Ten government programs chosen as the most innovative for 1997 have been selected by the Innovations in American Government program, a Ford Foundation program administered by the Kennedy School of Government in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government. The Ford Foundation is granting $100,000 to each of the programs.

The winners were chosen after a rigorous selection process that culminated this week in a competition among 25 finalists in Washington, D.C. The $1 million in grants will enable these innovative programs to share lessons learned with other government agencies -- at all levels -- in such areas as criminal justice, education, health care, the environment, and transportation.

Since its inception in 1986, the Innovations program has searched each year for the top 10 government programs, and more than 85 percent of the winning programs have been replicated by other government agencies.

"This year's selection process was extremely competitive," said Alan Altshuler, director of the Innovations program at the Kennedy School. "It has been thrilling to learn of so many remarkable public initiatives, though this has made the task of selecting just 10 difficult indeed."

"The Ford Foundation gives $1 million each year to the 10 government programs that set a standard for excellence in government," said Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. "The American people need to know that their government agencies are developing an incredible track record for tackling some of our toughest problems."

The 10 winners of the 1997 awards -- including eight state and two federal programs -- were distinguished by their collaboration with public- and private-sector partners, their use of new technologies, and an innovative approach to problem-solving. The winners are:

Arkansas' ConnectCare; Boston's Operation Cease Fire; North Carolina's Structured Sentencing; Pennsylvania's Land Recycling; Chicago's Gallery 37; Georgia's Pathways to Teaching and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten; Kentucky's Re-creating Public Education for Results; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Reform of the U.S. Drug Approval Process; and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's Telefile program.

The winning programs were chosen by the national selection committee of the Ford Foundation's Innovations in American Government Awards program. This selection committee of public policy experts and former public officials is chaired by David Gergen, editor-at-large of U.S. News and World Report, and includes former Congressman Tom Downey, former League of Women Voters president Dorothy Ridings, former Gary, Ind., mayor Richard Hatcher, and Jack Rosenthal, editor of The New York Times Magazine.

The competition among the 25 finalists was the final step in a highly competitive process. More than 1,540 initial applications were evaluated according to originality of approach, value of services, effectiveness, and potential for replication in other jurisdictions. After the 25 finalists were chosen, experts in each program's field conducted site visits to analyze their effectiveness.

"These programs demonstrate that government can and does work," said Gergen. "The same forces that have improved productivity and profitability in the private sector are being used effectively to improve government. It is important that we recognize when government succeeds."

The Council for Excellence in Government is a national, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization whose 750 members have served as senior public-sector officials. Its mission is to improve the performance of government by strengthening results-oriented management and creative leadership in the public sector and to build understanding in government by focusing public discussion on its role and responsibilities.

The Ford Foundation, established in 1936, is a private, nonprofit institution that serves as a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide.