Guidelines for External Awards – Due Diligence

There are a number of prestigious awards, external to the department, which recognize the outstanding achievements of public servants across the country.

The objective of this document is to provide you with a checklist of actions to take and questions to answer, before engaging in the promotion of any awards initiated by external institutes.

The most important thing to ask yourself when considering the promotion of any external awards is: How will the fact that an ESDC employee obtained/won an external award or prize be perceived by a reasonable member of the public?

To guide you with this question, here are some other questions that you should ask yourself :

External Institution Award Solicitations

  • Do the terms and objectives are in line with what ESDC is endorsing?
  • Are there links with the ESDC's mandate?
  • Is the institution a legitimate organization?
  • Does the institution receive subsidies/grants or other funding from the Department?

External Award Nominees

  • Is there a conflict of interest, a grievance, or a harassment accusation against the nominated employee?
    • If in doubt, check with labour relations or harassment to ensure that there is no grievance, accusation of harassment or conflict of interest against the employee that could be manipulated by the media and misperceived by the public.
  • Does the description of nomination disclose any confidential or protected information (including Cabinet Confidence and Memorandum to Cabinet)?
  • Can other employees or the public perceive the nomination as preferential treatment?
    • If so, certain conditions/rules will need to be put in place.

Validation

  • Were past recipients involved in any illegal or illicit activities?
    • Research on the credibility of past awardees to ensure that ESDC is not being associated with unlawful or wrongful activities.
  • Does the institution support a political party?
    • EDSC and its employees as public servants must remain non-partisan and impartial in both practise and perception; therefore, the award cannot be associated with any political party or organizations.

In summary, before endorsing, promoting or submit a nomination for unknown external awards, always consider the implications for the integrity of ESDC if questionable information leaks to the media and/or social media and always seek management approval once all of the above questions have been reviewed and answered.

ESDC has implemented a streamlined approach to support the nominations of ESDC employees for the following external awards:

Regulatory Excellence Awards
These awards honour and acknowledge individuals and teams in the regulatory community for their outstanding achievements.
Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEX) Awards
The award reflects and defines important contributions made by public service executives in leadership, partnership, service innovation and career contribution.
Michelle C. Comeau HR Leadership Award
This award recognizes the outstanding contributions and accomplishments made by public servants in the human resources community in advancing the people management agenda.
Public Service Awards of Excellence (PSAE)
This award recognizes employees who have demonstrated excellence in the achievement of results for Canadians while exemplifying the values, ethics, and priorities of the Public Service.
Digital Government Community Awards
*formerly known as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Community Awards
The Digital Government Community Awards acknowledge and honour excellence in a variety of programs and initiatives within the Government of Canada Chief Information Officer community.