Ash Center seeks nominations for public-sector programs improving economic and social mobility

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School has announced a major restructuring to its flagship award program, the Innovations in American Government Awards. For more than 30 years, the Innovations Award has sought to recognize public-sector programs that make American government more efficient, more creative, and more effective at addressing social problems and providing services to the public. The changes to the awards program are designed to better meet these goals by seeking applicants focused on a single, intractable problem in American society today.

With a new, streamlined application and evaluation process, the awards will now be offered annually. The 2017-2018 cycle seeks initiatives focused on improving economic and social mobility.

The Innovations in American Government Awards are heralded as the premier public-sector honors in the nation and are given to programs that serve as examples of creative and effective government at its best. The $50,000 top prize is open to programs at all levels of government — federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial —f rom within the United States. Finalists will also receive monetary grants.

The nomination form and additional information are available on the Innovations in American Government Award website.

Nominations for the 2018 Innovations in American Government Award are due Jan. 12, 2018.