EPSA 2023-24

EPSA – the European Public Sector Award – is a Europe-wide award scheme for public sector entities at all levels of government which has been organised every two years since 2009 by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). EPSA 9th edition “Boosting Innovation Through Learning” featured three award categories:

1. Innovation in Public Administration
2. Green Transition and Sustainability
3. Digital Transformation

In total, 157 applications were submitted. Following the eligibility check, 151 projects were admitted. The eligible projects were submitted from 27 different countries at all levels of government and three EU institutions. The biggest share of applications was made by national level entities (50%) followed by local (24%) and regional level of government (20%).

The distribution of eligible projects was as follows:

79 projects under Innovation in Public Administration
18 projects under Green Transition and Sustainability
54 projects under Digital Transformation

The EPSA 2023–24 winners:

Innovation in Public Administration

First Prize: North East Inner City Multi Disciplinary Team (NEIC MDT) Delivering the first interagency Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT) in 10 inner city primary schools in Dublin, National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), Department of Education, Ireland
Second Prize: Smart D8 – A Population Health and Wellbeing Demonstrator in Dublin, Smart D8 Consortium (via Lead Administrative Partner, The Digital Hub Development Agency), Ireland
Third Prize: Portal of Register of administrative procedures – Single window for public services, Public Policy Secretariat of Republic of Serbia, Serbia

Green Transition and Sustainability

First Prize: PHA2USE – Natural plastic substitute Caleyda, Brabantse delta, the Netherlands
Second Prize: Klagenfurt on the way to climate neutrality by 2030, City of Klagenfurt – Department for climate and environmental protection, Austria
Third Prize: Baia Mare from a mining and polluted city towards a green, innovative and participatory city: SPIRE – Smart Post-Industrial Regenerative Ecosystem, Baia Mare Municipality, Romania

Digital Transformation

First Prize: Hansken, the open digital forensic platform, Netherlands Forensic Institute, the Netherlands
Second Prize: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in Justice, Ministry of Justice of Spain, Spain
Third Prize: e-Nabız – Electronic and Personal Health Record System, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health – General Directorate of Health Information Systems, Turkey

The following projects receive Good Practice Certificates:

Innovation in Public Administration

“Oberösterreichischer Wohn- und Energiekostenbonus” (Upper Austrian housing and energy cost bonus), Office of the Upper Austrian State Government, Department of Social Affairs, Austria
Tech Force Against Drugs, FPS Finance – General Administration Customs and Excises, Belgium
Human Rights Capacity Building Programme, National Institute of Administration (INA, I. P.), Portugal
Local open data catalogue and the Data portal of the Hradec Králové region Data KHK, Hradec Králové Region, Czech Republic
BRISE Vienna (Building Regulations Information for Submission Envolvement), Municipal Directorate of the City of Vienna, Organisation and Security Division, Process management and Information and Communication Technology, Austria
Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) collaboration with Foróige on increasing social enterprise awareness among young people, Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD), Ireland
Outlier Detection, Ministry of Home Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Public Research Infrastructure Database: Research and Innovation through Open for Collaboration in Austria, Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF), Austria
IdroGEO – The Italian web platform on landslides and floods, ISPRA – Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Italy
Mentoring Program for Innovation and Leadership (PMIL), National Institute of Administration (INA, I. P.), Portugal
Young Cities Program, National Betting Authority, Cyprus
Census Interactive Mapping Application, Central Statistics Office, Ireland
Together for Better, a New Funding Model for the Early Learning and Childcare Sector, Department of Children, Equality, Integration and Youth, Ireland
Oireachtas Work Learning (OWL) Training and Graduate Programme, Houses of the Oireachtas Service, Ireland
Justice Folder, Ministry of Justice, Spain
Re-open EU, Joint Research Centre (European Commission)

Green Transition and Sustainability

Automatic Detection of Impervious Surfaces, Kreisverwaltung Recklinghausen, Germany
The ‘Schwammstein’ – Sustainable irrigation of green spaces, City of Vienna – Road Management and Construction, Austria
Circular Innovation HUB, Municipality of Wiltz, Luxembourg
Energy and Raw Materials Factory (ERMF), Waterschap Aa en Maas, the Netherlands

Digital Transformation

The 2023 Robotic Process Automation (RPA) – Software, Training and Support Services Incorporating Artificial Intelligence, Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform, Ireland
SeTDIBA: a journey of digital transformation, Barcelona Provincial Council, Spain
National Platform for Artificial Intelligence – AI as a Common Good, Office for Information Technologies and eGovernment, Serbia
CENPOS-PROJECT, Agency for the Technological Modernization of Galicia (AMTEGA), Spain
Digital sustainability: Contribution of technology to the green and digital transition in the city of Madrid, Madrid City Council, Spain
Learning in the Metaverse: A Virtual Reality Transversal Skills Programme from Industry and Higher Education, University College Dublin Innovation Academy, Ireland

In addition to winners and Good Practice Certificate recipients, evaluators also identified projects with outstanding efforts towards change. While these projects were not among the highest-ranking projects, the efforts demonstrated in the applications nevertheless deserve recognition.

The following projects receive special EPSA recognition:

Implementation of OKRs methodology in National Agency on Corruption Prevention, National Agency on Corruption Prevention, Ukraine
Mitos – National Registry of Administrative Procedures, GRNET – National Infrastructures for Research & Technology, Greece
Application for the National Support Scheme for Farmers, National Agency of Information Society (NAIS), Albania

The EPSA 2023-24 knowledge sharing activities

The EPSA goes beyond merely identifying and recognising excellence and innovation. It serves as a dynamic platform for sharing best practices and fostering mutual learning in public administration.

We have organised a range of activities covering topics such as social innovation, sustainability, law enforcement, leadership, and behavioral science.

Briefings

As part of the knowledge dissemination, EPSA 2023-24 provides five policy briefings on topics relevant for public sector innovation. The briefings pursue three main objectives: to present the state of the art of the topic, to appraise opportunities for innovation and to analyse challenges, obstacles and limitations, and to provide an outlook, offer suggestions and ways forward.

Sustainability in Practice in Europe: From the 2030 Agenda to Local Action by Guillem Ramírez Chico, Coordinator, Eurocities Academy

Collaborative Governance for Innovation in Public Services by Elke Loeffler, Director, Governance International
Strategies and Instruments to Develop Talent for the Twin Transition in the Public Sector by Cristina Simón, Professor Organizational Behavior and People Management, IE University
AI-Powered Interoperability: Lessons Learned from the European Public Sector Awards by Michaela Sullivan Paul, Senior Research Officer, Digital Protections and Artificial Intelligence, EIPA & Elpida Longinidou, Digital Policy Researcher, EIPA
The Role of Innovation Labs in the Public Sector: Concepts and Conditions for Successful Transformation by Christoph Klika, Expert EU Policy Making, EIPA & Elpida Longinidou, Digital Policy Researcher, EIPA

Webinars

We hosted a series of six half-day webinars designed to foster active audience engagement and knowledge sharing among public sector professionals across diverse government levels. Each session featured live presentations, expert panel discussions, and interactive Q&A segments, creating a dynamic environment for exploring key topics relevant to public administration.

These webinars were open and free of charge to public officials from EU institutions, as well as from national, regional, and local administrations. The series has attracted over 300 participants from EU institutions, EU Member States and candidate countries, highlighting the strong commitment to cross-border collaboration and continuous learning within the public sector.