DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 17th Aug, 2020) Dubai Customs has been named 2020 Asia-Pacific PMO of the Year in the PMO Global Awards competition organised by PMO Global Alliance, a global community of professionals in project management, which has more than 10,000 members in more than 100 countries.
Dubai Customs outclassed several competitors including public organisations and private businesses from 20 nations around the world.
Winners were announced on 23rd July, 2020 according to four geographical regions: Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and Americas. The competition consisted of five rounds which took place from 13th January to 8th July.
In the sixth and final round there were four regional winners and finalists. These were Dubai Customs from the UAE, Shoprite from South Africa, Itera Asa from Ukraine, and Banko Fikohsa from Honduras who competed for the world award.
The winner and holder of the prestigious 2020 World PMO of the Year title will be announced on October 29 at the official Awards Gala Ceremony in London.
As many as 420 PMO professionals took part in the evaluation process via five judging and reviewing committees. Six evaluation criteria are considered: (1) PMO’s Journey which evaluates the organisation and analyses its strategy, consistency, adaptability, leadership, and the path that made its PMO become what it is today; (2) Client Service which evaluates the set of services/functions the organisation provides to its clients and stakeholders, how appropriate they are for the presented scenario, and how that mix of services can address the organisation’s results expectations; (3) Best Practices which evaluates how the organisation is delivering its services/functions, the methods and techniques that are provided, their alignment with best practices, and how the organisation continually improves its services; (4) Innovation that evaluates how the organisation used innovation to deal with challenges encountered throughout its journey, and what innovations were delivered to the organisation, generating effective results; (5) Community evaluates how the organisation actively works to create an engaged project management community within the organisation, evolving the organisational culture, and encouraging people to share experiences and lessons learned; (6) Value Generation which evaluates the benefits and results delivered by the PMO to its customers, stakeholders, and the organisation, and also evaluates how the organisational culture and maturity evolved.
Commenting on Dubai Customs’ winning the coveted award, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of PCFC, said, "This award recognises Dubai Customs relentless efforts to always be ahead of the curve by developing world-class projects and smart services that add value to customers and stakeholders in terms of time and cost savings, in addition to increased return on investment for the organisation."
Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director of Dubai Customs, also expressed his pride at being named Asia-Pacific PMO of the Year and encouraged the team to get ready to compete strongly for the imminent World Award.
Juma Al Ghaith, Executive Director of Customs Development Division, said the focus has been primarily on the adoption of innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence and blockchain.
"The department carried out more than 125 projects from 2007 to 2019 with a value amounting to AED 350 million which helped accomplish Dubai Customs’ key objectives in society protection and facilitation of trade and passengers movement," pointed out Youssef Al Awadi, Director of Project Delivery Department.
