National Water Commission's Annual Report wins again

Media release - 3 June 2011

The National Water Commission has won two prestigious awards in this year's Institute of Public Administration's ACT Annual Report Awards, taking out a gold award for its online report and a silver award for its hard copy version.

In choosing the Commission as the winner of the Gold Award for online annual reports in the FMA category (government departments and public service agencies), the panel of judges said 'This attractive online report made good use of the online capabilities as well as meeting the ADEPT criteria, better than the other submissions.

'The content of the report was of a high quality including strong case materials and a compelling evidence based narrative. There are attractive facilities for users such as a screen reader facility, easily downloadable chapters, and extensive use of hyperlinks to for example legislation, in the HTML version. In summary, this was an innovative submission which provided easy access to a high quality report.'

The Commission's 2009-10 annual report also won the Silver Award for the hard copy version of its report.

According to the judges, this was 'A clearly presented and easy to read report with some interesting features. Foremost among these is the feature of five year review essay of the water reform journey written by the retiring CEO, which is illustrated by maps and photographs.

'An understanding by readers of the national water initiative and its eight inter-related elements is aided by use of a clear diagram. The Commission engaged with many stakeholders through government working groups, key presentations and science seminars.'

National Water Commission CEO Mr James Cameron said, 'The ability of a small agency like the Commission to handle rigorous reporting requirements and to communicate effectively is proven by the fact that this is the third year running that the Commission has been recognised for the excellence of its annual report.'

'Last year, the Commission's efforts to improve the quality of its online reporting earned the silver award in the online category for its report's accessibility, straightforward navigation and well-focussed content. This followed a silver award for our hard copy report in 2008.' 

In producing its 2009-10 report, the Commission devoted particular efforts to an essay that chronicles the contributions of the National Water Commission to water policy reform, improved water management and water science over its first five years of operation.

Additionally, the Commission stepped up its commitment to transparent and accessible reporting by providing four online versions of its annual report, including a full HTML version that takes advantage of online capabilities with hot links to related information.  

James Cameron said 'The aims of the IPAA annual report awards are to test accountability, transparency and quality. Through its annual reports and other endeavours, the Commission will continue to strive for excellence and good governance in public sector administration.'

Background

IPAA assessment criteria

'CAPABLE' Quality criteria for evaluating hard copy reports
C Coherent Addresses the whole of the organisation in a clear, comprehensive and comprehensible way (including comparisons against plans, past and other organisations)
A Accessible Available in a usable form to stakeholders, including people with disabilities and non-English speaking backgrounds where appropriate, in plain language
P Performance Information Clear, precise, reliable and timely information on results achieved by the agency and its contribution to desired outcomes, based on sounds methodology and systems.
A Appearance Concise, clear and attractive presentation that facilitates navigation and enhances the message rather than distracting from it.
B Balanced A fair and honest picture of achievements presenting strong points and areas for improvement in context, comparisons over time, against budget, addressing financial, non-financial, internal and external recognising the agency's unique contribution to results where it is not the only contributor.
L Learning Demonstrates improvement based on learning from the past, from others and for the future.
E Engaging Engaging - with staff, clients and other stakeholders to demonstrate responsiveness and relevance, explaining relationships with other organisations and how they have worked together to achieve results
'ADEPT' assessment criteria for evaluating online reports
A Accessible Can users obtain a version that suits them
D Discoverable Report is easily found on agency home page, and navigation is intuitively designed
E Easy to read Easy to read online. Doe is contain material developed for on-line use
P Presented well Progression through the document is logical and intuitive
T Technically sound Operates well, including over slower lines. Are any leading edge practices in website design present

Related information