News flashes
Minister MR Baloyi opens Multi-media Innovation Centre at the CPSI
The honourable Minister for Public Service and Administration, Minister Richard Masenyani Baloyi officially opened the first ever public sector multi-media Innovation Centre at the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) on 4 June 2010.
In an endevour to have a formal testing and piloting platform, the CPSI has established a Multi-media Innovation Centre to demonstrate and act as a platform for innovative solutions for the public sector in South Africa to create a better South Africa, a better Africa and a better World. Innovation is increasingly regarded as the key driver to a nation's competitiveness, job growth, prosperity and problem solving in a knowledge-based economy.
Our multi-media Innovation and Incubation Centre is the first of its kind in the South African public sector and on the entire African continent, it will demonstrate, showcase and, eventually mainstream innovations within the workings of the public sector.
The purpose of the Innovation Centre is two fold:
• To provide a learning platform for the public sector on innovation implementation, in support of government’s efforts to entrench the culture and practice of innovation.
This will be achieved through various repositories of innovation experiences, innovation projects and innovators embodying and demonstrating practically the concept of innovation and all its ramifications.
• 
To provide space and a platform for public servants, away from their offices, to interrogate their specific challenges and explore and incubate solutions in a multi-stakeholder environment.
This will be achieved through an incubation solution centre, allowing both public and private sectors to conceptualise, incubate, develop and pilot public service solutions to identified challenges.
The multi-media Innovation centre is a platform where different stakeholders (public sector, private sector, different sector expects and academia) explore and find innovative solutions to improve public services delivery.
For more information or to schedule a visit, contact the CPSI at 086 000 CPSI (2774)
Issued by Centre for Public Service Innovation
Media Release: Launch of the 2010 All Africa Public Sector Innovation Awards
The All Africa Public Sector Innovation Awards (AAPSIA) is one of the thematic areas within a broad programme of the 6th Conference of African Ministers of Public/Civil Service chaired by Kenya. The Conference of African Ministers of Public/Civil Service is a programme of the African Union.
The Awards recognise successful and effective service delivery projects and initiatives that have been achieved through the application of innovative approaches, methodologies and tools. The first All Africa Public Sector Innovation Awards Ceremony was held in October 2008 within the 6th Conference of African Ministers of Public/ Civil Service. The second biennial Awards ceremony will be held within the 7th Conference of African Ministers of Public/Civil Service, planned for November 2010.
The purpose of the Awards is to:
- Promote and encourage innovative practices in the public sector for improved service delivery
- Promote regional and cross-sector collaboration towards promoting good governance on the continent
- Create a platform for information sharing, lesson learning, partnerships and possible replication of successful initiatives across the African continent
- To coordinate and celebrate Africa's contribution to the global repository of innovative practices.
The theme for the 2010 AAPSIA "Promoting Good Governance through Innovative Service Delivery" is informed by the need for innovative continent-born responses to governance challenges.
Entries for the Awards are invited in the following categories.
- Innovative Service delivery Improvements
- Innovative Partnerships between Government, Private Sector and Civil Service Organizations
- Innovations in the Systems and Processes of Governance
The closing date for entries is 31 July 2010.
The Chairperson of the 6th Conference of African Ministers of Public/Civil Service, Honourable Dalmas Otieno, Minister of State for Public Service of the Republic of Kenya has appointed the Republic of South Africa, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Ghana as Champion and Co-champions respectively.
As the Champion for AAPSIA, the South African Minister for Public Service and Administration Mr. Masenyani Richard Baloyi officially called for entries to the 2010 All Africa Public Sector Innovation Awards at the Meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Public Service on 22 February 2010.
Contact usFor further details, please visit www.cpsi.co.za or contact your country's Ministry of Public/Civil Service.
Also contact Lydia Phalwane on +27 82 9098824, Thulani Ngubane on +27 76 983 9840 or aapsia@cpsi.gov.za
Related materialMartin Bruber Awards 2009
Since 2002 the Martin Bruber Plaquette is annually awarded to nominee's who have contributed through interaction and dialogue to the improvement of circumstances in world politics, socio-cultural circumstances, poverty alleviation, improvment of health service delivery and/or any important field focused on the millennium development goals
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Submitted by CPSI Communications Unit: 22 January 2010
CIDA City Campus Scoops the Prestigious 2009 Public Sector Innovator of the Year Award
The Centre for Public Service Innovation is proud to announce the 2009 Public Sector Innovator of the Year. The CIDA City Campus was conferred with this prestigious award at the Awards Ceremony held on the 6th November 2009 at Indaba Hotel. The CPSI congratulates CIDA for the outstanding work it does in the academic space. CIDA is South Africa's first and probably the world's first higher education institution to be founded through such an innovative model.
The CPSI annually recognise successful and effective service delivery projects and initiatives that have been achieved through the application of innovative approaches, methodologies and tools. The awards provide opportunities for information sharing and learning as well as possibilities for partnerships and the replication of successful initiatives throughout the country. This year, the CPSI recognised twelve projects in 4 categories.
About CIDA's innovative approach to tertiary education:
The CIDA City Campus was established to provide higher education that is designed to encourage human, economic and social development. The institution is involved in a skills development programme that is aimed at socio-economic development and sustainable community development.
Their innovation comes from the fact that CIDA serves the developmental agenda of the country by offering marginalised students from historically disadvantaged townships and rural backgrounds an opportunity to get fully accredited university education. Registration and tuition is virtually free, with students paying R350 upon registration and then R150 monthly until the completion of their studies. This is possible due to the generosity of sponsors. As part of their training students also learn the highest human values thus experiencing, in a practical way, the importance of putting back something of value into their communities. No other tertiary institution in South Africa offers this.
For more information on CIDA contact:
Mr Wiseman Jack
Tel: 011 834 8825
Cell: 083 353 1316
Email: wjack@cida.co.za
Other winners at the awards ceremony were:
| Category 1: Innovative partnerships in service delivery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Department of Agriculture, Eastern Cape | Commercialisation of Beekeeping |
| First runner up | Department of Correctional Services: Free State | School Desk Refurbishment Project |
| Second runner up | Department of Correctional Services: Western Cape | Project Mbombela |
| Category 2: Innovative use of ICTs for effective service delivery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Department of Education, Free State | EMIS On-line |
| First runner up | Department of Local Government & Housing: Limpopo | Housing Consumer Call Centre |
| Second runner up | Future Vision: Free State | Street Children Database |
| Category 3: Innovative service delivery institutions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winner | CIDA City Campus | CIDA City Campus |
| First runner up | City of Tshwane | Waverley Library |
| Second runner up | Department of Education: Limpopo | Toronto Primary School Perma-culture Project |
| Category 4: Innovative Enhancements on Internal Systems within Government | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gauteng | Electronic Contracts Register |
| First runner up | City of Tshwane | SAP-OITPS Project |
| Second runner up | Department of Roads & Transport: Eastern Cape | DORT Service Delivery Excellence |
| Public Sector Innovator of the Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winner | CIDA City Campus | CIDA City Campus |
| First runner up | Department of Agriculture, Eastern Cape | Commercialisation of Beekeeping Project |
| Second runner up | Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, Gauteng | Electronic Contract Register Project |
Issued by CPSI Communications Unit: 26 November 2009
Pietermaritzburg Road Traffic Inspectorate: a finalist in the AAPAM Awards
The CPSI congratulates the Road Traffic Inspectorate of Pietermaritzburg, a second prize winner at the 2008 CPSI Innovation Awards for the accolade they recently received by being recognised by the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM).
The Leaner Bus Project was selected as one of the five finalists for the AAPAM Award for Innovative Management. This award is jointly sponsored by AAPAM and the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. The Leaner Bus project was short-listed from 57 entries received in 2009.
The selection process for the winner commenced with an interview process held from the 21st to the 25th September 2009, as part of the AAPAM roundtable conference held at the KIA resort in Nairobi, Kenya.
The top five projects in this category were:
| Name of entrant | Submitted by | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Judicial Sector Reform Programme | The Judicial service of Ghana | Ghana |
| Online entry Visa | National Security service, Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration | Rwanda |
| Learner Bus | Road Traffic Inspectorate Pietermaritzburg | South Africa |
| The Chain Linked Initiative | Justice Law & Order Sector, Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs | Uganda |
| Establishment of a mobile court systems | Namwala and Itezhi Tezhi Subordinate Local courts Judiciary | Zambia |
This prestigious award was conferred on the 23rd September 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya.
We are proud that the Leaner Bus Project was awarded the 4th prize in this category and we celebrate this achievement which has profiled South Africa globally!
Submitted by CPSI Communications Unit
CPSI scoops a special UN award
The United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) honors the Center for Public Service Innovation (CPSI), for Excellence for Knowledge Management in the Africa Region. The CPSI is one of the eight UNPAN partners in Africa, responsible for the SADC region.
The Special Award for UNPAN Member Excellence for Knowledge Management, was established by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) through the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM). This special award will be presented at this year's United Nations Public Service Day Ceremony, which will take place on 23 June 2009 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The criteria for the recognition were as follows:
- Sharing relevant news, documents, events, resources, and contact information in the area of public administration on regular basis.
- Recognizing intellectual assets throughout intra-organizational and inter-organizational levels. Specific indicators include but are not limited to senior management support of knowledge sharing, learning and other desired knowledge management behaviour, as well as promoting knowledge sharing through the UNPAN portal on a day-to-day basis.
- Participating and contributing useful content in UNPAN workshops and other online and offline tools.
- Overall performance on knowledge management.
- Number of documents, news, events, resources and announcements contributed
- Number of documents in the "Top 200 downloads" as per the UNPAN Progress Reports
Activities of UNPAN Member were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively based on the criteria listed above. The number of submissions by each Member to the UNPAN databases were verified for quantitative analysis, while feedback from UNPAN users on UNPAN Members' contributions were taken into consideration for qualitative analysis. In addition, staff members that work closely with UNPAN Members were interviewed in order to complete the qualitative analysis.
After careful consideration and consultation with the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), three UNPAN Members were selected to receive the 2009 Special Award for UNPAN Member Excellence for Knowledge Management. These members are as follows:
- Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) from the African region
- Institute of Public Administration in Central America (ICAP) from the Latin American region
- Regional Cooperation Office for City Informatization (RCOCI) from the Asia-Pacific region
For more on formation on UNPAN and CPSI visit www.unpan.org or www.cpsi.co.za
For more information contact, Lydia Phalwane at 012 672 2900 or 082 909 8824 You can also email her at Lydia.phalwane@cpsi.co.za
Submitted by CPSI Communications Unit
Titans of the ICT industry embraces Public Sector Innovation
The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) hosted its Annual Public Sector Innovation Awards Call for Entries ceremony in Gauteng Province at Indaba Hotel on the 16th April 2009. The event was attended by more than 50 representatives from private and public sectors.
As part of CPSI's mandate to entrench the culture of innovation in the Public Sector, the CPSI invited two of its 2008 Awards Finalists to share their experiences at the launch ceremony. This exposure also served as a platform to forge beneficial partnerships with relevant stakeholders. The two innovative presentations were made by Pulamadibugo Primary school on Permaculture from Limpopo and the Department of Education from North West province on the " Schools as Centers of Care and Support" .
All credit for the success of this event goes to Mr Chose Choeu of Microsoft, the chairperson of the 2008 CPSI awards adjudication panel, who made it possible for the CPSI to invite key role players in the ICT industry and heads of different business formations. We had in our midst, Professor Alwyn Louw, President of the South African Chamber of Business and Industry, Mr Adam Rabie, President of Information Technology Association, Mr Mthunzi Mdwaba, President of the Black IT Forum and Mr Doug Franke, President of the American Chamber of Commerce, lastly the CPSI's Technical partner, GTZ represented by Mr Aziz Jardine.
It was heart-warming to have the industry pledge to support and embrace public service innovation as a vehicle to tackle poverty and service delivery challenges. It is also a known fact that CPSI alone cannot drive public service innovation without support from the industry and all relevant stakeholders. This brings the CPSI closer to its vision of taking innovation beyond recognition, by encouraging the replication of these innovations across the public sector.
The key note address was delivered by Dr Mark Orkin, the Director-General of Public Administration, Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA), formerly known as SAMDI; who spoke on behalf of the Minister for Public Service and Administration, Mr Richard Masenyani Baloyi, who could not attend because other critical engagements. In his address, he applauded the partnerships that the CPSI is forging with the ICT and business industry.
The CEO of the Centre for Public Service Innovation, Ms Thuli Radebe, thanked everyone for the support and interest they have shown in support of the CPSI's work. With special thanks to the industry heads who have committed to partner with the CPSI in driving public service delivery innovation on both ICT and none ICT endeavors.
The call for entries is now officially opened with a closing date set for the 25 September 2009, entry details can be found on www.cpsi.co.za. For more information contact Thulani at Thulani.Ngubane@cpsi.co.za .
Issued by the CPSI Communication Unit
Speaking Books wins silver at CAPAM Awards, 2008
The 2008 Silver Commonwealth Public Innovation Award was presented to Ms Zane Wilson, Founder of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) and Ms Thuli Radebe, Executive Director of the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI).