Dubai Government Excellence Program concludes Executive Benchmarking Program

The Dubai Government Excellence Program, part of The General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai, today concluded its Executive Benchmarking Program aimed at instilling the values of continued institutional learning and exchange of knowledge and experiences between Dubai government entities.

The programme was designed to empower government entities to contribute to further enhancing Dubai’s stature as one of the world’s best cities in government operations and advanced services.

On the final day of the programme, His Excellency Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary General of The Executive Council of Dubai, met with the programme’s graduates, and commended them on their performance and valuable research that supports government excellence in Dubai. He honoured the teams that excelled in the programme.

Notable teams that were recognized for their excellence included the Government Capacity Building - Future Jobs team, which received a remarkable 7-star rating. The Data Management and Decision Making team accomplished an impressive 6-star rating, and the Community Behaviors for Effective Government and Shared Digital Services team earned a commendable 5-star rating.

This edition of the Executive Benchmarking Program attracted 40 participants representing 18 government entities. The teams collaborated in presenting four joint research and development projects to achieve a benchmark that documents best practices.

The fifth cycle of the programme aimed to build on the successes of earlier editions and create a team to learn from best practices, and advance government research and development in priority sectors for the Government of Dubai.

Dr. Hazza Al Nuaimi, Coordinator General of the Government Excellence Program, said: “This edition of the Executive Benchmarking Program set a record for participation with 18 government entities. This reflects the maturity and diversity of the challenges presented by the programme for participants to find innovative solutions. The concepts that result will solidify Dubai’s pioneering status as a model in aiming for the top ranks, a standard in government performance excellence, and a benchmark in best-in-class service of individuals and communities.”

The entities participating in this cycle of the Executive Benchmarking Program spanned a wide range of specialities. The list of participants included Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Customs, Dubai Police, Department of Finance, Dubai Land Department, Dubai Culture, Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai Airports, Dubai Health Authority, Public Prosecution, Supreme Legislation Committee, Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai, Dubai Government Human Resources Department, and Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects.

Four challenges have been chosen for this cycle, following close analysis of evaluation reports and global trends in cooperation with the Strategy and Governance Sector at the Dubai Model Center at the General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai.

The final day of the Executive Benchmarking Program brought together the teams to present their proposed ideas, and discuss them with a judging panel that featured: Dr. Ayesha Al Mutawa, former Director of Strategy and Excellence at Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, Sabah Al Shamsi, Director of Corporate Services at the General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai, and Ahmed Huraimel, Advisor to the Dubai Model Center at the General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai. The jury members were also joined remotely by international experts, Dr. Alan Sawell, a researcher in best practices and the future from New Zealand, and Professor Dotun Adebanjo, a lecturer at the University of Greenwich in England.

Between 2015 and 2019, the Dubai Government Excellence Program implemented 35 projects for institutional learning and benchmarking with international best practices through the Executive Benchmarking Program, achieving valuable results in enhancing the performance of participating government entities. In 2020, the programme also successfully implemented a project to learn from best practices in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the efforts of the Dubai Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management and identifying prominent global standards for crisis management.