Governance

Outstanding Federal, State, Local Programs Win Innovations in American Government Awards

Top 10 in government innovation honored with $100,000 grants, national recognition

(WASHINGTON) — Winners of this year's Innovations In American Government Awards, one of the nation's most prestigious public service awards competitions, address issues that range across the landscape of social problems, from charter schools to urban sprawl. The 10 winning programs selected each year are honored with a $100,000 grant and national recognition for creativity in public administration.

This year's winners also include initiatives to reclaim blighted urban areas, establish a new vision of public housing, improve conditions in mental hospitals and reduce traffic congestion. Others increase public support for urban parks, reduce the number of children in temporary care placements, combine the best of technology and traditional education and provide better health care for jail inmates. All of these programs keep faith with taxpayers by making the best possible services available in the most cost-effective ways.

Innovations in American Government brings public attention to the quality and responsiveness of American government at all levels and helps to foster the replication of innovative approaches. More than 85 percent of the programs receiving Innovations awards over the past 14 years have been adapted by other jurisdictions. The Program is funded by the Ford Foundation and administered by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government. The Ford Foundation has made grants totaling $15.9 million since the Innovations program began in 1986.

"The founders of our nation were people of vision and innovation, and we are continually renewing their legacy of dynamic, smart and responsive government," said Susan V. Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. "The award winners symbolize a continuing spirit of innovation that remains an essential feature of good government."

Representatives of 25 finalists arrived in Washington earlier this week to vie for the 10 Innovations awards. The competition included a presentation from each program before the National Selection Committee, which is made up of public policy experts and former public officials.

"With less than four weeks until we elect local, state and federal leaders, it is appropriate to step back from the heat of the campaign to reflect on just how vital and creative government can be," said David Gergen, chairman of the National Selection Committee. "Our winners this year suggest that the wave of innovation in government is gaining strong momentum, a promising sign for the future."

Note: A list of the winning programs is attached.

About the Innovations Partners

Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government is a graduate school of public policy dedicated to preparing leaders for service in government and contributing to the solution of important public problems. The Ford Foundation, established in 1936, is a private, nonprofit institution that serves as a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide. Its goals are to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. A national and international philanthropy with assets over $13 billion, the Foundation has granted more than $10 billion in grants and loans worldwide. The Foundation maintains headquarters in New York City and has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Russia. The Council for Excellence in Government is a national, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization whose 750 members have served as senior public-sector officials. The Council’s mission is to improve the performance of government by strengthening results-oriented management and creative leadership in the public sector and build understanding in government by focusing public discussion on its role and responsibilities.

For more information on the Innovations in American Government program and the winners of this year’s competition, please visit the Innovations home page at www.innovations.harvard.edu .

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The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.