Dubai - MENA Herald: The third edition of the Best m-Government Service Award received 346 entries from local, Arab and international government entities and university students in the UAE as submissions were closed and the Award entered the evaluation stage. The winners will be announced at the World Government Summit in February. The Award Committee said the huge participation reflected the Award’s leading position as a global platform for innovation in services. Up to 30 per cent of the total submissions were from federal and local governments with 104 entries. Arab government entities made 84 submissions, accounting for 24 per cent of the total submissions, while 64 entries came from government entities at the international level, making up 19 per cent of the submissions. As many as 450 students from 21 universities in the UAE submitted 94 entries, accounting for 27 per cent of the submissions. The Award Committee evaluated more than 1560 applications of the best global smart technology solutions to provide government services based on international best practices. The Best m-Government Service Award, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to attract the best innovations in the area of smart government services, and encourage government entities to provide innovative solutions in line with Smart Government requirements. It is focused on inspiring better services to customers round the clock with high level of efficiency to exceed the expectations of customers and in line with the government's efforts to achieve the UAE Vision 2021. Hessa Buhumaid, Executive Director for Government Services Sector at the Prime Minister Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, said the quality entries in this year’s edition of the Award, especially at the university and global levels, reflected the Award’s prestigious international position in facilitating innovative solutions to customers on government services. Stressing the significance of the Award in promoting joint initiatives between government entities, academic institutions and universities, Buhumaid said the Award has expanded its scope by announcing that university students can cooperate with a federal or local government entity to develop their apps. Earlier, the Award was open only to federal government entities. The Award is now also open for services offered to other government entities (G2G) and services offered to individuals (G2C) and businesses (G2B). She added that the addition of two new categories – One Stop App and Smart Wearable Technology – has increased the potential opportunities for interaction on modern global technology trends and adapting these technologies to serve customers in line with the UAE government's efforts to promote the use of smart technologies to provide innovative applications in government services to facilitate people's lives and achieve their happiness. The Best m-Government Service Award is open for UAE Federal and local government entities in addition to UAE university students, and governments from the Arab region and the world. The Award includes 10 categories: Health, Education, Environment, Social Affairs, Safety & Security, Tourism, Economy & Commerce, Transportation & Infrastructure, One Stop App and Smart Wearable Technologies. The submissions focus on government service delivery via smart phone applications – mainly iOS, Android, Blackberry OS, and Windows Phone – mobile web solutions, SMS solutions, and smart wearable technologies. The panel of judges for the Award, which includes leading experts in the delivery of government services via mobile phones in the UAE and the world, has started to evaluate the submissions, preparing for the final phase to honour the winners at the World Government Summit in February. The previous editions of the award recorded 610 submissions in different categories, led by UAE federal and local government entities and university students and government agencies with 312 submissions, including 177 submissions from students from 22 universities in the UAE.
