In a landmark celebration of technological advancement in public service, the eighth annual President’s Award for Innovation in Service Excellence (PrAISE) ceremony at President’s House, St Ann’s on November 27 showcased groundbreaking digital initiatives transforming citizen services.
The North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) emerged as a standout winner, securing the prestigious President’s Award in the internal user experience category for its revolutionary Digital Health Information System. Chief Executive Anthony Blake characterized the achievement as “a victory for both NWRHA patients and the dedicated team driving this initiative since 2019.”
This comprehensive digital ecosystem represents a monumental shift from paper-based medical documentation to a unified digital platform spanning hospitals, health centers, and community services. The conversion process employs specialized scanning technology and involves young professionals in on-the-job training programs working alongside medical records personnel to ensure accurate digitization of patient histories.
Blake revealed the authority’s ongoing development of a mobile application version that will empower both healthcare providers and patients to better manage medical information, promising significantly streamlined service delivery.
Similarly transformative, the Ministry of Education claimed the citizen experience award for its First Year Infant Registration System—a digital platform that has revolutionized school placement procedures through simplified digital processes.
President Christine Kangaloo emphasized the critical importance of such innovations, stating: “Service culture improvement necessitates fundamentally reimagining our operational methodologies, citizen engagement strategies, and creative problem-solving capabilities among public officers. Achieving superior outcomes is impossible while clinging to obsolete systems and traditional approaches—innovation must become the connective tissue unifying all improvement efforts.”
Additional recognition included audience choice awards going to the Health Ministry’s substance abuse prevention workshop and NALIS’s Marrakesh Project enhancing accessibility for visually impaired citizens. Public voting honored the Women’s Health Directorate’s maternal-newborn surveillance system and IGovTT’s AI-powered Anansi government information platform.
The Inter-American Development Bank’s senior health specialist Ian Ho-A-Shu reaffirmed the institution’s commitment, noting: “PrAISE has consistently provided an essential platform fostering innovation, collaboration, and morale within Trinidad and Tobago’s public service. As a development institution, we remain dedicated to institutional strengthening and capacity building—principles powerfully embodied by this initiative.”