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Administration Excellence Awards

Awards given by IPAC recognize excellence in public service and public administration across Canada.

The Administration Excellence awards are given to leaders across the Public Administration field.

Awards nominations are now OPEN for 2026. IPAC will confer awards at the 2026 National Public Service Symposium in Ottawa from October 5th-7th, 2026.

Awards Information

Learn more about each award

Submission Process

Start Nominating Today

Read about the Past Annual Conference (2024)

Trust, Change, and Public Administration

Key Dates

Winner Announcement: 2026 National Public Service Symposium in Ottawa from October 5th-7th, 2026.

Nomination Deadline: Deadline for nominations: EXTENDED to: June 30th, 2026, 11:59 EST

 

Adjudication of IPAC Awards has a two-tier process. The nominations are screened by an awards committee that will develop a shortlist of the nominations. The jury will then determine the winner for each category.

 

Read 2025 awards shortlist

The Awards

Established Leader

The IPAC Award for Established Leaders recognizes leaders in the field of public administration who have made substantive achievements in their role over many years and whose work has had a significant impact on the public interest. These individuals should also reflect the ideals of public administration. They will have advanced confidence and trust in their respective field.

Submit an Established Leader Nomination

Emerging Leader

The IPAC Award for Emerging Leaders recognizes promising new leaders in public administration who have served for five years or less in their profession, and whose work has made a significant impact to the public interest. These individuals should also reflect the ideals of public administration. They will have advanced confidence and trust in their respective field.

Submit an Emerging Leader Nomination

Innovation

The IPAC Award in Innovation recognizes an individual or organization that has produced an exceptional change or new way of doing things that addresses the public interest. This category now includes a dedicated sub-category, Innovation with AI, for innovations pertaining to artificial intelligence, highlighting initiatives that leverage AI to enhance public service delivery, decision-making, or operational outcomes.

Submit an Innovation Nomination

Distinguished Service in Mental Health Promotion

The IPAC Award for Distinguished Service in Mental Health Promotion recognizes an individual or organization with an outstanding record supporting individuals or a community with creative and sustained mental health programming.

Submit a Mental Health Promotion Nomination

Submission Process

 

All submissions for IPAC awards will use the same nomination form. Nominations must include a concise description of the nominee and/or the nominee’s initiative that commenced and was implemented in the previous year. Descriptions should be no longer than 1000 words. Nominators should not be directly involved with the work of the nominee. Reference letters are critical; each nomination must be accompanied by a maximum of three references with a minimum of 2 external. Letters should be 750 words or less and written by individuals who were not directly involved with the nominee’s work.


The nomination submission should address the following three criteria:

 

  • Meaningful results with extensive, documented impact
  • Effectiveness, efficiencies and/or cost savings
  • Scalability as a prototype for others to use

  • Additional consideration will be given to projects with regard to the following criteria:

    • Implications for good environmental stewardship
    • Equity, inclusion, and diversity
    • Digitally grounded

All nominees selected for the shortlist of their respective award must consent to their nomination for the award.

Awards granted to teams (e.g., Innovation Award) shall be granted to a maximum of ten members of the team.

 

2026 Awards nomination process

To submit a nomination, fill in the nomination form and submit it before the closing date. Winners will be contacted before the 2026 National Public Service Symposium in October.

If you need to confirm receipt, please do not hesitate to contact Dianne at [email protected]

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