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A prestigious Awards committee in the middle-eastern country of Oman has selected the Director of the University at Albany’s Center for Technology in Government (CTG) as its first-ever female leader.

Dr. Theresa Pardo, Director of CTG and also a Research Professor at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, will Chair the Oman E-Government Award Jury, which recognizes government agencies and other organizations that are increasing productivity and improving public service in Oman by successfully innovating with technology. The award, now in its 5th year, is presented each year by the Sultanate of Oman’s Information Technology Authority and was established in response to remarks by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the country’s leader, in which he announced the need to innovate with technology in order to enhance services in the small country of about 4.4 million citizens.

Award recipients, chosen by the international and national experts comprising the Jury, include both public and private sector organizations. Awards recognize those in a range of categories including excellence in designing and implementing mobile public services (such as a government-designed app), and new technology that streamlines processes (such as successfully implementing a system that allow investors to register a company electronically within 60 seconds).

“Dr. Pardo has been a trusted colleague and Jury member for the Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellenece in eGovernment for the previous three award periods,” says Dr. Salim Al Ruzaiqi, Chief Executive Officer of the Information Technology Authority (ITA) of Oman. “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,” Dr. Ruzaiqi continued.

“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 is an Arab country that 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, Yemen, and shares marine borders with Iran and Pakistan. 

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