Have you been slaving away, saving taxpayers millions of dollars and improving government service? Don't toil in obscurity! Dozens of associations, publications, universities, organizations and companies want to reward hard-working civil servants like you.
Acclaim, prestige, fame--and occasionally, cash--can be yours. All you have to do is let the selection committees for awards programs know what you're doing. And if you're too modest to nominate yourself, why not nominate colleagues who are performing exceptional public service?
Below you'll find a sampling of the awards available to federal executives, employees and programs. Go ahead and apply. You deserve it.
Innovations in American Government Awards
The top prize for government programs comes from the Ford Foundation, Harvard University and the Council for Excellence in Government. The ten annual winners of the Innovations in American Government Awards are culled from more than 1,000 federal, state and local applicants that demonstrate creative problem-solving in the public sector. Each winner receives $100,000 to expand their programs and teach other governments how to replicate their successes. Information, application, deadlines and past winners are at http://ksgwww.harvard.edu/innovat/.
President's Quality Award
The President's Quality Award is the public sector equivalent of the The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Managed by the Office of Personnel Management, the President's Quality Award honors federal agencies that have documented high-performing management systems. Application and information are at http://www.opm.gov/quality/.
President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service
The highest honor the federal government can grant to a career civilian employee is the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. The award consists of an inscribed gold medal suspended from a blue and white ribbon, a lapel rosette made from the ribbon, and a certificate award. Only five career civil servants can receive it each year. More information is at http://www.opm.gov/perform/articles/065.htm
Presidential Rank Awards
One of the highest honors a career executive can obtain is the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service. The next highest is the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service. Senior management officials at federal agencies nominate executives for the awards, which recognize outstanding achievement by members of the Senior Executive Service. Panels of private citizens select winners. The panels' selections then go to the President for his signature. In 1999, a new formula for calculating the awards kicks in. Meritorious awards are worth 20 percent of base salary and distinguished awards are worth 35 percent of base salary. A list of last year's winners is at /rank.htm.
Hammer Awards
Vice President Al Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government issues Hammer Awards to teams of federal employees who cut costs and improve performance. More than 1,000 have been handed out to innovative civil servants. Nomination forms, criteria and a database of award winners are at http://www.npr.gov/library/awards/hammer.
Public Service Excellence Awards
The Public Employees Roundtable honors exemplary government programs each year as part of Public Service Recognition Week. Each spring the award winners gather at the "Breakfast of Champions" in Washington. Information and application are at http://www.theroundtable.org.
GEICO Public Service Awards
GEICO annually honors four federal employees and one federal retiree with its public service awards, $2,500 prizes and all-expense-paid trips to Washington, D.C. Employees are honored in four categories: substance abuse prevention and treatment; fire prevention and safety; physical rehabilitation; and traffic safety and accident prevention. The retiree is selected for making contributions in one of the four categories. Nomination information and award winners are at http://www.geico.com/federal/fedpsaframeset.htm.
Government Executive Awards
Government Executive magazine sponsors three annual award programs. The Government Technology Leadership Awards honor innovative uses of information technology in federal agencies. The Travel Managers of the Year Awards recognize exemplary travel management programs. The Government Executive Leadership Award, co-sponsored by the National Capital Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration, honors individual executives for outstanding public service. In addition, GovExec.com picks Best Feds on the Web each year, recognizing outstanding federal Internet projects.
Executive Excellence Awards
The Senior Executives Association selects career executives each year for their significant contributions to improving the efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of the federal government, as well as for their positive effect on the image of the career executive corps. Awards are given in two categories: executive achievement and distinguished service. Nomination procedures and award winners are at http://www.seniorexecs.com/ExExcAWD.htm.
Manager of the Year Award
An outstanding federal manager is honored each year by the Federal Managers Association. Winners are selected for community involvement, workplace accomplishments and contributions, and active participation in the association. For more information, contact FMA at 703-683-8700 or fma@ix.netcom.com.
Arthur S. Flemming Awards
George Washington University's Flemming Awards go to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the federal government and have less than 15 years of government service. Twelve winners are selected each year, four from the administrative area, four from the scientific area, and four from the applied science area. Nomination forms and background materials are at http://www.gwu.edu/~flemming.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr1999/b04051999_bt146-99.html Cold War Recognition Certificate
All members of the armed forces and civilian employees who faithfully served the United States during the Cold War era, Sept. 2, 1945, to Dec. 26, 1991, are eligible for the Cold War Recognition Certificate. You helped make democracy the world's dominant political system. Apply for official recognition online at http://coldwar.army.mil/.
Roger W. Jones Award
American University's School of Public Affairs selects two government executives each year who demonstrate outstanding organizational achievement and a strong commitment to educating future executives. A bronze plaque and citation are presented to the winners at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. For more information, contact Carolyn Jones at 202-885-5935.
Good Housekeeping Award for Women in Government
Good Housekeeping honors women who are making a difference through public service. The top winner takes home $25,000, while runners-up receive $2,500. For more information, see http://homearts.com/gh/family/78awar11.htm.
No Gobbledygook Awards
Vice President Al Gore is urging agencies to write their regulations and information packets in plain English. Each month, he is selecting a team of federal employees who have taken regulations that are hard to understand and made them clearer. More information on the awards is at http://plainlanguage.gov/awards/page1.htm.
Achievement Awards for Real Property Innovation
The General Services Administration selects two federal programs that demonstrate the best real property policy and the best real property practice in the government. The awards program is designed to publicize real property success stories. Award information and a database of winners is at http://policyworks.gov/realproperty.
John N. Sturdivant National Partnership Awards
Named for the former president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the Sturdivant awards recognize successful and promising labor-management partnerships. The National Partnership Council selects the winners. Information is at http://www.opm.gov/npc/index.html-ssi.
Center of Excellence for Information Technology
The Government Information Technology Services (GITS) Board showcases organizations that have successfully applied web-enabled technology to their business processes. Nominations come from both private and public sector organizations. For more information, call 202-501-0954.
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