Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Caribbean Development Trends

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agribusiness
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Barbados
    • BehaviorChange
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • biodiversity
    • Blockchain
    • Caribbean
    • Caribbean Culture and Media
    • Climate Change
    • Creative Economy
    • Crime Prevention and Citizen Security
    • Data and Knowledge
    • De-risking
    • Dominica
    • Dutch
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Economic Growth
    • Education Policy
    • energy
    • entrepreneurship
    • Environmental and Climate Change
    • Events
    • Extractives
    • Finance
    • Fiscal Rules
    • gender
    • Governance and Regulatory Policy Reforms
    • Grenada
    • Guyana
    • Haiti
    • Health
    • Health Policy
    • Hurricane
    • Hurricane Irma
    • infrastructure
    • Innovation and change
    • Intellectual Property
    • IWD
    • Jamaica
    • JumpCaribbean
    • Labor
    • Labour Markets
    • MOOC
    • Music
    • Natural Disasters
    • Nurturing Institutions
    • OECS
    • Podcast
    • Poverty
    • Private Sector and Entrepreneurship
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • Saint Lucia
    • Saint Vincent and Grenadines
    • skills
    • Sports for Development
    • Suriname
    • Technology
    • The Bahamas
    • The Blue Economy
    • Transportation
    • Tourism
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Uncategorized
    • VAWG
    • Webinar
    • women
    • Women for Change
    • youth
  • Country Offices
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Press Releases
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Authors

Recognizing service in the public service

September 25, 2019 by Denesh Baboolal Leave a Comment


When we think about public services in Trinidad and Tobago, long waiting lines, poor customer service, understaffed offices and outdated technologies may come to mind. However, no one can argue that the public service isn’t vital to supporting a country’s economy, preserving the well being of its citizens (especially the most vulnerable) and maintaining order. Indeed, we often take for granted that the public service is made up of people like you and me who are passionate about what they do and are eager to help make their country better. We should then ask ourselves: Is the public sector capable of being innovative and offering cutting-edge solutions for modern-day problems? If so, how do we identify these capabilities and continue to support and encourage their development?

This year, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is once again teaming up with the Office of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to confer the President’s Award for Service Excellence and Innovation in the Public Sector. In December 2018, as part of its “Unfollow: Same never made a difference” campaign, the IDB collaborated with the Office of the President to host the inaugural award. The award was open to applicants from ministries, public service departments/divisions, state-owned companies, statutory bodies and state agencies. Rocío Medina-Bolívar, Country Representative for the IDB Group in Trinidad and Tobago explained the impetus for the award: “It is of utmost importance that we recognize the strides taken to revolutionize the public service in response to the ever-changing national, regional and international landscapes. Innovation and evolution in the public sector are key to addressing the challenges faced today and those yet to come.”

This year the competition and final awards ceremony scheduled for December 3rd, 2019 promise to be bigger and better as the IDB and Government are working together to encourage more applications from across the public sector. As Ian Ho-A-Shu, Senior Health Specialist pointed out, there will be a number of new features in this year’s competition. First, there will now be two (2) separate awards recognizing Service Excellence and Innovation. The introduction of a “People’s Choice” award where the audience will be given the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalists on the night is also a welcome addition.

In 2018, the award competition ran for 8 weeks after which 7 finalists were shortlisted by a panel of judges chaired by President Paula Mae Weekes. On the day of the award ceremony—professionals from several ministries and Government agencies gathered to view video features on the finalists and to join President Weekes in naming the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development as the winner of this inaugural honor. A full-length video feature was produced on the Awards process which was shown on national television (see link here) and a full-page advertisement highlighting the winner was published in the local newspapers.

Based on feedback, the celebration of the shortlisted projects and final award ceremony was a resounding success. There was extensive press coverage in all major newspapers, across local television stations and on social media. The winners gave numerous interviews about their experience and proudly displayed their trophies. This process built excitement among local agencies that committed to participating in the next award cycle. Furthermore, the President immediately indicated her interest in continuing as patron of the Awards. So, what was the secret to the success of the Award program? Carina Cockburn, Chief of Operations, IDB Trinidad and Tobago told us what set the program apart:

1) A year’s worth of bragging rights which can be more meaningful than financial recognition. The emphasis of the reward should not be monetary but should instead highlight the winners and their work in a positive manner. We did this by using videos, public ads, press releases and an award ceremony.
2) Endorsement of the award at the highest level. It goes without saying that people enjoy recognition, especially for a job well done, and even more so when that recognition comes from the Head of State.
3) Appointment of a prestigious judging panel. The judges recruited are well respected, independent, notable experts in their respective fields and were regarded as objective and of high moral caliber.
4) An honest broker (IDB) to facilitate the award process. This was significant as it signaled that the highest international standards would be applied in adjudicating the awards and that the evaluation would be based on best practices.
5) Creating an environment for participants to tell their own stories. Provide space for participants to speak directly with the judging panel and by extension the public about their work, its impact and importance for citizens.

The Inter-American Development Bank and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago are working together to highlight and encourage innovation in the public service. How does your country highlight public sector innovation and what are some examples of innovation that are alive in your public sectors? Please join our discussion to help the Caribbean in highlighting and promoting innovation in our public sectors.

Lead Photo: President Paula-Mae Weekes presents Permanent Secretary Mrs. Simone Thorne-Mora Quinones and her team from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development with the 1st place prize at the 2018 awards ceremony.


Filed Under: Innovation & Change, Labour & Learning

Denesh Baboolal

Denesh Baboolal is a development professional currently employed as a consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank in Trinidad and Tobago. He has worked with the operations team in the country office, as well as with the Gender and Diversity Division to co-coordinate the Regional Policy Meeting on Masculinity held on April 2019 in Jamaica. He holds a bachelor’s in Economics (Special) from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus and has submitted his Msc thesis calculating the effect that violence against women has on their decision to participate in the labour force in Trinidad and Tobago.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Caribbean Dev Trends

We provide unique and timely insights on the Caribbean and its political, social, and economic development. At the IDB, we strive to improve lives in the Caribbean by creating vibrant and resilient economies where people are safe, productive and happy.

Similar posts

  • Pr.A.I.S.E. for raising the bar in the Trinidad & Tobago public sector
  • Pr.A.I.S.E for the Public Sector Shines in Trinidad and Tobago
  • Stories of Change from Trinidad and Tobago’s Public Sector
  • Better Governments for Better Lives: A Road Map for Enhancing Civil Service Management in Six Caribbean Countries
  • Unlocking Human Imagination: Who Drives Innovation?

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT