The recognizing of excellence and innovation in the management of administrative procedures, which increase the quality of public service at the state, district, and local governmental levels shall be governed by the procedures outlined below. The development of the following procedures is based upon Mississippi Code Annotated § 25-9-134(2) which states as follows:
The State Personnel Board is hereby authorized and directed to establish a program to encourage and recognize excellence, innovation, and diversity on the part of state, district, and local governmental entities in the design, execution, and management of their own administrative procedures. The State Personnel Board shall establish by rule and regulation procedures for evaluating said examples of improvement in public administration, and shall provide for an annual awards program to recognize excellence in government. The Board may establish categories of governmental service in order to recognize these achievements.
Provisions for Award Determination
A. A maximum of two individuals or two groups of individuals will be publicly recognized each year. One shall be the recipient of the Award for Excellence in State Government, and one shall be the recipient of the Award for Excellence in Local and District Government.B. The Award for Excellence in State Government shall recognize the state service or non-state service employee or group of employees whose contributions within the last five (5) years represent excellence in government.C. The Award for Excellence in Local and District Government shall recognize the local or district level employee or group of employees whose contributions within the last five (5) years represent excellence in government.General Procedures for Award Determination
A. Eligibility Criteria1. A nominee must be, at the time of the nomination, a full-time employee of a governmental entity in a classified position with a minimum of three (3) years of service.2. Persons holding elected offices will be evaluated based on their career in public service, excluding time served as an elected official.B. Nomination Requirements1. Each year, the appointing authority or the governing boards or commissions of governmental entities shall submit nominations for personnel in the entity under their purview by the date established by the MSPB Executive Director.2. Each nomination must be accompanied by a nomination form signed by the appointing authority of the governmental entity employing the nominee. (An appointing authority may only be nominated by the governing board or commission of the entity employing the appointing authority nominee.)3. In addition to the nomination form, a written nomination should include the following: (i) Brief biography of the nominee, summarizing positions held, educational background, civic and professional involvement, and other personal data; and(ii) Statement of achievement (a) Description of the nominee's work, including but not limited to what was accomplished, how resources were maximized, and what was innovative about the nominee's work;(b) Description of the significance of the nominee's work, including but not limited to the impact on efficiency and effectiveness; and(c) Description of the nominee's commitment to government in Mississippi and how his/her service exemplifies that commitment.C. Submission Guidelines Nominations may be submitted electronically to MSPB at mspb.communications@mspb.ms.gov, by mail, or by hand-delivery.
D. Verification Information submitted in support of nominations is subject to verification by the MSPB Executive Director. In addition, the Governor or the MSPB Executive Director may request a nominating party or nominee to furnish additional information.
Selection Criteria
A. The nominee must have primary and direct responsibility for administrative action and implementation of personnel-related improvements in productivity, efficiency, or effectiveness.B. Measurability and tangibility of results will be considered. Examples include, but are not limited to, increased revenues, reduced expenditures while maintaining same quality/quantity standards, or improved quality/quantity standards at equal or decreased cost.C. Innovation of action or approach will be considered.D. Selection will be based on clear and practicable actions for the improvement of particular aspects of technical or administrative procedures, which include, but are not limited to, the following:1. Strengthening one or more major areas of public administration such as personnel recruitment, training, development and/or payroll administration.2. Increasing intergovernmental cooperation with respect to such matters as personnel interchange, personnel recruiting, staff utilization and interchange, and fringe benefits.3. Establishment of personnel systems of general or specific functional coverage to meet the needs of governmental jurisdictions.E. Nominations meeting the requirements will be submitted to MSPB for review and comment. Following review and comment by the Board, the MSPB Executive Director shall submit all nominations to the Governor for review, comments, and recommendation at least sixty (60) days prior to final evaluation and award by the Board. An explanation in writing shall be sent to the Governor in the event the Board does not concur with recommendations of the Governor in approving or disapproving said nominations.Announcement of Awards
The announcement of the awards shall be made publicly at an awards ceremony, and each recipient shall receive an award.
Should an insufficient number of valid nominations for the Local and District Government Award and/or the State Government Award be received, the MSPB Executive Director may recommend the award(s) not be presented in any given year.
Reactivation of Nominations
Individual nominations made in previous years may be reactivated by the MSPB Executive Director for nomination in a subsequent year's competition. However, this provision is not automatic, and nominating parties are encouraged to re-nominate deserving personnel who did not win in the previous year's nominations. Subsequent re-nominations should be updated to include the nominee's latest achievements.
27 Miss. Code. R. 110-7.2.1