The Welsh Local Government Association has been developing and promoting the concept of Excellence Wales for several years, building a broad base of support at national and local level for its introduction. This scheme is unique to local government in Wales and is developed in collaboration with the Welsh Assembly Government, Wales Audit office, Welsh local authorities, and good practice across the UK.
Excellence Wales has three key aims:-
- to promote learning from our peers and thereby improve collective performance;
- to offer local authorities in Wales the opportunity to recognise and celebrate notable practice; and
- to promote a positive image of local government in the national and local media.
Principles
The scheme has been established with the following key principles:
- Its emphasis is on openness, learning and knowledge exchange to support improvements in service delivery. Its mechanism for developing and delivering the scheme is unique, in adopting a collaborative approach with local authorities and external parties to deliver a scheme that has resonance, so that ultimately- “everyone is a winner”.
- Excellence Wales is about building on other schemes, like Beacon councils. It does not aim to duplicate existing award schemes like the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) or the Municipal Journal, but about working with them and the regulators as partners, to achieve national credibility and standing for the scheme and Welsh local government.
- The scheme evolves to incorporate year on year improvements and adjustments such as to extend the scheme so that the wider public sector family can apply for Excellence Wales status; “certificate of recognition” awards for pockets of good practice; refined application processes ( more time, supported application process etc.).
The project team who manage and administer the scheme and learning dissemination are:
- Practice Adviser - Clover Rodrigues
- Learning Adviser - Helen Stephens
If you have any comments, would like more information about the scheme, or if you would like a presentation to your authority’s management team or council, email us at excellence.wales@wlga.gov.uk
For more information contact: Jenna Redfern