The winners 2006
The winners of the Government Computing BT Awards for Innovation 2006 were announced on the 27 April at a gala dinner at Madame Tussaud's in London.

Public sector IT projects - fulfilling the promise and delivering success
Projects for criminal justice, health, immigration, central and local government have claimed prizes for harnessing IT to modernise public services at this year's Government Computing BT Awards for Innovation.

The winners – emerging from a record entry of 150 projects from 98 organisations – were announced at a gala dinner and presented by David Myers, director shared services in the Cabinet Office, at Madame Tussaud's in London on 27 April 2006.

The competition demonstrates that, despite the often unfavourable press for public sector ICT, technology is at the heart of plans to provide more efficient, citizen-centric services. The awards provide an accolade for the individuals and teams who have shown the imagination, focus and commitment to bring clear benefits to the public through the application of ICT.

David Myers, director of shared services in the Cabinet Office and awards presenter said" It is important that we celebrate our successes - sometimes in the public sector we tend to underestimate the level of our achievements. Across the public sector we exist to serve our customers - so I am particularly pleased to be awarding prizes at this event which celebrates significant achievements in great customer service. I would like to personally congratulate the nominees on excellent work and strong innovation".

Steven Voss, chair of the judging panel and Kable's publishing director, commented:

"The quality and range of entries this year has been impressive, conveying growing maturity in the field and a consistent focus - not only on delivering value for money but meeting the needs of end users. It's great to be able to celebrate the successes in public sector ICT"

The winners and runners up are as follows:

The best project - government to government:
Winner: The Violent Offender and Sex Offender Register, known as Visor, from the Police Information Technology Organisation. This project is making an important contribution to a joined up criminal justice system and has received a procession of positive reports since it was launched last year.
Runner up: OGCbuying.solutions' eSourcing Managed Service, which enables central and local government to manage the strategic procurement cycle online. This project has done much to modernise an important area of government and impressed the judges with its high take-up.

The best project - government to citizen:
Winner: The European Health Insurance Card from the Department of Health, which has already provided 15m new cards to UK residents. This project faced a daunting task in terms of its scale and complexity, but has proved the sceptics wrong in delivering impressive results in a matter of months.
Runner up: The London Borough of Islington's Sign Video Contact Contact Centre uses videoconferencing to provide sign language communication for people with hearing disabilities. The project impressed the judges with its simplicity and effectiveness in responding to social need.

The best project - government to business:
Winner: Landweb and Landweb Direct from Land Registers of Northern Ireland, which has replaced paper with electronic processes in the province's land related business. The judges chose the winner based the way it has broadened its user group and increased online transactions.
Runner up: VOSA Operator Self Service from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, which is e-enabling transactional licensing services for the commercial vehicle industry. The project has transformed a complex regulatory service and achieved a high level of take-up.

The best project within an organisation:
Winner: South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust's Hospital at Night Rapid Response System, which uses wireless techology to coordinate patient care. The winner impressed the judges for the way it has shown imaginative thinking in an area that has often been resistant to technology, but stands to gain much through its effective application.
Runner up: HM Immigration Office's Terminal 3 Immigration Service Website, which provides a tailored information resource for staff to use on a 24/7 basis. The project dealt with the problem of information overload and enabled users to concentrate on their decisions in a highly sensitive service.

The best project in delivering efficiency:
Winner: Greater Glasgow Independent Living Equipment Service from Glasgow City Council, which brings together health and social services to manage the provision of vital equipment to help elderly and disabled people to live at home. The winner impressed the judges for the way it is fulfilling a clear vision in rationalising stock-keeping and promoting the cause of recycling in the provision of equipment.
Runner up: The Crown Prosecution Service Compass case management programme, which provides a secure network-based IT infrastructure for 8,000 users in the criminal justice system. The project has enabled the CPS to do more with the same staff by saving the amount of time spent on cases.

The shared services award
Winner: Your London Report IT from London Connects, a centrally hosted facility for residents of the capital to report problems to their respective boroughs. The winner impressed the judges with its strong focus on the citizen by providing a joined-up user-friendly customer interface.
Runner up: Customer Service Direct, a partnership between Suffolk County Council, Mid Suffolk District Council and BT, which provides common access channels for local government in the county. The project has tackled a critical issue by making it easier for the public to deal with the different tiers of local government.

Innovators or the year
Winner: Stephen Hilton, e-democracy lead at Bristol City Council. He has driven a number of innovations in engaging with citizens, including the adoption of e-petitions in the city and the development of its Campaign Creator project for community groups.
Joint runner up: Darren Scrafton, IT manager from Public Lending Right, who has conceived and led the implementation of electronic document and record management and Standard Paragraph Generator System.
Joint runner up: Claire Hamon, director of business information systems for the Crown Prosecution Service. She provided inspirational leadership in the introduction of the Skills for the Information Age Framework in the CPS and provided creative training in a previously restricted environment.

Since their introduction in 1996 the awards, organised by Government Computing magazine, have been recognised as the prime accolades for those working on the electronic delivery of public services.

The 2006 shortlisted projects were as follows: Best project - government to government Recognising a project that demonstrates effective joined up working between at least two organisations in the public sector: Child Protection Register Online – City of Edinburgh Council; eSourcing Managed Service – OGCbuying.solutions; Integrated Childcare Information System – Opportunity Links in partnership with the DfES; Violent and Sex Offender Register – Police Information Technology Organisation. Best project - government to citizen Recognising a project that demonstrates effective service delivery or interaction with citizens: e-City Preston – Preston City Council; SignVideo Contact Centre – LB Islington; Window on Woking – Woking BC; e@SYConnects – Barnsley MBC; European Health Insurance Card – Department of Health. Best project - government to business Recognising the project that demonstrated effective delivery of services that interact with business or industry: Employer Direct Online – Jobcentre Plus; Ratings Lists on the Internet 2005 – Valuation Office Agency; Landweb – Land Registers of Northern Ireland; VOSA Operator Self Service – Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. The best project within an organisation Recognising the project that most effectively uses technology solutions behind the scenes within an organisation: Quest – Department for International Development; Terminal 3 Immigration Service Website – HM Immigration Office; Highways Agency Lands – Highways Agency; Hospital at Night Rapid Response System – South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust. The best project - delivering efficiency Recognising the project that has demonstrated real and sustainable efficiency savings: COMPASS – Crown Prosecution Service; Greater Glasgow Independent Living Equipment Service – Glasgow City Council; Procure to Payment – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; AutoPay Forms – Crown Prosecution Service. The shared services award Recognising the project that best demonstrates the benefits of shared services: Your London Report It – London Connects; Electronic Property Information Mapping Service – Office of Government Commerce; Customer Service Direct – Suffolk CC, Mid Suffolk DC; Human Resources, Contact Management System – Transport for London. Innovator of the Year Recognising an individual who has made a significant impact on the delivery of technology based solutions: Claire Hamon, director business information systems, Crown Prosecution Service; Stephen Hilton, e-democracy lead, Bristol City Council; Darren Scrafton, IT manager, Public Lending Right.

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