2007 Honors

November 1, 2007: ACF Assistant Secretary's 2007 Partnering for HHS Excellence Award

On November 1, 2007, the Grants Center of Excellence (COE) will receive the ACF Assistant Secretary's 2007 Partnering for HHS Excellence Award in a special Honor Awards Ceremony held at the National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center. News about this award was sent to ACF staff in a memorandum from Daniel Schneider, Acting Assistance Secretary for Children and Families, along with his personal congratulations to the COE Team members. Mr. Schneider commended the COE Team for performing their duties and responsibilities in an exemplary manner. He noted that the COE Team's accomplishments have been recognized by ACF colleagues and by the ACF Honor Awards Committee.

September 6, 2007: Civilian Leadership in Enterprise Architecture Award

On September 6, 2007, during the 7th Enterprise Architecture Annual Convention, the COE was awarded the "Civilian Leadership in Enterprise Architecture" award. It was one of only two awards presented to Federal civilian agencies as part of the E-Government Institute's annual Excellence in Enterprise Architecture" awards program to recognize best practices in developing and implementing a successful Enterprise Architecture (EA). The COE was commended on its EA innovation, which successfully incorporates the ideas and services of COE business partners into the Enterprise Architecture. This award was made jointly by the E-Government Institute and the Federal Enterprise Architecture Certification (FEAC) Institute. The award was accepted by David Jenkins, Director of Information Resource Management, Administration for Children and Families, on behalf of the COE.

COE Honored by Kennedy School of Government

ACF was pleased to learn in mid-July 2007 that its Grants Center of Excellence (COE) was chosen as one of only five initiatives to advance in the IBM Innovations Award in Transforming Government competition, representing the top 5% of the initial applicant pool. IBM and the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government announced last April (2007) the creation of a special award on the occasion of the Innovation Program's 20th Anniversary. The IBM Innovations Award in Transforming Government is designed to recognize the agencies and organizations throughout the world that have achieved comprehensive and profound change and have improved the lives of citizens. The award recognizes innovations across the globe that reflect tangible and sustainable improvements in policy processes, quality, timeliness or effectiveness of public services, and the winner of this award receives $100,000. To be selected as one of the five final initiative candidates was a great honor for the COE Team.

April 26, 2007: Electronic Solution Award

The COE received the Electronic Solution Award from the National Grants Management Association (NGMA) on April 26, 2007 at the annual Grants Management Training Conference. The NGMA award is particularly meaningful because it is from our peers who know better than anyone else the work and dedication it takes to provide world class grants management services and solutions. Mr. Curtis Coy, the ACF Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration, accepted the award on behalf of the COE. Mr. Coy stated that "the motto of Grants Center of Excellence is 'Linking services, solutions and communities'. The COE team with the support of our partners, OMB, the GMLOB and the other Grants Management Consortia Leads has shown us all how that can truly be done. The result has been improved services for the grantee and grantor communities and more money going to America's grantees because less money is consumed by government."