Three projects were awarded the Innovation Prize in 2024, which is awarded for outstanding achievements in innovation in public sector activities. A total of four dozen nominations were successful, with a jury comprising representatives of the Icelandic Federation of Local Authorities and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

County officials

District Commissioners were recognized for pioneering efforts in automating public services, and especially the digital process of death. A total of 92% of death certificates issued at the end of 2023 were digital, down from 26% at the beginning of the same year. District Commissioners receive key information such as tax returns and vehicle assets automatically during the process; family members can complete all declarations and applications digitally, which has made the application process simpler and faster.

The City of Reykjavík and the Westman Islands

The City of Reykjavík and the Westman Islands received joint recognition for the project regarding the tendering and implementation of a welfare technology solution which has allowed health and social service providers in the welfare field of the municipalities to greatly increase information exchange between themselves and maximize efficiency in providing a variety of services in their homes. Service users have also gained a better overview of the organization of their services.

Árborg

The municipality of Árborg was awarded a special prize for its progressive ambitions in the area of digital transformation and digital services. In a difficult year, Árborg has lifted the digital transformation momentum with a variety of digital transformation projects that have resulted in improved oversight of the projects by the managers and reduced the strain of the operations.

Innovation Day is coming

The Innovation Prize is awarded in the run-up to Innovation Day for the Public Sector, which will take place on 15 May at Hilton Reykjavík Nordica. The event will feature a number of talks focusing on artificial intelligence and how it can help solve a number of challenges in business and services. More information about Innovation Day can be found here: