Hill, who gave a speech at last week’s launch, said: “I was reflecting why Defra didn’t get many wins, and that’s partly because we didn’t have many entries.” She added: “And then I realised the fatal flaw. Like other civil servants, we’re far too modest about our achievements; we are the masters of understatement.”
Hill urged civil servants to enter the awards, and to encourage their colleagues to do the same. “I want everybody who is a civil servant here, including previous winners, to go back to your departments or your organisations to talk them up, to publicise them, to really get people to put in entries,” she said.
Nominations for the 14 awards – which include four new categories in growth, international work, communications and policy – are open to any individual or team of civil servants. Employees can self-nominate or nominate colleagues.
The winner of last year’s leadership award, Emily Thomas, governor of HM Prison Cookham Wood in Kent, said last year’s Awards ceremony was “one of the proudest moments” of her career, adding: “It was probably more important because it was the feeling there was recognition not just for me as an individual, but for the enormous amount of work we have done within Cookham Wood.” Thomas won for her work redeveloping the women’s prison into a young offender’s institute.
Civil service chief Sir Bob Kerslake, who also spoke at the launch, called on civil servants to “make a big noise” in celebration of the service’s work, adding that nominations close on 26 July.