Judging the Winners

The integrity of the GTEC 2008 Distinction Award Program judging process, and the quality of the nominations, has led to the recognition of the GTEC 2008 Distinction Awards as the most prestigious and highly coveted Awards for rewarding innovation, excellence, and leadership in managing information and information technology in the public sector in Canada. It is considered an honour to be nominated for a Distinction Award, and a significant public sector career achievement to be selected as a Distinction Award Finalist or Award Winner.

The Distinction Awards 2008 nominations will be reviewed and evaluated in two separate processes:

(1) Screening and initial evaluation of all nominations, and selection of Award Finalists:

A Judging Committee comprising over 30 members of SCOAP, a non-profit association dedicated to exploring achievement and issues related to the management of information and technology in a knowledge-based society, undertakes the following screening and initial evaluation:

• Rigorous Review and Selection Criteria are confirmed and applied to verify that nominations meet the basic criteria for the award category in which they are nominated, and that they are sufficiently meritorious to be qualified as Finalists;
• Sub-committees comprising three judges are formed, fully briefed on their responsibilities, and are each allocated approximately 15 nominations;
• Each judge is assigned as the Primary Judge for 5 of the 15 nominations and as a Verifying Judge for the remaining 10. The Primary Judge is responsible for guiding the sub-committee in reaching a clear consensus of 3 Yes’s or 3 No’s with respect to classifying each nomination as a Finalist or Non-Finalist;
• If a Primary Judge is unable to achieve consensus from within the sub-committee, other sub-committee judges must be consulted until consensus can be reach;
• All results are documented and subject to Challenge by any of the other judges who believe they have relevant information about any particular nomination;
• The list of selected Finalists and evaluation documentation are then passed to the respective Award Judging Committees. SCOAP may also recommend that certain Non-Finalists be encouraged to re-submit their nomination in a future year.

(2) The selection of Distinction Award Winners:

The Finalists selected in each of the four groups of awards from the first round of judging are submitted to their respective four separate Judging Committees:

• Federal Award Judging Committee
• Provincial Award Judging Committee
• Municipal Award Judging Committee
• National Award Judging Committee

Members of these Judging Committees are selected from among senior executives in the public and private sector ICT communities, and are representative of the governments associated with each award group.

Each judge reviews every Finalist in their Award Group, and evaluates them relative to all other Finalists in this group. The Award Winners are selected through tallying each individual judge’s numerical evaluation, as well as subjecting these results to a rigorous final Challenge Meeting, to ensure that there is a clear understanding and agreement among all judges of the merits of each Finalist nomination.

In summary, a total of over 60 knowledgeable and well-qualified judges are involved in the review and selection of Finalists, and in the final selection of the Award Winners. Each nomination is reviewed by at least three judges, and each Finalist and Award Winner is reviewed by up to 10 judges, as well as being subject to challenge by all 60 judges involved in the various stages of the judging process. Furthermore, judges frequently seek direct and third-party confirmation or clarification of information on specific nominations.

The Distinction Awards Judging Process is subject to constant review and evaluation, and continues to evolve to ensure that it consistently leads to the appropriate recognition of outstanding public sector individuals and teams who have made a significant contribution to supporting the vision and objectives of e-government across Canada.

Deadline for Submissions: May 23, 2008.
For more information, please call Silvia Villon at 613-736-9851 ext. 120, or email .