Thirty-eight teams of civil servants, outstanding officials and individual programmes are in the running for one of this year’s Civil Service Awards, celebrating innovation, dedication and achievement across government.
They include the Border Force team that supported the evacuation of 15,000 people from Afghanistan as part of last year’s Operation Pitting; a DWP Digital project to deliver real-time checks for free prescription entitlement; and a Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport programme aimed at helping the culture and heritage sectors articulate their impact on society.
Senior officials from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Home Office are in the running for the Outstanding Leadership Award.
Meanwhile, five officials at the start of their civil service careers are in the running for the 2022 Rising Star Award: one each from the Office for National Statistics, the Home Office, and the Ministry of Justice, and two from HM Prison and Probation Service.
Awards are subdivided into three categories, reflecting the core values set out in the Modern Civil Service plan, which are “skilled”, “innovative”, and “ambitious”.
Category champions for this year’s awards include Ministry of Justice permanent secretary Antonia Romeo, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, and civil service chief operating officer Alex Chisholm.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony at Lancaster House in December.
The full shortlist can be seen below, and there's much more detail on the dedicated awards site.
Excellence in Delivery Award
A Skilled Civil Service
Border Force National Operational Leadership Team – Operation Pitting, Home Office: Border Force
NHS COVID Pass Programme, Department of Health and Social Care
Ukraine humanitarian visa schemes, Home Office: UK Visas and Immigration
Developing and Supporting People Award
A Skilled Civil Service
DVLA IT Services Directorate, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Junior Leaders Networking Events (JLNE) Team, Cross-Government
Liz Cox for leading and implementing the 'Progress in prison workshops' tracker, HM Prison and Probation Service
Diversity and Inclusion Award
A Skilled Civil Service
DWP National Muslim Network, Department for Work and Pensions
Jackie Armstrong, Home Office: Immigration and Enforcement
Servicewomen’s Health Improvement Focus Team (SHIFT), Ministry of Defence
Best use of Data and Technology Award
An Innovative Civil Service
Alice Rayner, Helen Heard - Kitchen Life 2 project team, Food Standards Agency
DataMapWales, Welsh Government
Team Phoenix, Department for Work and Pensions
Science and Innovation Award
An Innovative Civil Service
Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce, Department of Health and Social Care
Evidence Team, Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles, Department for Transport
Marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment Programme, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Evaluation and Analysis Award
An Innovative Civil Service
Culture and Heritage Capital Team, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport .
Evaluation of Family Hubs, Department for Education
Russia/Ukraine Economic Analysis Team, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Project Delivery Award
An Ambitious Civil Service
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Evolve, Students Loan Company
School Rebuilding Division, Department for Education
One Civil Service Awards
An Ambitious Civil Service
Cross Government team delivering Cost of Living Payments to low income and disabled benefit claimants, Cross-Government
The Joint Home Office-BEIS Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill Team, Home Office and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
The LAWMAKER Project, Scottish Government
Productive Partnership Award
An Ambitious Civil Service
CEOPS – Operation Habitance, National Crime Agency
Historical Institutional Abuse Implementation Branch, Northern Ireland Executive
Windrush Monument team, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Rising Star Award
A Modern Civil Service
Alexander Newton, Office for National Statistics
Blake Kennedy, Home Office
Kelly Moore, Ministry of Justice
Matthew Smith, HM Prison and Probation Service
Tassie Ghillani, HM Prison and Probation Service
Programme of the Year Award
A Modern Civil Service
COP26 Unit, Cabinet Office
HMPPS Creating Future Opportunities, HM Prison and Probation Service
Kickstart Scheme, Department for Work and Pensions
Cabinet Secretary’s Outstanding Leader Award
A Modern Civil Service
Angus Gray, Department for Work and Pensions
Haroona Franklin, Department of Health and Social Care
Sara Rathore, Home Office