MINISTRY OF PLANNING, HOUSING AND THE ENVIRONMENT
#44-46 South Quay, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, West Indies,
P.O. Box 834
Telephone: (868) 623 4663 (HOME)
Fax:(868) 625 2793
April 3rd
2008
MEDIA
RELEASE
Ministry of
Planning Housing and the Environment awarded for Excellence in
Housing Service Delivery
The Ministry of Planning, Housing and the
Environment was, on April 2nd awarded the Prime
Minister’s Innovating for Service Excellence Award 2007, for
its accomplishments in Customer Service delivery and the use of
Information and Communication Technology in service delivery.
The Ministry was short listed from a total
field of approximately 48 entries and won the first place prizes
in two of the three categories in which it made submissions. The
competition consisted of four award categories – Breaking New
Ground, Making a Difference to People, Customer Service and
Information and Communication Technology Service Delivery.
The on-going Customer Service initative,
which is managed by the Housing Policy Implementation
Facilitation Unit (HPIFU) and the IDB Project Monitoring and
Coordinating Unit (PMCU), sought to improve the delivery of
Grants and Subsidies for home repair, purchase and construction
by increasing the level of access to the services. This was done
through the development of “sophisticated, interactive and
transactional capabilities, while keeping the approach
citizen-focused”. In addition to utilizing information
technology to enhance the processing of clients the project took
the services to the public through home visits to the aged and
infirm and community caravans which allowed persons to apply and
be interviewed in their community. It also established a
wheelchair facility at the office to assist differently-abled
clients who chose to come in.
In order to enhance its service in the
administration of the Home Construction programme, the Ministry,
which has previously been awarded for it I.T. innovations,
developed a Service Management Solution to enhance service
delivery, track Customer Service Representatives productivity,
increase transparency, track application process, and improve
the quality of services offered to the Public.
The Ministry’s new system allows for swift
transfers of customers to departments, increased transparency of
their application process, and creating enhanced waiting
experience by eliminating long lines. The benefits of the
initiatives also transcended to the Ministry’s employees by
improving work flow: setting priorities, less stressful working
environment, reduced waiting time for customers which meant less
hostile customers and increased productivity. It also allows
managers to track productivity and gives staff a sense of
accomplishment by clearly showing their achievements
In 2005, the Ministry, which was then known
as the Ministry of Housing, first entered the competition and
won first place in the Breaking New Ground category for the
Housing Application Fulfillment System (HAFS) software programme.
The HAFS programme enables persons who are interested in owning
their own home to apply online at anytime from anywhere in the
world, modify their application or apply for financial
assistance to repair their home
In 2006, the Land Settlement Agency and the
Housing Development Corporation, Agencies of the Ministry, were
both short-listed and awarded in the Social Inclusion category.
The HDC’S “Rental Refurbishment – the Mango Rose Model”,
showcased the collaboration between residents and the
Corporation during major renovations of the nine-storey
building. “The La Platta Experience” revealed a similar level of
collaboration between the LSA and squatters in Valencia who
benefitted from new roads, electricity, running water and sewer
treatment facilities under the Squatter Regularization Programme.
