Information in English
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1. General information 
 
The Speyer Quality Award was brought into existence in 1992 at the National School of Public Administration Speyer. This School is the only postgraduate university for public administration in Germany. It was founded in 1947 by the French occupying power in Palatinate following the example of the Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA). The body responsible for the School are all German States and the Federal Government. After the reunification of Germany the five east German States ("Länder") joined the Treaty, which constitutes the School. 
The National School of Public Administration Speyer is the central training institution for the sixteen Länder. Ever since it worked in its training courses on questions of modernising public administration. 

 2. Aims 

It is the intention of the Speyer Quality Award to foster the modernisation of public administrations. Instead of "civil service-bashing", which is - often unconsidered - done by the media, positive examples show that and how successful modernisation can be achieved. Through the exchange of views during the course and after the competition the participating administrations are given the opportunity to learn from each other and to orient their modernisation efforts towards internationally acknowledged standards. 
At the "5th Speyer Quality Award 2000" again “Speyer-Prizes” will be awarded for successful modernisation of public administrations. 
The Competition is open for the whole public sector. It covers federal, state and local administration including public enterprises and associations. For instance in recent years schools, universities, museums, courts or insurance companies applied. The solely precondition is that the applicant is a separate organisational unit with a certain degree of autonomy and independence. 

3. Benefits for public administrations 

Candidate organisations apply for the Speyer Quality Award. The application takes place on the basis of a self assessment, for which the comprehensive criteria list builds the framework. A lot of administrations, which took part in the former rounds of the Competition, have confirmed that this procedure has the effect of a guided organisational analysis. With this tool adequately used, public administrations can put their own organisation under close scrutiny, for example in project groups, and then modernise it continuously. Benchmarking with other administrations and the exchange of views during the congress at the end of the competition foster the achievement principle and motivate participants for further improvement of the own administration. This is part of an active knowledge management of public organisations. 
 

4. Benefits for sponsors 

The Speyer Quality Award depends on financial support by sponsoring partners. These partners may come from all areas which work together with public administration (banks, assurance companies, consultants, software companies, furnishers, providing and disposing companies etc.). Other companies, which want to contribute to the improvement of the locational factor public administration by a societal-oriented marketing are also very welcome. 
The Speyer Quality Award intends to establish innovation-coalitions with its sponsoring partners. When innovative public administrations work together with future-oriented private companies or when their development will be supported by them, this results for both sides in a successful image transfer. 

 5. Since 1992: Five competition rounds 

For the Speyer Quality Awards modern management and quality concepts from the private and the public area, the national and the international level are analysed continuously and worked in the current competition. The planning and realisation of the competition is therefore steadily improved. 

The 1st Speyer Quality Award 1992 went on from a project of the Canadian audit office with the topic "Well performing organizations". In addition other international quality competitions like the Malcolm Baldridge Quality Award in the United States or the European Quality Award were considered. From private management the guidelines DIN EN ISO 9000 ff., from the public area the initiatives of the Kommunale Gemeinschaftsstelle (Local Government Management Board) with regard to the "Neues Steuerungsmodell" ("New Steering Model") as well as the work of the Bertelsmann Foundation with its international and national network of reform-oriented local governments have been taken into account. 
Since the 3rd Speyer Quality Award 1996 also Austrian and Swiss public administrations are asked to take part in the Competition. 
 

6. Further information 

For further information please turn to: 

Armin Liebig, M.A.,  Mag. rer. publ. 
Deutsche Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer 
Freiherr-vom-Stein-Str. 2 
67346 Speyer 
Germany 
Tel.: ++49/(0)6232/654-266 
Fax: ++49/(0)6232/654-308 
e-mail: Liebig@dhv-speyer.de