Throughout the awards cycle for the Innovations in American Government Award, each applicant is evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Its novelty, the degree to which the program demonstrates a leap in creativity
  • Does the program represent a fundamental change in the governance, management, direction, or policy approach of a particular jurisdiction?
  • Does the program represent a significant improvement in the process by which a service is delivered?
  • Does the program introduce a substantially new technology or service concept?

• Its effectiveness, the degree to which the program has achieved tangible results
  • Does the program respond to the needs of a well-defined group of clients?
  • Does the program demonstrate its effectiveness in meeting its stated goals and objectives quantitatively and qualitatively?
  • Does the program produce unanticipated benefits for its clients?
  • Does the program present evidence of already completed, independent evaluation?

• Its significance, the degree to which the program successfully addresses an important problem of public concern
  • To what degree does the program address a problem of national import and scope?
  • To what degree does the program make substantial progress in diminishing the problem within its jurisdiction?
  • To what degree does the program change the organizational culture or the traditional approach to management or problem solving?

• Its transferability, the degree to which the program, or aspects of it, shows promise of inspiring successful replication by other governmental entities
  • To what extent can this program be replicated in other jurisdictions?
  • To what extent can this program serve as a model that other jurisdictions will seek to replicate?
  • To what extent are program components, concepts, principles, or insights transferable to other disciplines or policy areas?