--- CALL CLOSED ---

Call for applications for the 4th European eGovernment Awards
to demonstrate good practices in the European Union Member States,
EFTA and Candidate Countries

- Objectives of the call
- Who can apply?
- Eligibility criteria
- Dates and deadlines to remember
- Awards categories
- Evaluation criteria
- Selection process
- How to apply?
- General requirements
- Important note
- Helpdesk

 

OBJECTIVES OF THE CALL

The European Commission will present the 4th edition of the prestigious European eGovernment Awards at the 5th EU eGovernment Conference in November 2009. Since their launch in 2003, outstanding practices on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in various European public sector organisations have been awarded.

The solutions presented and experiences shared in the previous editions of these awards have inspired many others and contributed to the implementation of European eGovernment strategies and action plans. The European eGovernment Awards are organised every two years, coinciding with regular policy reviews undertaken at high-level EU eGovernment conferences.

The very purpose of these awards is to support the implementation of European eGovernment policy and action plans within the wider framework of Information Society policies and strategies (i2010) and the overall objectives of the Lisbon agenda to promote growth and jobs in the European Union. In this context, the awards play a major role in the European Commission’s good practice exchange initiative in the field of eGovernment.

The forthcoming Swedish Presidency of the EU and the European Commission will jointly organise the 5th European Ministerial Conference on eGovernment in Malmö, Sweden, from 19-20 November 2009.

As in the past four events held since 2001, the conference will bring together European commissioners, ministers and politicians responsible for eGovernment in Europe as well as directors, senior managers and practitioners from public administrations, the ICT industry, academia, and NGOs. They will all look towards the immediate future of European eGovernment policy, programmes and actions. More specifically, the conference will address the role of ICT in the public sector to improve the functioning of the single market, reinforce empowerment of citizens and businesses and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public administrations.

The Exhibition at the conference will showcase good practices from across the EU Member States, EFTA and Candidate Countries to underpin progress made in implementing policy objectives. In all, 52 cases will be selected as Finalists for the European eGovernment Awards 2009 and invited to take part in the exhibition. Their contribution will be vital to the success of the conference, demonstrating achievements at the grass-roots level since the last review in 2007 and pointing to innovations and emerging challenges for which cooperation should be encouraged at the European level.

In addition, the most innovative cases with the closest scores to those of the selected Finalists will receive a Good Practice Label at www.epractice.eu.

WHO CAN APPLY?

All public administrations (national, regional, local, etc.) from EU Member States, EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and Candidate Countries (Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey) that deliver eGovernment services and solutions can apply. Applications must be in current use and supported by a public sector actor. See also eligibility criteria below.

The names of all applicants will be published on epractice.eu once the call is closed.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Only eligible entries will be evaluated. There are five eligibility criteria:

1. The case must be from an EU Member State, a Candidate Country, and/or EFTA Country.
2. The case (including its web site, eServices and solutions presented) must be in operation (i.e. plans, pilots and trials are not eligible).
3. The application must be filed by a public sector actor (i.e. first applicant), but can be supported by external actors (supporting applicants). However, the first applicant must clearly and explicitly be in charge of the application. *
4. The case must be sufficiently described (i.e. required data fields in the submission form must be filled in with meaningful, relevant and convincing information).
5. Information must be provided whether or not the case has been submitted to previous editions of the European eGovernment Awards (2003, 2005 and/or 2007). In the event of re-submission for the European eGovernment Awards, evidence of significant progress since the previous submission has to be provided.

   * Please note that in order to be considered for the short-list of finalists, and therefore to be eligible for the final selection of five Award Winners, a case must be represented by the public sector actor (first applicant) at the Exhibition. A formal commitment is required in the submission form.

DATES AND DEADLINES TO REMEMBER

Call for applications 
April 2009 - Online submission available.
21 April 2009 - Information Day, Brussels (agenda and presentations available)
10 June 2009 - Close of call (16:00 hrs CET)
Mid-August 2009 - Notification of results/invitation of Finalists to Exhibition

5th European Ministerial eGovernment Conference 2009
18 November 2009 - Exhibition set up and final selection of Winners (“Judging” in categories 1-3)
19-20 November 2009 - Conference and Exhibition in Malmö, Sweden
19 November 2009 - Awards ceremony

Post-conference activities
Please note that the workshop with Finalists of the European eGovernment Awards 2009 will take place after the Conference to evaluate the impact of the awards and to provide another opportunity to recognise and share excellence and experiences (date and details will be announced in due course).

AWARDS CATEGORIES

In line with the European Union’s strategic policy framework and the objectives of the Conference, there are four categories for this year’s awards:

CATEGORY 1

• eGovernment supporting the Single Market: The most outstanding practices in cross-border e-services and information sharing which have an impact on mobility for citizens and businesses across the EU will be identified.

CATEGORY 2
Two prizes will be awarded in this category to identify the most outstanding practices in end user empowerment - a key issue taking into account the economic slow-down, and the need of creating opportunities and jobs in a knowledge-based society:

• eGovernment empowering citizens: The focus here is to identify the most outstanding practices on improved and easier access to public services for citizens as the major beneficiaries of eGovernment. ICT solutions for participation and/or engagement and/or involvement of all groups in society are included in this category.
• eGovernment empowering businesses: The focus here is to identify the most outstanding practices on improved and easier access to public services for companies creating business opportunities across Europe and thereby enhancing competition and generating savings for businesses and SMEs.

CATEGORY 3

• eGovernment enabling administrative efficiency and effectiveness: The most outstanding practices in innovating and/or re-organising services and processes making administrations more efficient and effective and reducing administrative burden will be identified.

CATEGORY 4

• Public prize: This category, which was introduced in the 2007 Awards, is a vote by the public on the best practice among the 52 Finalists. All registered members of the good practice portal www.epractice.eu can vote and provide comments (cut-off dates and details on rules will be published in due course).

Please note that your case will only be evaluated in your chosen category (sub-category).

EVALUATION CRITERIA

All eligible applications (“cases”) in categories 1-3 will be assessed exclusively on the basis of the information provided by the case owner(s) according to the six evaluation criteria below. Scores are weighted according to their relevance. The total maximum score that can be achieved is 100.

1. Relevance (10 points)
How would you describe the relevance of your case in the light of the above overall objectives of the Awards and the specific policy context?

• (1) Demonstrate the intrinsic relevance of the case (what issue(s) is this case solving?); (2) the relevance of the case for the specific Award category, local, national and/or European policy and strategic frameworks; as well as (3) evidence of significant progress since a potential previous submission.

2. Impact (25 points)
What are the main results, impact and benefits (qualitative and quantitative) for all stakeholders involved (including public administration)?

• (1) Describe if and what impact measurement methods/tools are in place; and (2) provide evidence of the main results in terms of qualitative (e.g. user satisfaction, etc.) and quantitative (e.g. level/type of usage of service, cost savings, etc.) data. Sustainability is to be considered in this context.

3. Innovation (25 points)
To what extent does your case go beyond current practice in the field?

• Innovation is looked at from a broader perspective, e.g. (1) in the innovative use of state-of-the-art technology and resources; (2) and/or innovation in terms of governance and (re-)organisation, (3) process management, (4) human resources and skills, etc.

4. Potential for sharing good practice (20 points)
What and how could others learn from your experience?

• Evaluate the potential your case has for others to learn from, i.e. describe (1) lessons that can be drawn from your (positive and negative) experience, (2) mechanisms that could be explored for exchange, transfer and replication. Evidence of existing cross boundary cooperation, exchange and/or transfer is regarded as a plus.

5. Management approach (10 points)
What are the key components and success factors of your management approach?

• Aspects to be considered are for example: effective coordination and decision making, handling of institutional and legal differences, different policies, priorities and vision; partnership strategy; implementation and change management strategy; leadership; management of ICT; multi-channel strategy, management of resources; knowledge management; human resource management; risk management, maintenance and evolution, etc.

6. Communication and dissemination (10 points)
What are the key components of your communication and approach?

• Provide details on your communication strategy and dissemination activities towards (1) your constituency/stakeholder community and (2) your ‘peer groups’ and the broader eGovernment community at the regional, national, cross-border, EU, international level (including activities such as epractice.eu, benchlearning projects, etc.). Communication to share good practice shall also be addressed.

SELECTION PROCESS

A panel of independent experts will evaluate the applications in categories 1-3 in order to select 52 Finalists (short-listed cases).

Experts will be drawn from across Europe from a variety of backgrounds to ensure the widest possible coverage in terms of specialist knowledge and geographical balance. The cases will be made publicly available. However, experts are bound to confidentiality rules regarding their analyses.

To ensure the highest standards and complete impartiality, following a first eligibility screening each application will be evaluated by a variety of independent experts throughout three different and subsequent phases:

• Phase 1: Experts will work separately in an initial phase of the evaluation process where all the submissions are pre-assessed. A minimum quality threshold is established at this phase. Only submissions scoring above this threshold will pass on to the second phase.
• Phase 2: Experts agree on a preliminary ranking which will include the top 52 cases (the so-called short list of Finalists). Once the short list of Finalists has been established, all applicants will receive an electronic notification of the outcome of phase 1 and 2 of the evaluation process. The list of Finalists will be published at www.epractice.eu.
• Phase 3: A committee of judges ("Jury"), also composed of independent experts in the field, will attend the Exhibition at the Ministerial Conference on 18 November 2009 to assess the 52 short listed cases based on the evaluation criteria. They will be looking at visual appeal, content and the overall presentations. For this reason, they will briefly visit the exhibition stands on November 18, allowing to fine-tune the results of the ranking and to finalise the decision making.

The five winners, i.e. the top ranked cases of each (sub)category and the prize for which voting is open to the public will be announced at the 5th Ministerial Conference on eGovernment in Malmö on 19 November 2009.

Please note that in order to be eligible for the final selection of the Winners of the European eGovernment Awards Finalists are required to participate in the Exhibition at the Conference in Malmö from 18 November (for the setting up of the Exhibition and the last Evaluation Phase) to 20 November 2009.

In addition, Finalists will be invited to attend the Workshop for Finalists on a voluntary basis.

HOW TO APPLY?

You can file your application for the 4th European eGovernment Awards using the submission form on the ePractice.eu portal. To submit a case to the awards, you need to be registered on the ePractice.eu portal. If you are already registered, you can use your normal login. If you are not yet a member on ePractice.eu, please register by clicking the “Register” button in the upper right-hand corner of the portal.

Please consult the call documentation for details (Guidance Notes for Submission and FAQs). The Awards Helpdesk will provide support for further queries.

A list of all registered cases will be published on the website after the closure of the call.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The entry also serves as your submission to the good practice portal www.epractice.eu.

Applications should be submitted in English. All sections of the submission form have to be filled in for your submission to be eligible.

You should carefully read the Guidance Notes for Submission to ensure that your answers cover all aspects of your case to be considered by the expert.

IMPORTANT NOTE

HELPDESK

If you have any further queries, please consult the Guidance notes for submission and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you still need help you are welcome to contact the Awards Helpdesk.

ABOUT

The Awards are managed by the European eGovernment Awards Consortium on behalf of the European Commission.

	CEPA - Center for European Public Administration, Danube University, Krems (AT)
	DTI - Danish Technological Institute, Ã…rhus/Copenhagen (DK)
	P.A.U. Education, Barcelona (ES)
	RSO S.p.A., Rome (IT)