Statewide Awards

The Award of Distinction program was established to recognize and reward outstanding employees who are innovative, positively impact organizational or statewide goals, demonstrate true leadership, act compassionately and courageously to serve the local or global community, and advance the importance and perception of state service. This award recognizes notable contributions above and beyond an employee's typical job responsibilities and serves as an example of excellence for others to follow. These meritorious achievements or accomplishments are so singularly outstanding that special recognition is justified.

The Governor's Award for Quality and Productivity (GAQP), established by the Governor's Advisory Council on Quality and Productivity in 1988, is a team award recognizing service excellence, efficiency, innovation, process improvement, and employee ingenuity within the Missouri state government. All winning projects must meet established requirements of effectiveness, responsiveness, and efficiency of such quality, making the project a model of excellence for others to follow.

This program recognizes the individual contributions of a State team member who provided outstanding service to the citizens of Missouri. Each recipient is honored with a letter from the Governor, a plaque from the State of Missouri, and an award from their respective agency. An annual reception is held with the Governor where recipients are recognized for their extraordinary service.

The Show Me Challenge is a way for team members in Missouri’s 17 executive departments to identify solutions that improve how we serve our citizens, cut out unnecessary bureaucratic work, and/or save time and money. The Show Me Challenge, launched in January 2019, inspires teams across state government and at every level to compete and find ways for state team members to work together better. The Show Me Challenge is an important part of The Missouri Way of management, which is all about improving how we work together. State of Missouri senior leaders know that many of the best solutions come from state team members, the people working hard for their fellow citizens every day. Here's how it works: -Teams develop short pitches for their solutions, including a project plan and expected impact. -A selection committee reviews the pitches and narrows the pool to about 10 finalist teams. -For a couple months, the finalist teams fully develop their proposed solutions. -Teams deliver in-person pitches and final presentations to a panel of judges made up of senior leaders, followed by a Q&A session in a “Shark Tank” setting. -Winners will be chosen based upon the quality of their solutions and their final presentation.