Atos Consulting wins Top Prize at MCA Awards for Balkans Justice Programme with DFID

Atos Consulting, the business consulting arm of Atos Origin, today announced that it had won the prestigious Platinum Award at the annual Management Consultancies Association (MCA) awards held in London this week. This award recognises the outstanding performance of the consulting team that worked with the Department for International Development (DFID) to restore confidence in the Security and Justice systems in the Balkans.

Atos Consulting also won the best International Engagement Award for the same project and the Best Innovation Award for its work with DFID to help bring communication technologies to rural African communities through the Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) programme.

“Winning the Platinum Award is a tremendous achievement for our Consultants who worked to restore confidence in the police and justice processes in the former Yugoslav states. The Award recognises not only our global consulting capability but also the role that our industry can play in transforming lives” said Mike Hobday, Head of Consulting for Atos Origin. “The award is testimony to the excellent work that Atos Consulting undertakes with DFID and my congratulations go to the team from Atos Consulting, our partners and the DFID team whose dedication and commitment, in often difficult circumstances, has played an important role in helping to prevent conflict and alleviate poverty in the Balkans and Africa.”

“We are absolutely delighted to have won three awards this year which demonstrates the important role that Atos Consulting plays in supporting our clients all over the globe” said Trevor Davies, Partner leading the International Funding Agencies Account. “Our team has excelled in providing the tight programme management and strategic direction necessary to deliver our clients’ demanding development goals in challenging environments”.

Balkans Justice Programme
In 2002, DFID asked Atos Consulting to implement a major programme in the Balkans to improve the effectiveness of the police, courts, prisons and central government ministries responsible for them.

Atos Consulting put together a team of close to 100 people in 17 locations, working in four different languages. Following a conflict assessment, Atos Consulting and DFID agreed 11 major projects with 25 beneficiary organisations. These ranged from projects with a central, strategic focus – such as improving the organisation of courts, prisons and police systems – to projects with a local focus such as introducing a customer service ethos within municipal courts and local police forces.

Atos Consulting completed all 11 projects in just three years which resulted in improved relations between police and citizens and better reporting of crime and clear-up rates. In the courts, case backlogs have been cut, the number of summons delivered has risen and the adjournments have fallen dramatically.

CATIA
In June 2003, DFID awarded Atos Consulting the contract to manage its CATIA programme, a multi million pound effort designed to help the people of Africa benefit from a range of technologies from the internet to community radio. The project spanned 34 countries, with many languages, cultures and different technical, logistical and political challenges.

Atos Consulting facilitated a series of policy debates across Africa, bringing together governments, international agencies, regulators, companies, the media and educational institutions to shape policy in each country. The Atos Consulting team was 90% African giving it more credibility with the local community. It was able to tailor communications to the needs of each country; encourage collaboration between project teams to exchange learning and to co-ordinate activities to achieve efficiencies.

The impact of the CATIA programme was recognised at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005.

In just three years, Atos Consulting and its African partners significantly increased the affordability, access and use of ICTs in Africa. For example, after successful lobbying by the CATIA project internet backbone tariffs in Kenya reduced by 60%.

About Atos Origin
Atos Origin is an international information technology services company. Its business is turning client vision into results through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed operations. The company’s annual revenues are EUR 5.4 billion and it employs over 50,000 people in 40 countries. Atos Origin is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and has a client base of international blue-chip companies across all sectors. Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market and trades as Atos Origin, Atos Euronext Market Solutions, Atos Worldline and Atos Consulting.