2004 Performance Excellence awards

Local government winners of the annual Performance Excellence Study Awards (PESA) deserve due recognition, Environment Minister Marian Hobbs and Local Government Minister Chris Carter said today.

The winner of the local government sector of the PESA awards is Hamilton City Council while the inaugural winner of the education sector is Motutapu Outdoor Education Camp Trust. Special recognition is also given to the Utilities Policy/ Recreation & Leisure Groups at Porirua City Council. They are a first-time applicant with the highest scores from the local government sector.

"It is pleasing to see the standard of performance gets higher each year," Marian Hobbs said. "Councils are not only raising the bar, but each year are meeting and exceeding it."

Chris Carter said councils have seen the benefits from using the PESA model as a tool for improving their performance as a whole.

"A high performing council means a happier community," he said.

Two councils will now be represented on the forthcoming study visit to best practice organisations in the US. The council representatives will be able to learn first hand from world-class organisations, bring back this knowledge and apply international best practice in their councils.

The PESA Awards were launched in 1992 to encourage high-quality performance in organisations, using the internationally recognised Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria.

The award criteria provide a framework for assessing an organisation's performance in seven categories: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement/analysis and knowledge management, human resource focus, process management and business results.

The New Zealand Performance Excellence Study Awards are sponsored by the Ministry for the Environment, the Department of Internal Affairs, Air New Zealand and Business Excellence NZ.

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