9th SGCA opens registration for 11 direct application categories

Entities can submit their applications on www.igcc.ae between April 12 and June 14.

Direct applications can be made in the following categories: Best Public Communication by a Government Agency – Emirate of Sharjah; Government Communication Model Employee – United Arab Emirates; Best Crisis Response – United Arab Emirates; Best Government Communication Systems – Arab World; Best Government Communication in Digital Media – Arab World; Best Environmental Policies and Practices – Arab World; and Best Applied Scientific Research in Government Communication – Global.

Emirate of Sharjah
Titled Best Public Communication by a Government Agency, the award is given to a government service agency that has responded to the public's demands, improved public communication practices and brought about a qualitative change in the work mechanism based on the views and needs of the public, resulting in these being met by the government.

UAE categories
The two categories dedicated to the UAE include Government Communication Model Employee – United Arab Emirates, which honours employees of governmental and quasi-governmental bodies who have submitted ideas for improved government communication practices, displaying exceptional approaches of professionalism to achieve customer happiness and enhancing the organisation's reputation on the national, regional and global level. 

The Best Crisis Response – United Arab Emirates is awarded to a governmental, quasi-governmental or private body that has responded to crises and achieved effective communication with the public during and after the crisis by adopting an idea that produced tangible results.

Arab world categories
The Arab world has three main awards: The Best Government Communication Systems – Arab World, which encompasses four sub-awards. The first of them is an award for a government body that created an impact through effective practices and tools, adopted the best communication methods and contributed to improving the image of the organisation on the local, regional and global level. The second sub-award category is dedicated to a body that has participated in training, education or academic activities to improve its employees' competence in government communication and bolster effective communication with the public, the media and digital platforms. 
The third sub-award is dedicated to a body that presented original ideas, initiatives and services based on the methods, aims and strategies of government communication and which assists persons with disabilities to communicate effectively and easily, whether as employees or as customers. The fourth award honours an organisation that improves the quality of services for the elderly using innovative approaches, and integrates them with the younger generations.

The second main award category, the Best Government Communication in Digital Media – Arab World, is dedicated to a governmental or private body which has produced digital media content consistent with the principles of government communication and has achieved successful engagement and communication with the public via social media and smartphone applications. 

The third and last main award, Best Environmental Policies and Practices – Arab World, is dedicated to programmes that draw on government communication strategies and methods to combat climate change and its impact. It honours governmental, quasi-governmental or non-government organisations that have implemented practical programmes for protecting the environment from the adverse effects of climate change and establish partnerships to safeguard the environment in order to improve people's quality of life now and for future generations.

Global Award
The Best Applied Scientific Research in Government Communication – Global honours entities that have submitted research on topics related to government communication, which have contributed to improving work systems across all levels of administration and communication. 
Applications for the award may be submitted in person or through a research centre. The award is in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. The category comprises two sub-awards: Best individual or collective research and Best institutional research by governmental, quasi-governmental or private organisations in the Arab World.

Applications for the SGCA awards must be submitted online through the IGCC website and should include a video not exceeding five minutes that introduces the initiative, and a word document with the name and logo of the entity, name and a brief of the initiative, date of submission, table of contents, and a foreword. The document should also include details of strategies, goals, and results in line with the submission criteria for each award category, and must not exceed 1,000 words.