The full shortlist for the upcoming Civil Service Awards, supported by EY, has been announced and the extraordinary commitment and creativity of civil servants’ response to the coronavirus pandemic is significantly reflected in the 50-plus finalists.
Now in its 15th year, the awards ceremony will take place as a virtual event for the first time next month because of the strictures of Covid-19. But it will also feature the largest selection of categories in its history, with new separate awards for innovation and science.
Despite the unique challenges of the past year, the awards also recognise the incredibly important work that has been done to ensure business-as-usual for key public services.
The shortlist includes the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Non-Shielded Vulnerable People Project; the Department of Health and Social Care’s PPE Portal Team; and the Cabinet Office for its National Resilience Hub, Covid-19 Communications Response.
Vying for the Inspirational Leadership Award are Chris Atkinson of the Northern Ireland Office, Chris Rampling of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and Kelsey Williams of the Department for Education.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Abigail Agyei, HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s Leanna Conradson, and the Department for Work and Pensions’ Sidonie Edey are all in the running for the Rising Star Award. The category recognises those who have made a significant impact in the first eight years of their civil service career.
This year’s awards champions include cabinet secretary Simon Case, civil service COO and Cabinet Office perm sec Alex Chisholm, government chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Defra perm sec Tamara Finkelstein, and Department for International Trade perm sec Antonia Romeo – who is soon to become Ministry of Justice perm sec.
Winners will be announced at this year's ceremony – run by CSW's parent company Dods – which takes place on February 25.
The full shortlist can be found below – and there's much more detail on the dedicated Civil Service Awards site.
The Citizenship Award
Diane Law-Crookes: Ministry of Defence
Lisa Hodge: Ministry of Defence
Sarah Morton: Department for Work and Pensions
The Collaboration Award
National Volunteer Prescription Delivery Scheme (Wales): Welsh Government
PPE Portal Team: Department of Health and Social Care
Shielding: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Commercial Award – supported by Proxima
Complex Transactions Team - Covid-19 Response: Cabinet Office
Covid-19 Emergency Measures in Rail Franchising Contracts: Department for Transport
Energy Efficient Scotland National Delivery Scheme: Scottish Government
The Communication Award
DHSC Communications and Marketing Team - 'Our NHS' Allied Health Professions and Nursing Recruitment Campaign: Department of Health and Social Care
DVLA Vehicle Tax Evasion Campaign 2020: Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
National Resilience Hub, Covid-19 Communications Response: Cabinet Office
The Developing People Award
Civil Service Dyslexia and Dyspraxia Network: HM Revenue & Customs
Inclusion Apprenticeship Programme: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
DfT Commercial Development Programme: Department for Transport
The Digital, Data & Technology Award – supported by SSCL
Digital Learning Division - Hwb EdTech Programme: Welsh Government
Get Your State Pension: Department for Work and Pensions
Scottish Government Design System: Scottish Government
The Diversity & Inclusion Award – supported by EY
BAME Male Working Group and Race Network Co-Chairs: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Campaigns & Projects Leeds D&I Group: HM Revenue & Customs
Civil Service Carers Network: Cross-government
Civil Service Fast Stream and Early Talent: Cross-government
Civil Service LGBT+ Network: Ministry of Defence
Civil Service Working Through Cancer Network: Cross-government
Food Vulnerabilities Directorate: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Heather Wilson: Scottish Government
Home Office Gender Equality Network (GEN): Home Office
LGBTI Chile D&I Team: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
ONS Faith and Belief Network: Office for National Statistics
Preeta Ramachandran, Mark Thompson and Aspire Participants: Department for Work and Pensions
The Health & Wellbeing Award – supported by The Charity for Civil Servants
Gillian Whitworth: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Home Talk: Home Office
Julie Slater: Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory
The Innovation Award – supported by Oliver Wyman
Accelerated Capability Environment (ACE): Home Office
Say My Name: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Analytics Academy - A coding course for everyone at DfE (Jack Tattersall, James Lowe and Peter Fitzsimons): Department for Education
The Inspirational Leadership Award
Chris Atkinson: Northern Ireland Office
Chris Rampling: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Kelsey Williams: Department for Education
The Policy & Use of Evidence Award – supported by EY
Behaviour, Insight and Research Team C19 Response: HM Revenue & Customs
Childcare Team: Welsh Government
GO-Science COVID SAGE Secretariat: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
The Project Delivery Excellence Award
Course Design Team - Foundation Medic Course: Ministry of Defence
Nabeeha Ahmed: Ministry of Justice
Virtual Machine Environment Replacement (Jobseekers Allowance): Department for Work and Pensions
The Public Service Award
Extended HMRC/HMT, CJRS, SEISS and EOHO teams: Cross-government
Non-Shielded Vulnerable People Project: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The UK-Japan Trade Agreement Negotiations Team: Department for International Trade
The Resilience & Rapid Response Award
MHCLG Rough Sleeping Covid-19 Taskforce: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The China Network: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
The Isolation Note, DHSC (Alexander Peck), DWP (Ailsa McGinty, David Long), NHSX (Diane Baynham), NHSD (James Higgott): Cross-government
The Rising Star Award
Abigail Agyei: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Leanna Conradson: HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Sidonie Edey: Department for Work and Pensions
The Science Award
Climate Change - Rapid Attribution Studies: Met Office
International Travel Risk Assessment Team: Animal and Plant Health Agency
Synthetic Data to Support MedTech Innovation: Department of Health and Social Care