The Spanish project 'Citizen's Total Electronic Access to Public Services' won the second prize of the United Nations (UN) Public Service Award 2012 in the category 'Improving the Delivery of Public Services' for Europe and North America. 

This Award thus recognises the continuous and collective efforts of the national administration authorities to implement the Law on Citizen's electronic access to public services of 22 June 2007 (11/2007, also known as the eGovernment Act) in order to make the right of citizens to interact with public authorities by electronic means an effective one. 

It is the General Directorate for Modernisation Management, Procedures and eGovernment Promotion, Ministry of Enterprise and Public Administration who submitted the award entry. The General Directorate first described the situation of the national administration before the launch of common eGovernment infrastructure components and services and before the entry into force of the eGovernment Act. More specifically, the presentation detailed the steps taken by the Spanish authorities to build the framework for making the aforementioned right effective. 

Furthermore, the Spanish submission presented the implementation schedule of the project and the results achieved. Special focus was placed on describing the objectives pursued, the resources used and how barriers were removed.  In other words, the submission featured the "steps to transform the national administration into an electronic government of the 21st century," the Ministry of Enteprise and Public Administration stated in the related notice. 

Lastly, the entry provided the lessons learnt and reference letters from various private and professional bodies, together with audiovisual support materials. 

The Director General of Modernization Management, Ms María Ester Arizmedi Gutiérrez has been invited by the UN to receive the Prize at the 2012 United Nations Public Service Day, Awards Ceremony and Forum, which will take place in New York from 25 to 28 June 2012. 

Likewise, several local governments of Spain won first and second prizes in other categories; the winning projects are: 

1. Project 'Housing - all opinions matter' of the Department of Housing, Construction and Transport, Government of the Basque Country – First prize in the category 'Fostering Participation in Policy-making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms' (Europe and North America);
2. Project 'Territorial Information System for the Open Spaces Network' of the Barcelona Provincial Council – First prize in the category 'Advancing Knowledge Management in Government' (Europe and North America);
3. Project 'Zero Tolerance for Violence Against Women' of the Bilbao City Council – Second prize in the category 'Promoting Gender-responsive Delivery of Public Services' (Europe and North America) .

Background information

United Nations Public Service Awards is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. Through the annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service. The winners are selected each year by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration.

Further information: 

• Original new article - eGovernment portal (in Spanish)
• Background information - ePractice eGovernment Factsheet for Spain