The HHSinnovates Program: Winners' Gallery
The HHSinnovates program was created as part of HHS’s Open Government efforts to celebrate innovation by our employees. The program is aimed at building a culture of innovation at HHS through facilitating the exchange of innovative ideas throughout the Department. This contest seeks not only to recognize and reward good ideas but also to help promote them across the Department.
Twice a year, HHS employees are invited to submit innovations via an internal intranet site. The top innovations are posted for secure, online voting and commenting by the internal HHS community who select the finalists. From the finalists, winning innovations are selected by the Secretary. In addition to the Secretary Award, this time, for the first time ever, in the spirit of open government we have posted summaries of the winning innovations and asked the public to cast their vote and help us to select “The People’s Choice”.
Launched in the spring of 2010, the HHSinnovates program has undergone five rounds to date. Our employees have submitted nominations for nearly 450 exciting new staff-driven innovations, and over 50,000 votes have been cast by our employees during the community voting phase. Public voting has also help to bring additional exposure to exciting new innovations happening at HHS. The last five rounds of HHSinnovates have demonstrated how HHS employees have overcome resource constraints, complicated schedules, and complex organizational dynamics to provide creative, replicable and sustainable innovations that demonstrate outstanding leadership and promising results.
Winner of the People’s Choice Award 2012
This time, for the first time, ever we asked the public to vote on their favorite HHS innovation. The innovation voted as most innovative and impactful is The Coal Dust Explosibility Meter.
Next Steps in Round 6 of HHSinnovates: Voting
HHS employees are asked to vote for their favorite innovations from January 14-25.
The next stage of the contest will involve public voting in which we ask the public to provide feedback on their favorite innovations. Public voting will start at the end of February. Check back here for more details.
Winning Innovations Selected by Secretary Sebelius
Round 1 Winners | Round 2 Winners | Round 3 Winners | Round 4 Winners |
Frequently Asked Questions about the HHSinnovates Contest
Who can submit nominations to the HHSinnovates contest?
Only HHS employees are allowed to submit individual or team nominations (though innovation teams may include non-HHS employees) to the contest. Self-nominations are allowed.
How can HHS employees submit nominations or vote for their favorite innovations?
HHS employees can learn more about the contest and submit a nomination or vote via the HHS intranet at http://intranet.hhs.gov/abouthhs/programs_initiatives/innovates/index.html
Which kinds of innovations are eligible for the HHSinnovates contest?
For purposes of this contest, innovation is defined as the introduction of something entirely new (e.g., a product, process, system, service, or business model) or an unusual application of an existing tool used to improve HHS’s ability to accomplish its mission.
Eligible innovation categories include, but are not limited to: process, technology, relationship/partnership, communication, workforce development, and sustainability innovations. Other types of innovations will also be considered.
Eligible innovations must have been piloted or implemented in the last 30 months.
Innovations must have generated significant innovation success; OR generated limited/early success and have given HHS new knowledge that can be used for future improvement.
How are the innovations evaluated in the HHSinnovates contest?
Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Quality of the application
- Importance of the innovation to the OPDIV/STAFFDIV and HHS mission
- Novelty of the innovation
- Impact on HHS and OPDIV/STAFFDIV mission and target populations
- Usefulness of the lessons learned within the OPDIV/STAFFDIV
- Potential for transferability and scalability across HHS and beyond
What do winners of the HHSinnovates contest receive?
All finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony and will receive public recognition. Up to 3 innovations will be recognized as the “Secretary’s Top Picks” per award round. The Secretary’s Picks will be given cash awards of up to $2,500 per team member for a maximum of 7 members per team (note: only HHS employees and HHS Commissioned Corps personnel are eligible for cash awards). The Secretary may also recognize up to 3 “Honorable Mentions.” The honorable mentions will not receive cash awards, but will be invited to participate in the awards ceremony and will receive public recognition.
What is the People’s Choice Award?
In September 2012, we added a new element to the contest: the selection of a People’s Choice Award. Based on input from the HHS community, we have selected the top six innovations for Round 5. We posted summaries of these innovations and asked the public to help us decide which of these six innovation is most innovative and impactful.