For Joseph Galimberti, e-government is all about the awards. It’s not that Galimberti – the executive director of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) – is into accolades for himself. Instead, he revels in handing out awards to those who are helping to move the e-government agenda forward.
In fact, Galimberti ranks the establishment of IPAC’s innovative management award as one of the highlights of his career.
“Prior to establishing the award in 1990, there was a sense that the government wasn’t innovative when it came to technology,” said Galimberti, who has served in his current post with the non-profit organization for 27 years.
“We knew there was innovative stuff out there. By establishing this award we get on average over 100 submissions a year and there are some really good ideas. The award is about finding out what is on the cutting edge and identifying the really innovative people.”
When Galimberti first approached IPAC’s board of directors with the proposal for an award that would “foster innovation in the public sector by… recognizing organizations and people for creative and effective ways of doing things,” the idea drew some criticism.
“There were people on the board of directors saying, ‘You won’t get one submission,'” he recalls.
But since it was launched 13 years ago, the award has recognized a number of government organizations and information from the award submissions has been used in one of IPAC’s best-selling books.
When commenting on the success of the award he helped to create, Galimberti is humble.
“It has really stood the test of time,” he said simply.