Public sector human-centred innovation recognised in the Government Design Awards

Leading innovation projects from across the public sector have celebrated as winners are announced in the Government Design Awards.

“Design allows Government to provide innovation services that put people first. It’s fantastic to see so many outstanding examples of the public sector design and innovation throughout the awards,” said Government Design Awards Chairman Mark Bergin.

“The awards reward those within government with the courage to commission and create projects that are made for those who use or engage with them,“ Mr Bergin said.

Included among the 25 award winning projects was Boarder Force’s TIS Online, a digital transformation platform that revolutionises the way in which agencies and interpreters manage their interpreter bookings by allowing them to self-service their bookings online, reducing the time to service from weeks down to hours.

Another innovation project in the awards was the VaxOnTime. Developed by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services and digital agency Gridstone, the mobile application allows parents to keep up to date with their children's past and upcoming vaccinations. A list of all the winners is available here. 

According to Mr Bergin design is already driving transformation in government, but more needs to be done if government is to innovate and improve services for users.

“Design is transforming the way the public engages with public sector services, and the awards showcases some prime examples of this innovation. Services across the public sector have improved dramatically but we still need keep developing a culture of innovation across government that based on people and their needs, rather than existing capacities.

“It’s not easy to drive human centred change and this is why it is important to stop and celebrate those projects and people that manage to do so,” Mr Bergin said.

The Government Design Awards celebrate the courage of both commissioners and creators of design and innovation projects within the public sector. Nominations are across space, object, visual and experience design categories, and the awards culminate with the announcement of best project, best transformation and innovation awards. The awards are open to all design and innovation projects through local, state and federal government sectors throughout Australia.

The awards are organised by THE DESIGN 100, a global community of over 75,000 design experts, that also organise the Melbourne and Sydney Design Awards, as well as the Tech Design Awards. Nominations were open to all design and innovation projects through local, state and federal government sectors throughout Australia.

For media enquiries contact:
Mark Bergin, Founder
mark@design100.com
+61 418 565 848

Full Winners List:
https://design100.com/GOVAUS16/winners_list.asp

Logo Pack:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-dje53OqL51eDh0Njk4b2VRT0E/

About THE DESIGN 100

THE DESIGN 100's mission is to celebrate the courage of those who commission design and those who create it. THE DESIGN 100 provides a collaborative platform of award programs across three continents, supported by the world’s most creative minds and organisations. It prides itself on accelerating the transformation to a design-led marketplace; one that understands that tomorrow is the result of yesterday’s courage. Each award program acknowledges that we live in a marketplace where the quality of our design choices should be a mix of sound commercial understanding and courageous, relevant design. THE DESIGN 100's unique difference is to recognise the courage of both those who commission design and those who create it. Professional development of practitioners has been well catered for by industry bodies. THE DESIGN 100's also focuses on accelerating the development of those who commission design.