In Benin, submissions for the National Prize for Administrative Simplification are now open on the official platform, until 12 November 2026. The scheme is aimed at civil servants as well as citizens, businesses, associations and firms that wish to propose a concrete improvement to a procedure.
The official scale provides for a budget envelope of 40 million FCFA. The Public Official, Citizen, Business or Organisation and Digital Innovation prizes are each endowed with 5 million FCFA. A National Grand Prix of 20 million FCFA will single out, among the winners, the proposal with the greatest potential for transformation.
Proposals focused on the cost of procedures
The initiative was announced on 12 October, ahead of a government presentation in Cotonou on 28 October. Its economic aim is to reduce the delays, travel and costs linked to public procedures. Proposals may also concern the documents requested, the forms and the sharing of information between administrations.
Each file must start from a specific department, describe the obstacle encountered, then present a solution and its expected benefits. Participants must also identify the constraints of implementation. A proposal involving the amendment of a text may be submitted, provided the provisions to be adapted are indicated.
The campaign limits each participant to one proposal per sector. The FAQ specifies that supporting documents are optional and that a draft may be completed for as long as submissions remain open. Once sent, a proposal can no longer be modified or withdrawn, which makes reviewing the file especially useful.
Selection before any implementation
The announced criteria cover, in particular, the relevance of the problem, the simplification achieved, the expected impact and the legal, technical, organisational and budgetary feasibility. The potential for extension to other services also forms part of the assessment. The government plans a jury combining several areas of expertise, including the administration, the private sector and civil society.
Selection will not be limited to the awards. Admissible proposals, whether or not they are awarded a prize, are to feed a national pool of solutions. The most relevant ideas may be examined, tested and then implemented with the competent administrations, after a feasibility analysis.
The winners are also to receive a trophy or certificate and support for implementation. The latter therefore remains a step still to be built, separate from the submission and award of the prizes.