Innovating in the public sector - The Pitch: Five presentations. Five minutes. Five big ideas.

The Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), in partnership with the CPA Australia, has introduced a fantastic innovation competition for public servants.

Named The Pitch, In an IPAA first, the 2013 IPAA National Conference is providing an opportunity to pitch ideas for an original policy initiative or public sector innovation that could make people's lives better and/or the public service smarter, better and broader.

The creators of the best five ideas will receive a free invitation to the IPAA's National Conference in November and have five-minutes to pitch their idea to senior public sector decision makers in Canberra.

The winner of The Pitch will also receive a cash prize of $500.

There's also a category for younger (to 36yrs old) entrants, the CPA Australia Young Professionals Pitch Competition, with a $200 prize, where the winner will become one of the five finalists (and presumably eligible to win the $500 prize as well).

Entry is open to anyone in Australia, and ideas will be judged against the following criteria:

• originality of the idea 
• capacity of the idea to help government improve people's lives 
• innovation 
• practicality and cost effectiveness 
• ability to address the topic 
• engaging presentation style (during the pitch), and 
• length of pitch (not to exceed 5 minutes).

For more information, and to enter The Pitch, visit: http://ipaa2013.org.au/get-involved/the-pitch