New award category in Dubai Government Excellence Program emphasizes quality e-services

Orientation seminar conducted for government departments in Dubai

Dubai Government Excellence Program in coordination with Dubai e-Government conducted an orientation seminar yesterday (Monday, December 24, 2001) to inform and educate the various government departments of the standards that have been set for the new category for government awards titled “Most Distinctive Government Department for e-Services.” The government representatives concerned with the propagation of e-services at the various government departments and senior IT managers responsible for the administration and maintenance of the various portals in Dubai, were also briefed about the requirements for the award from an IT perspective.

The introductory seminar defined the new category along with the stringent criteria that would be applied in the selection of winners. The award consists of a certificate and a trophy to be presented by H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister on April 17, 2002 at the program’s annual ceremony.

H.H. Sheikh Mohammed had announced the new category of award at the launch of the Dubai e-Government initiative in October. This category has been established in an effort to radically enhance the quality of e-services currently offered to Dubai citizens by the government departments in the emirate. With the addition of this new category, the Dubai Government Excellence Program now distributes a total of 15 different categories of awards.

“Dubai has always believed in implementing and achieving excellence in every field and aims to lead the region by setting standards that are developed and integrated in order to ensure the application of quality norms,” said Mohammed Al Gergawi, Program Director, Dubai Government Excellence Program. “The new category of awards is just another step to establish excellence in government organizations. Dubai Government ensures the establishment of standards and the development of programs that will serve the purpose of creating benchmarks that are comparable to international standards. In the age of information when the Internet is considered the main channel of communication, education, teaching, and service providing, Dubai’s technological excellence gives it a definite competitive edge against other such developing economies in the region,” he added.

“Appreciation and recognition are the greatest incentives for people and by setting up this award, we hope to motivate and encourage government departments to continually upgrade their own performance and dispense quality services to citizens via the Internet,” said Salem Al Shair Director, e-Services, Dubai e-Government. “The technology linked with the dispensation of e-services on the web is changing rapidly and constant upgrades and refurbishments are necessary to ensure that we do not become outmoded. An award of this kind will create an environment for continuous self-appraisal and evaluation, which will automatically lead to enhanced services,” he added.

Dr Fawaz Hazza Abu Sitta, Senior Business Process Reengineering Consultant, Dubai e-Government and a speaker at the seminar, pointed out that the criteria for winning the award had been carefully chosen and was strictly in adherence to models that are accepted worldwide.

The criteria for selection include three main elements, which ensure the evaluation of the technical and non-technical aspects of a department’s functioning, in addition to appraisal by a secret evaluator. The non-technical segment deals with the Internet services and culture in the department, which is an established criterion under the Dubai Government Excellence Program. The technical evaluation of a department can be further sub-divided to incorporate three factors that include development and management of content on the web, development and management of e-services and development and management of information security.

The appraisal by a secret evaluator comprises the detailed assessment of a department’s website and e-services by specific assessors who have been set up jointly by Dubai e-Government and Dubai Government Excellence Program.

The participation for the awards will be considered obligatory for all government departments from the coming year (2002). However, due to constraints on time, participation for this year has been made optional for the various government departments.

The Dubai Government Excellence Program was announced in October 1997 under the directives of H H General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Since then, awards in various categories are presented every year to government departments, divisions and employees in an attempt to celebrate and encourage the maintenance and growth of quality standards. The selection process is strictly controlled by the established criteria, which guarantees precise judging process regardless of any other considerations.