Premier Christy Clark celebrated the exceptional accomplishments of British Columbia’s public service employees and unveiled a new form of recognition, the B.C. Public Service Hall of Excellence, at the Premier’s Annual Innovation and Excellence Awards ceremony.

“This event marks the 10th year we have been recognizing and celebrating public service achievements that have made real differences in people’s lives,” said Clark. “I wanted to find a special way to honour individuals who have made exceptional and lasting contributions to British Columbia. Now the Hall of Excellence is the highest form of recognition public service employees can strive for.”

Public service employees were recognized for applying new, innovative ways of providing essential services in six categories: Leadership, Organizational Excellence, Partnership, Innovation, Emerging Leader and Legacy.

• Performing in a dual executive leadership capacity, Jordan Goss held two key senior positions and rallied her team to successfully re‐implement the PST, B.C.’s largest legislative project ever undertaken.
• “Water champion” Ted van der Gulik has turned his passion for watershed management into a 35-year career dedicated to ensuring B.C.’s water resources are protected for future generations.
• The Integrated Offender Management Program brought inmates and staff together to develop a sustainable transition plan for inmates, from custody to supervision, reducing criminal behaviour and increasing public safety.
• Robert Wright has prosecuted some of the highest-profile cases in Canada and, as head of the Air India prosecution team, pioneered Canada’s first project-management approach to large prosecutions.
• At the heart of Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreements (AEEA) is the importance of traditional culture and languages to Aboriginal student success. AEEAs are now in 53 of B.C.’s school districts, increasing Aboriginal student completion rates by 35%.
• Deljit Sandhu led a virtual team supporting clients on income assistance, developing a framework that resulted in more accurate and consistent outcomes and a better working relationship with community and government partners.
• Using custom-built hardware and special technology developed in-house, B.C.’s highway webcam program went from three to nearly 300 locations throughout B.C., keeping B.C. roads safer by monitoring highway conditions, weather and traffic flow.

“Tonight’s recipients have tackled some of the most important issues in B.C. today with enthusiasm, dedication and a keen eye as to how to improve services and programs for British Columbians,” Finance Minister Michael de Jong said. “The result is more efficient project timelines and innovative approaches that work. I’m proud of all the recipients today.”

The BC Public Service Hall of Excellence is the highest honour that the BC Public Service can extend to its employees, recognizing long-lasting achievement, dedication and service to the province. The inaugural induction of the Hall of Excellence took place at the provincial Premier’s Awards ceremony in Victoria on Oct. 8, 2014, where Clark recognized both the 2014 recipients and past recipients of the Legacy award.

This year’s awards recipients were selected by a group of independent adjudicators and announced via a streaming online video presentation. Webcasts held on Sept. 4, 11 and 18, 2014, honoured public servants from the North and Interior, Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland regions.

The nominations go through a two-part judging process. Initially, all Premier’s Award nominations are considered at a provincial level and reviewed by external adjudicators who evaluate the nominations on a category-by-category basis. Adjudicators select the regional finalists, including regional Premier’s Award recipients. The adjudicators also produce a short list for the judges to review for provincial consideration. To be considered at the provincial level, the project or person has to demonstrate significant impact or implement procedures widely adopted across multiple regions of the province. A panel of external judges then reviews the short-listed provincial nominations and selects the provincial finalists.

Videos of the Premier’s Awards finalists can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/user/BCPublicService#p/p

Learn more about the BC Public Service Hall of Excellence and previous B.C. Legacy winners: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/excellence/

A backgrounder follows.

Media Contacts:

Sam Oliphant
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
250 952-7252

Jamie Edwardson
Director of Communications
Ministry of Finance
250 356-2821

BACKGROUNDER

Premier’s Awards Ceremony

79 public service employees and organizations from across the province have received awards in Leadership, Legacy, Organizational Excellence, Partnership, Emerging Leaders and Innovation.

Organization: Ministry of Finance
Description:
LEADERSHIP - Jordan Goss is an exemplary leader, bringing strategy and creativity to B.C.’s tax administration while empowering employees throughout the process. Known for her respectful and genuine leadership style, Jordan rallied her team to successfully re‐implement the PST, B.C.’s largest legislative project ever undertaken, under tight timelines (18 months). Performing in a dual executive leadership capacity, Jordan held two key senior positions during the PST reimplementation. As director of PST Administration to the 14‐member PST policy team, Jordan applied her insight and extensive tax experience to remodel and streamline PST legislation that had not been redrafted in 60 years. Concurrently, as executive director of Consumer Taxation Programs, Jordan also led up to 125 employees. As a requested speaker and advisor to tax professionals throughout Canada, Jordan’s skills and leadership are known throughout the national tax community. Her work will help sustain and evolve B.C.’s tax system for years to come, but it is her strong sense of camaraderie and motivational leadership style that will continue to inspire her colleagues.

Organization: Ministry of Agriculture
Description:
LEGACY - Ted van der Gulik is a “water champion” and passionate about ensuring B.C.’s water resources are protected for future generations. In his 35-year career with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ted consistently translated vision into action and built an international reputation for leading-edge work in agricultural water management. His lasting legacy is represented by two game-changing tools: the Agricultural Water Demand Model and the Water Balance Model. The Agricultural Water Demand Model helps the agricultural sector be more diligent in water use, plan for future water needs and establish water reserves. Although it was originally developed for the Okanagan, it is now being implemented provincewide. Ted was also key in convening the water working group of the B.C. Agriculture council with the Ministry of Environment to help support the development of the Water Sustainability Act - just one of the ways his contributions go beyond agriculture and encompass integrated watershed planning initiatives. The numerous water projects he’s led have had a lasting impact on entire watersheds and communities in B.C.

Organization: Ministry of Justice
Description:
ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE - Starting as a pilot project in 2006, the Integrated Offender Management Program (IOM) has helped inmates transition from custody to supervision in the community and has proven to reduce criminal behaviour. Based on the program’s continuing success, it will be established in all of B.C.’s correctional centres by 2016 as an example of correctional excellence. It began in 2005 when the Corrections Branch recognized that collaboration between custody and community corrections staff focusing on offender case planning would support offenders as they transitioned out of custody. The branch quickly committed to applying evidence-based practices and interventions to manage offenders to reduce criminal behaviour. The IOM is aimed at high-needs, high-risk offenders who have lengthy histories of multiple convictions. A crucial factor to the program’s success has been encouraging inmates to work in partnership with corrections staff to develop a sustainable plan. The implementation of the IOM involved numerous risks and challenges, but reviews completed in 2010 and 2014 illustrate the significant impact the program has had in reducing criminal behaviours and enhancing public safety.

Organization: Ministry of Justice
Description:
LEGACY - Robert Wright has demonstrated leadership, innovation, excellence and professionalism throughout his 35-year legal career. He has prosecuted almost every possible charge, including some of the most high-profile cases in Canada. Robert was the head of the Air India prosecution team, pioneering Canada’s first project-management approach to large prosecutions. As result of his success with the Air India trial, Robert is recognized as one of the world’s experts in mega-case prosecutions. As director of the Crown Law Division of the Criminal Justice Branch, Robert guided the design and implementation of the Major Case Management Model, a reform that applies best practices to large and high-profile cases. As executive leader of the Major Case Initiative, he supervises and assists Crown Counsel throughout B.C. in many of the province’s most difficult and complex criminal matters. His innovations, such as developing the first comprehensive wiretap application training for the Crown and police, have become essential features of B.C.’s prosecution service. Robert has also built a legacy in the education, guidance and mentoring of lawyers and other justice professionals.

Organization: Ministry of Education
Description:
PARTNERSHIP - Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreements (AEEA) establish collaborative partnerships between Aboriginal communities and school districts to meet the educational needs of Aboriginal students. First introduced in 1999, AEEAs are now in place in 53 of B.C.’s school districts and have helped increase the Aboriginal student completion rates by 35% since their establishment. AEEAs encourage Aboriginal communities, school districts and the Ministry of Education to work together within a framework that allows all stakeholders to contribute to a shared vision of success for students. These agreements highlight the importance of academic performance and stress the integral nature of Aboriginal traditional culture and languages to Aboriginal student development and success. AEEAs are the framework for change in the public school system, and have increased the level of trust between school districts and the Ministry.

Organization: Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation
Description:
EMERGING LEADER - Deljit Sandhu is a supervisor of the Vancouver Coastal Central Team in the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation, leading a virtual team that supports direct services to clients on income assistance. When Del came into her role, she took a hands-on approach to working with managers, supervisors and staff in the region to develop a framework for her team, which consists of several units working at seven different work sites in the region. Del has empowered her team members to take a leadership role within their units and develop best practices. She has provided leadership by developing clear and effective processes that ensure the best use of resources and support improved client service. For example, Del worked with her staff to design new processes that ensured the teams met or exceeded provincial service standards and timelines, resulting in more accurate and consistent outcomes and a better working relationship with community and government partners.

Organization: Ministry of Transportation and Innovation
Description:
INNOVATION - B.C.’s highway webcam program began 10 years ago with three webcams. Now the program has cameras at nearly 300 locations throughout B.C., monitoring highway conditions, weather, traffic flow, avalanche conditions and highway construction. Using custom-built hardware and special technology developed in-house, the highway webcam team have installed cameras in areas that would normally be impossible to reach. The unique challenges of each webcam location means that the team has to be very flexible in their approach, taking on such tasks as developing new software for camera operations, programming microchips, implementing special telecommunications technology or developing solar-electricity systems for the cameras. The webcams have evolved into a complex system with many uses and users, but their main purpose has remained constant: improving safety for travellers in British Columbia. Thanks to the persistent innovation and dedication of the highway webcams team, travellers will benefit from more cameras and new features to keep them informed and safe.

Media Contacts:

Sam Oliphant
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
250 952-7252

Jamie Edwardson
Director of Communications
Ministry of Finance
250 356-2821