Mayor Adams, First Deputy Mayor Wright, and CTO Fraser celebrate at the 2022 Prize Ceremony at Gracie Mansion.

Reinvigorated the department's oral health program, creating a 6x increase in school services since 2015, benefitting 75,000+ children

Led the first comprehensive revision of the City’s building code in decades, emphasizing safety across department programs.

Developed a concrete quality assessment program for the Department for safer public and private construction.

Led MillionTreesNY that will plant a million new trees across the City, including the management of internal staff and coordination with dozens of outside organizations.

Produced the city's first ever workforce profile report, built the city's first capital projects dashboard, while also supporting the NYC Stimulus Tracker and citywide fleet optimization.

Awarding NYC Employees for High-Impact Work since 2005

Nominations are now closed. Check back in Spring 2026 for the 2025 winners!

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Meet the winners

Our Mission

ACKNOWLEDGE

High-impact, forward-thinking, and analytical work within City government

CONNECT

A network of government innovators

ENCOURAGE

Passionate public servants early in their careers and innovation within City agencies

HONOR

The extraordinary legacy of Fred Hayes

Learn about the Prize

Celebrating forward-thinking public servants

The NYC Hayes Innovation Prize recognizes the extraordinary contributions of government employees in the early stages of their careers. The prize rewards employees who have led game-changing projects and solved difficult problems.

Quick facts:

Who is eligible?

NYC government employees with less than 10 years of government service.

When is the deadline for nominations?

Nominations are now closed. Check back next fall for the 2026 nomination cycle!

What are the categories?  

There are two categories: the NYC Hayes Innovation Prize and the NYC Hayes Innovation Prize for IT Leadership.  

How are nominees evaluated for the NYC Hayes Innovation Prize?

Nominees are evaluated based on the following criteria:

Impact: Projects that yield outcomes well beyond standard job expectations.
Creativity: Produces novel, unexpected, and/or artful deliverables.
Execution: Exemplifies bold, efficient, and effective solutions.
Public Service: Demonstrates passion for and commitment to serving New York City
Analytics: Innovates using principles of data analysis

How are nominees evaluated for the NYC Hayes Innovation Prize for IT leadership? 

Nominees are evaluated on the following criteria:

Leadership: Individual demonstrates success in leading, influencing, and directing others toward problem-solving and innovative solutions leveraging technology.
Impact: Individual’s effort has directly and demonstrably expanded the scope and transformed the effectiveness of the breadth of core IT capabilities.
Creativity: Individual shows creative and efficient use of IT development tools.
Responsiveness: Individual demonstrates a record of responsive problem-solving in working with front line and administrative agency staff in carrying out their missions.
Public service: Individual is dedicated, skilled, and shows high-energy to continue work in public service.

What is the prize?

Winners are awarded a $1,000 cash prize.