Innovation In Action Correctional Services South Africa

Innovation in Action The DCS is making a difference through innovation

Contact details: Directorate Service Delivery Improvement • [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 The CPSI Awards Ceremony will take place on 06 Nov 2009. Two of the DCS projects have already been shortlisted and we are looking forward to bringing some trophies home. DCS External Innovation Partners • • • • •

Centre for Public Service Innovation www.cpsi.co.za Development Bank SA: www.dbsa.org.za Innovation Hub: www. theinnovationhub.com U N Public Administration Network: www.unpan.org National Advisory Council on Innovation: www.naci.org.za

NOVEMBER 2009 Innovation in Action is the first national internal eNewsletter to be circulated in the DCS. It is one of the deliverables of the Innovation Management Project, managed by the Directorate Service Delivery Improvement. The purpose is to provide all members with regular feedback on innovation processes, project progress and participation in National and International Innovation Awards processes. The newsletter will also enhance the institutionalization of Innovation Management at all levels within the Department.

Annual Public Sector Awards, hosted by the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) 2009. The Department of Correctional Services is proud to announce that we have entered 11 projects for these awards, WC (4), FSNC (1) and Gauteng (6). Over the coming weeks we will highlight some of the submissions in order to show how we are impacting communities through innovation in service delivery. The following two projects are finalists in the CPSI awards.

Project: School desk refurbishment

(Mangaung Correctional Centre, Free State/Northern Cape) The Mangaung Correctional Centre submitted an entry highlighting their project which involves the refurbishment of school desks through the use of offender labour. Old obsolete desk frames are collected from schools within the greater Bloemfontein area and are refurbished by replacing the wooden top and spraying the frames thereby making them look like new again. These refurbished desks are then donated to pre-identified previously disadvantaged schools in need of desks to be used by School learners happy with their new desks the learners. The success of the project is evident through the achievement of 1015 refurbished desks between 2005 and 2009. This project is also a partnership with DCS stakeholders in Mangaung.

Project: Mbombela Soccer Field IDEAS THAT WORK

is an Innovation Journal launched by the CPSI in August in Cape Town. Copies have been sent to the regions (DRC’s Offices). A DCS Gauteng innovation is one of the feature articles.

Innovation in the public sector is defined as “finding new ways to perform better” (MacPherson) “Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” - Theodore Levitt

(Goodwood Centre of Excellence, Western Cape) The absence of sports and recreation facilities at the Goodwood Centre of Excellence provided the motivation to build a soccer field. The lack of facilities made it difficult for rehabilitation to be executed to its full potential as sports and recreation forms an integral part of the rehabilitation process. The soccer field has been named Mbombela, meaning everybody working as a collective in achieving one common goal. The primary objective is for Building the soccer field offenders and officials to utilise the sports field. The secondary objective is to include youth in future, from nearby communities and embark on programmes supporting youth development. Partnerships were also forged with Ajax Cape Town for the provisioning of Soccer Clinics to offenders and later for communities, which will support and enhance existing youth development efforts.