On June 23, 2004, the Network of Canada Business Service Centres was awarded the 2004 United Nations Public Service Award in the category of "Improvement of Public Service Results" for "Information Service for the Business Community". The Canada-Saskatchewan Business Service Centre in Saskatoon, along with 12 other centres located across Canada, make up this national network.

Over the last 10 years the Canada-Saskatchewan Business Service Centre (CSBSC) has handled hundreds of thousands of inquiries through its Saskatoon office, through its telecentre and interactive web services, through various trade show promotions and through 16 regional access partnerships that it has established throughout Saskatchewan.

The CSBSC is a federal-provincial partnership - Western Economic Diversification Canada is the federal managing partner of Canada Business Service Centres (CBSC) in the West and Saskatchewan Industry and Resource is the provincial managing partner in the Saskatoon-based CSBSC. "All of us at CSBSC are thrilled to receive this award," said Diana Matsuda, Saskatchewan Manager. "To us, it's a wonderful acknowledgement of the collective strength of this national network, and an affirmation of our ability to customize business information to meet the needs of Saskatchewan entrepreneurs. We look forward to continuing to utilize technology to extend our services even further in the future."

Criteria for the award are as follows:

The overarching achievement of the network of Canada Business Service Centres is the simplification of access to government programs, services and compliance requirements for the business community. The Canadian constitution assigns jurisdiction to federal or provincial/territorial levels of government. The result can be a complex jumble of mandates causing frustration and run-around. Entrepreneurs want straight answers from a single, helpful source. The CBSCs address this need through a single-window information service delivered across multiple channels.

Service that is responsive to the needs of Canadian entrepreneurs is dynamically developed with input and feedback from:

 Advisory Boards with representatives from a spectrum of business interests.
 Periodic evaluations that take a consistent national look at the views of clients, partners and staff regarding gaps and relevance of the service.
 Service standards and complaints/feedback mechanisms for each access channel.

The CBSCs have a variety of strategies to ensure equity of service access for all entrepreneurs:

Timeliness, courtesy and access are key principles to CBSC service delivery. Clients choose their preferred access channel: self-service (Web site and Web tools) and assisted (toll-free telephone, e-mail, in-person and "Talk to Us!"). Service standards' pledge emphasizes courtesy, respect, timeliness and accuracy. 

Click here to view the acceptance speech.

Link to UN site for further details: http://www.unpan.org/dpepa_PSaward2004.asp