Planning Minister meets with the jury for the Egypt Award for Government Excellence, 2020-2021

The award management team made a quantum leap during this cycle by switching to an electronic system to manage 100% of the award's operations: says Hala El-Said

Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, held a meeting with the jury for the Egypt Award for Government Excellence, 2020-2021 sessions, through the Microsoft Teams feature.At the beginning of the meeting, El-Said welcomed Mr. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Office of the Presidency of the Council of the United Arab Emirates, and the members of the jury, headed by Dr. Mansour Al-Awar and Professor Muhammad Zairei.El-Said also appreciated the cooperation and support of the award team from the Emirates and on top of them Marwan Al Zaabi, as well as Dr. Yasser Al Naqbi, Projects Office in the Prime Minister, and Mrs. Maryam Al Hammadi - Secretary-General of the UAE Cabinet.Regarding the committee's tasks, El-Said explained that the committee reviewed all stages and processes of evaluating the award categories, reviewing final grades and executive summaries that include analyzing the results. It also provided advice and guidance to the evaluation team in terms of scientific aspects of the evaluation process and results.El-Said pointed out that the award included 19 categories, and the number of participants reached 1911 (after excluding those that do not meet the requirements). The committee visited 80 government agencies on the ground, and personal interviews were held for 20 entities and 50 individuals.On the management system for the Egypt Award for Governmental Excellence, El-Said confirmed that the award management team has achieved a qualitative leap during this session by switching to an electronic system to manage 100% of the award's operations through the nomination, evaluation, and issuance of results and reports, which was reflected in the quality level. The team also made progress in expanding the base of certified trainers and was able to train thousands despite the Covid-19 pandemic and continued to work during the pandemic by making use of electronic means.El-Said pointed out that the award management overcame one of the biggest challenges that the world faced and achieved the continuity of the work of the second session electronically and in the field with the participation of evaluation teams from the UAE remotely in conjunction with teams from Egypt (Despite the time difference).For his part, Mr. Abdullah Lootah, Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, gave a presentation on the title of the strategic partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates - the pillar of Government Excellence.The chairmen and members of the jury reviewed the outcomes of the evaluation process, and a set of recommendations were presented, represented in the integrative view of excellence, considering excellence as a journey and not a moment of victory.The committee also recommended raising awareness of the concepts and mechanisms of risk management and business continuity, given what the evaluation reports made clear of the limitations of those practices in government units, and the evaluation work showed the existence of distinct competencies and models for leaders and workers.