Scottish Public Service Awards 2024 shortlist announced

Organisations involved in suicide prevention efforts, supporting mums whose children are taken into care, and the resettling of 19 female Afghan medical students to Scotland have all been shortlisted in this year’s Scottish Public Service Awards (SPSAs).

Now in its 11^th year, the SPSAs celebrate the often-unsung contribution made to Scotland’s civic society from within the civil service, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, local government, health and social care sector, broader public sector and their partners within the third sector.

Following deliberation by a panel of judges, entries have now been whittled down to a shortlist – with 32 nominees across 11 categories.

In addition, the Lifetime Achievement Award will also be presented to someone who holds the good of public service to their very core.

The awards will take place in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 10 December.

Holyrood Communications runs them in partnership with the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government.

Inspired by the late Campbell Christie and his incredible efforts to help reform Scotland’s public services, Holyrood launched the awards in 2014 with the aim of recognising and rewarding best practice, teamwork, innovation, and clear leadership across Scotland’s diverse public services.

The full shortlist is available below, and for more details on the event you can visit its dedicated webpage.

The Campbell Christie Public Service Reform Award 

• Martha's Mammies, Glasgow City Council
• National Improving Writing Programme, The Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative (in partnership with Education Scotland and Fife CYPIC)
• Peer Naloxone Project, Scottish Drugs Forum

The Campaign of the Year Award 

• 16 Days of Activism Scotland, Improvement Service and National Violence Against Women Network
• Detect Cancer Earlier Marketing Campaign, Scottish Government Communications
• Hello Dundee, Dundee City Council

The Project and Programme Management Award
(in association with Association for Project Management)

• A Warm Scottish Welcome - North Lanarkshire Ukrainian Resettlement Project, North Lanarkshire Council
• Regional Prosperity Framework PMO, Capital City Partnership
• Tribunal Support Model Programme, Children's Hearings Scotland

The Commercial Partnerships Award 

• Intelligent Case Notes, Citizens Advice Scotland's Extra Help Unit (EHU) and HelpFirst
• Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) Programme, Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust
• Swiis Foster Care Scotland, Swiis Foster Care Scotland

The Leadership Award 

• Natasha Gilmour, Head of Extra Help Unit, Citizens Advice Scotland
• Rosemary Agnew, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)
• Yasmin Safder, Co-chair Scottish Government Muslim Network and Faith and Belief Network

The Digital Public Services Award 
(in association with Leidos) 

• AI-driven voice assistant for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), HelpFirst
• Scottish Government Design System, The Scottish Government Design System Team
• YouTube Health Shelf, NHS 24 AV team

The Community Engagement Award
(in association with LNER)

• A Warm Welcome - North Lanarkshire Ukrainian Resettlement Project, North Lanarkshire Council
• The Change Centre Dundee (Street Soccer), Police Scotland and Street Soccer Scotland
• Working For Wallacetown, South Ayrshire Council (Community Planning Partnership)

The Championing Diversity and Inclusion Award 

• Creating a College of Sanctuary, Dundee & Angus College
• Making Graduation Inclusive for All, Fife College
• Tailored Jobs, South Ayrshire Council (Thriving Communities - Employability

The Voluntary Sector Partnership Award 
(in association with SCVO) 

• CivTech & Citizens Advice Scotland, CivTech & Citizens Advice Scotland
• Linlathen Local Fairness Initiatve, Dundee City Council and Brooksbank Centre and Services Dundee
• Resettlement of 19 female medical students to Scotland, Norgrove Foundation, Scotland Office, and the Scottish Government

The Sustainability Award
(in association with Vattenfall)

• AMIDS District Heating Network, Renfrewshire Council - City Deal and Infrastructure Team
• Improving Inverclyde's environment through peatland restoration and tree planting, Inverclyde Council
• North Lanarkshire Low Carbon Learning, North Lanarkshire Academies (NL Academies) and BE-ST

The Policy into Practice Award 

• Breastfeeding Friendly North Lanarkshire - Leading the Way in Driving Cultural Change, North Lanarkshire Council
• Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) programme, Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust
• Surviving Suicidal Thoughts (SST) project, NHS 24 and the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group Living and Lived Experience Panel