Better Public Service Awards 2026 - Nominee Day

Collins Barracks played host to an inspiring and celebratory milestone in the public service calendar Nominee Day for the Better Public Service Awards. Held across two days in early May, the event brought together 36 shortlisted teams from across the public service, marking the beginning of an exciting countdown to Awards Night on June 25th in the Royal Irish Academy.

Nominee Day offered a moment to pause and recognise the outstanding work taking place across the system, work that often goes unseen but makes a meaningful difference in people’s lives every day. Each team gathered not only to mark their achievement in reaching this stage, but also to capture their stories through professional photography and short video recordings that will be showcased on the night of the awards.

A New Chapter for the Awards

This year marks a significant evolution for the awards programme. Formerly known as the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards, the newly rebranded Better Public Service Awards have, for the first time, opened their doors to entries from across the entire public service.

The response has been remarkable. Hundreds of applications were submitted, reflecting the depth, diversity, and ambition of work happening nationwide. These entries underwent a highly competitive and rigorous shortlisting process earlier this year with almost 100 volunteers across grades and much of the public service giving up their time to read and mark the projects, resulting in the 36 teams celebrated on Nominee Day.

Collaboration at the Core

At the heart of this year’s awards, and central to every shortlisted project, is collaboration.

Every nominee was required to demonstrate meaningful partnership, whether across government departments, agencies, local authorities, or directly with communities and service users. This emphasis highlights a shared understanding: that the most impactful public service outcomes are often achieved not in isolation, but through collective effort.

The nominated projects span a broad range of categories, including delivering world-class public services and embedding human-centred design. While diverse in focus, they share a common thread — teams working together across boundaries to solve complex challenges, improve services, and respond to the needs of the public in innovative and inclusive ways.

Recognising Excellence Across the Public Service

For many of the teams, being shortlisted represents recognition not just of a single project, but of sustained dedication, creativity, and resilience. The work represented at Nominee Day reflects the wide-ranging scope of the public service from frontline delivery to policy innovation, from digital transformation to community engagement.

Importantly, the awards shine a light on work that might otherwise remain behind the scenes. By bringing these projects to a wider audience, the Awards celebrate the people and partnerships that drive continuous improvement across the system.

With Nominee Day now complete, anticipation is building for the Awards Night on June 25th. More than a competition, the awards are a celebration of innovation, of excellence, and of the shared commitment across the public and civil service to deliver better outcomes for all.