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COG Award

1. ICPSK and the Award

The Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK) in year 2010 inaugurated an Award for excellence in governance, titled the “ICPSK Champions of Governance (COG) Award”.  The Award aims at promoting practices in good governance in the following ways:-

  1. Recognition of practice and application of good governance in the both the public and private sector entities.
  2. Recognition of innovations in organizations that support good governance.
  3. Encouraging organizations to focus on enhancement of good governance.

The second Edition and third edition  of the Award were held in year 2011 and 2012 respectively and were a resounding success. ICPSK is holding the 4th Edition of the COG Award in year 2013.

ICPSK is a professional membership association established by an Act of Parliament, Cap 534 of the Laws of Kenya. The vision of the Institute is “To be a world class Institute and centre of excellence in governance, administration and management”. The Mission is “To promote the practice of good governance, administration and management through competence development of members and dissemination of knowledge on best practice to stakeholders”.

The Institute found it fit to introduce the annual Award to be given to those organizations and individuals who exhibit the highest standards of practice of good governance, in line with its vision and mission.

2. The Award Categories

The Award has the following categories and in each category there will be three awards, best in the category and first and second runners up:-

  1. Finance and Investment Sector Award
  2. Agricultural Sector Award
  3. Commercial and Services Sector Award
  4. Industrial and Allied Sector Award
  5. Insurance Sector Award
  6. Statutory Bodies Award
  7. Small and Medium Enterprises Award
  8. Co-operative Sector Award
  9. Retirement Benefits Sector Award
  10. Water Services Sector
  11. Chairman of the year Award
  12. CEO of the year Award
  13. Company Secretary of the year Award
  14. Champion of Governance Award

3. The Parameters to be Evaluated

The following parameters will be evaluated:

  1. Transparency and Disclosure Compliances
  2. Adherence to Laws and Regulations
  3. Annual General Meeting and other Members’ Meetings
  4. Service to Members
  5. Communication and Public Education
  6. Board Independence and Governance
  7. Board Systems and Procedures
  8. Consistent Shareholder Value enhancement
  9. Stakeholder Value Enhancement and Corporate Social Responsibility
  10. Other Recognitions Awarded to the Institution
  11. Creativity and Innovations
  12. Corporate Strategy
  13. Management and Human Resources Issues
  14. Financial Reporting including Notes to the Accounts

Some of the parameters will be applied discreetly, depending on the Sector/Organization set-up.

4. The Process

The following process will be applicable: -

  1. All organizations participating in the COG Award shall be required to pay a nominal registration fee of Kshs. 75,000. Organizations may also wish to pay Kshs. 87,000 to cover participation fees and dinner fees for three participants for the Gala Night to be held on November 8, 2013 at the InterContinental Hotel, Nairobi, where the results will be announced.
  1. Each organization shall complete a registration form and submit it to the Institute together with the registration fee.
  1. Each participating organization will also be eligible to participate in the Chairman of the Year Award, the CEO of the Year Award and the Company Secretary of the Year Award.
  1. After registering and paying the registration fee, a self assessment form shall be sent to the organization for completion. This form should be returned to the Institute within 7 days of receiving it, together with all supporting documentation, as required in the form.
  • A team of at least two Assessment Consultants shall be assigned to the organization to carry out the evaluation.
  • The data collected from the organizations will then be analyzed appropriately.
  • The organizational performance will then be classified into sector ranking, overall ranking and other categories.
  • The evaluation results will then be submitted to a Jury for decision making and the decision of the Jury shall be final.

5. Gala Night

The Gala Night to announce the winners of the Award will be held on in Nairobi.