme)
• Department for Education and Skills - The Connexions Direct national website and helpline
• National Archives - The National Archives Global Search
• Environment Agency - Floodline Warnings Direct
• Disclosure Scotland - Scotland's criminal record checking service

Category 2) Central e-Government excellence: Take-up
• The Patent Office - E-Renewals for Patents, Designs and Trademarks
• London Connects nominated for the work on Local Directgov
• Forestry Commission - e-Business For Forestry
• Department of Enterprise, Innovation & Networks, Welsh Assembly Government - sell2wales
• OGCbuying.solutions - eSourcing Managed Service
• Directgov
• The National Archives' digitisation programme

Category 3) Central e-Government excellence: Team Sponsored by SunGard Public Sector
• Department for Communities and Local Government - Local Directgov
• Home Office / Police Information Technology Organisation - IMPACT Programme
• Directgov
• Forestry Commission - e-Business for Forestry
• NHS: The Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) programme team.
• Department for Communities & Local Govt. - DCLG e-Planning & PDG team

Category 4) e-Government excellence: Leadership & Professionalism Sponsored by KPMG
• NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency - eTendering project
• London Borough of Waltham Forest - ICT Strategy and its delivery
• Birmingham City Council - Embedding Business Transformation
• Land Registers of Northern Ireland - Registering high on Leadership
• Highways Agency - HA Lands
• London Borough of Havering - The National e-Service Delivery Standards (NeSDS)
• Forestry Commission - e-Business For Forestry
• Milton Keynes - Information Systems Strategy 2006-2009

Category 5) e-Government excellence: Shared Services Sponsored by O2
• Fife Council - A Public Private Partnership Initiative Applying Video-Route Technology To Refuse Collection And Disposal Operations
• The Warwickshire Direct Partnership - reaping the rewards of a joint CRM system
• Customer Services Team, North East Derbyshire District Council and Chesterfield Borough Council
• 101, Cardiff's Single Non-Emergency Number (A South Wales Police and Cardiff Council Partnership)
• Welsh Assembly Government - The Data Exchange Wales initiative (DEWi)
• Blackpool Council ICT Services for the Blackpool Council Shared Services
• Office of Government Commerce - e-PIMS: Enabling Government to deliver sustainable efficiencies
• Kettering Borough Council - Delivering the Future of Customer Service with Partner Organisations
• Transport for London - HR CMS Human Resources, Contact Management System. (An HR Shared Services Delivery Centre)

Category 6) Local e-Government excellence: Take-up
• Hertfordshire County Council - National e-service, online school admissions
• East Riding of Yorkshire Council - Pensioner Benefit Help Team
• Bassetlaw District Council - Marketing e-Revenues strands, namely DD payment, e billing , e mail changes notification and e benefits
• London Borough of Hillingdon - E-Planning Team Planning and Community Services
• Dundee City Council - Take up of Digital Dundee
• Wakefield Metropolitan District Council - Wakefield District Community Online
• Bedfordshire County Council - Web site presence of Archives (Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service) and Libraries

Category 7) Local e-Government excellence: Team
• Scottish Borders Council - Online Borders
• Slough Borough Council - E-Government Partnership Customer Service Programme
• Kent County Council - Explore Kent website
• West Sussex Accessible Services Partnership
• eAdmissions National Project Team based at Hertfordshire County Council, set up to lead 150 Local authorities to deliver and promote online school admissions
• Fenland District Council E-Government Team
• East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust - Implementation of Community wide Picture Archiving & Radiology Information Systems Across Kent & Medway
• Joint Working between Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Rotherham Primary Care NHS Trust
• West London Alliance - Transforming Together

Category 8 ) Local e-Government excellence: Strategy
• Wakefield MDC - Open All Hours: A strategy to put Wakefield information on the map
• Ufi Ltd - The SW UK online eGovernment Project strategy
• East Lothian Council - National Performance Management Framework Project strategy
• Fife Council - Strategy for a supply teacher messaging system
• Slough Borough Council - E-Government Partnership Customer Service Programme
• Dundee City Council - Digital Dundee – a modernisation strategy to Change for the Future
• Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council - Developing online services and communities
• Milton Keynes Council - Milton Keynes I.S Strategy
• Wyre Borough Council - Transforming Services by putting Customers First

Category 9) Local e-Government excellence: Efficiency
• City of Edinburgh Council - eAuction project for temporary staff in Health and Social Care Homes across the City
• Milton Keynes Council - Integrated e-forms for Citizen Services
• South Gloucestershire Council - Local authority customer and benefit services.
• Essex County Council Libraries RFID Project
• East Riding of Yorkshire Council - East Riding Petuaria Centre project
• London Borough of Havering - The National e-Service Delivery Standards (NeSDS)
• The Warwickshire Direct Partnership - reaping the rewards of a joint CRM system
• eProcurement at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

Category 10) e-Government excellence: Education
• Northern Grid for Learning - demonstration of excellence in eLearning
• Worcestershire County Council - The Virtual Workspace
• North West Learning Grid - DiDA Delivered
• Essex County Council - The Essex Grid For Learning
• Oldham Sixth Form College - The Junior University project
• Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) - Teacher Training Resource Bank
• Police National Legal Database - providing an online web based knowledge tool on Criminal Law and its interpretation.
• The National Archives' Learning Curve website for schools.
• Online Borders - the Scottish Borders Community Grid for Learning
• Local Government Data Unit - Wales - The National Pupil Database (Wales)

Category 11) e-Government excellence: Other public sector body
• Advice online - Shelter's free housing advice website
• Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI)website and the CSCI web team
• visitbritain.com
• The British Library - Turning the Pages online
• The Police National Legal Database
• The Equal Opportunities Commission's main website
• Disability Rights Commission - Online disability rights information and discussion service
• South West UK online eGovernment Project
• Royal Holloway University - The development and implementation of the College Portal, Campus Connect

Related links to this announcement:
e-Government National Awards
KPMG
Cabinet Office e-Government Unit
Office of Government Commerce
Socitm
SOLACE
O2
SunGard
The Information Technologists' Company

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Book you seats and hotel rooms for the e-Government National Awards 2006 - 17th January 2007
The Awards will be presented at a prestigious dinner at the Savoy in London in January 2007 and seats are likely to be sold out by 10th December (based on last year's experience). A small number of Savoy hotel rooms have been reserved at a highly discounted rate. For details of booking seats at the dinner and conference, and heavily discounted Savoy hotel rooms please see this link.