Innovation is at the heart of so much that we are delivering for the Government. It drives productivity and value for money, it is essential for improving policy and service delivery and is vital to build a more flexible and responsive civil service.
Creating a culture where innovation and entrepreneurship is rewarded is important.
This year, Civil Service Live is for the first time going to recognise those civil servants who have shown leadership in innovation.
Enter your project
The challenge is simple: “Has your team harnessed a technological or digital innovation which has significantly improved public service?”
Judges will also be looking for evidence of:
- collaborative working, both within the Civil Service and outside
- significantly greater impact than could have been achieved otherwise
- evidence of how knowledge from different sources has been used.
The prize is exceptional - a trip for at least two people in a team - to the NASA Science Park in California to take part in Singularity University’s Executive Programme. In addition, a number of visits will be arranged to meet with a range of innovative companies on the West Coast. This will be a unique learning and development opportunity for the winning team. On returning, the winners will be invited to demonstrate how insights they have gained from the Executive Programme could allow the entire civil service to be more effective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-aQKRw6XF4
Applications close on 14th August. The application form is here. People can nominate their own team, or be nominated by a colleague.
Teams of four that make it to the semi-final stages will be invited to Civil Service Live to pitch their projects to a panel of senior leaders, outside experts and an audience of delegates. The finalists will go head to head on 6th October 2015 at Civil Service Live London, in front of an audience of 300. All semi finalists will win a space at presentation boot camp to develop their pitch.
I’m delighted to be associated with this and would welcome support from my colleagues across Government in helping to spread the word and ensuring that we have as many of our people applying as possible.