Female Trailblazer in the Middle East

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman, who established an Award for Excellence in eGovernment to advance his country, and CTG's Theresa Pardo, the first woman to head the award's jury.

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 19, 2016) — Guiding a number of the world's government agencies to increase productivity and public service through technology ought to qualify you to know a good agency when you see one.

No wonder, then, that the nation of Oman chose Center for Technology in Government Director Theresa Pardo to head its annual awards for that country’s public and private sector agencies that most successfully innovate through technology.

The annual the Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellence in eGovernment award, now in its fifth year, was established in response to remarks by the country’s leader, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, who declared the need to technologically innovate in order to enhance services for his nation’s 4.4 million citizens.

Pardo, who is also a research professor in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, heads a group of 13 international and national experts that will choose winners in a range of categories, including excellence in designing and implementing mobile public services (such as a government-designed app) and new technologies that streamline processes (such as successfully implementing a system that allows investors to register a company electronically within 60 seconds).

Pardo has been a jury member for Oman’s excellence award for the previous three award periods. “Her world-renowned expertise in the field of eGovernment combined with her past contributions to the award selection process made her a natural choice to chair this year’s jury session,” said Salim Al Ruzaiqi, chief executive officer of the Information Technology Authority of Oman.

“I am honored to have been selected as the first female chair of this impressive jury, and I look forward to traveling to Oman and working with my colleagues there to determine the most deserving recipients of this honor,” says Pardo. “The Sultanate of Oman should be commended for their forward thinking in recognizing those who are working to improve public service by thinking strategically and innovating with technology.”

Oman sits at the mouth of the Arabian Gulf on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and shares marine borders with Iran and Pakistan.

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