His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, today honoured the teams behind Türkiye’s RoboRoyale ecosystem support project and Spain’s Life Work Balance project as winners of the 6th Edge of Government Award.

A total of 13 global innovations were showcased via the Edge of Government platform, overseen by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, during the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2024.

The two winning projects triumphed over 11 other innovations that were shortlisted and showcased on the Edge of Government platform, which saw submissions from Canada, Guatemala, China, USA, Kenya, UK, Finland, Spain, Australia, India, France, Rwanda and Türkiye.

Combining micro-robotics and artificial intelligence to observe and understand the interactions of the queen bee with the rest of the hive, RoboRoyale is an AI-based multi-robot system that aims to support and imitate the bees that are in charge of feeding, grooming, and cleaning of the queen with small robotic surrogates, as well as the facilitation of regulatory information transfer from the queen to the workers. A thriving honeybee pollution will result in increased pollination, supporting the surrounding ecosystem, plant growth and animals.

Barcelona led unprecedented efforts to develop time use and time tracking policies, amidst a growing acknowledgement of time as both a necessary commodity and a human right. Launching the first national time use law, the Life Work Balance project, Barcelona was one of the first European cities to include time-use in the city’s policy agenda, inspiring over 75 other cities globally, including Strasbourg, France; Milan, Italy; and, Montevideo, Uruguay, which are part of the World Regional and Local Governments Time Network.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation launched the 6th Edge of Government Award during the World Governments Summit 2024, introducing the Summit audience to key initiatives and innovative solutions developed by governments in 13 countries.

The Award aims to recognise government innovations from around the world, offering a great opportunity for knowledge sharing and a preview of innovative, future-ready tools.

A total of 11 other projects, alongside the two winners, were shortlisted for the Edge of Government Award, covering three main themes: Alternative Intelligence, River Time and the Bureau of Standards.

A distinguished and independent judging panel comprising well-known innovation experts from leading international organisations and the private sector assessed the shortlisted projects based on three main criteria: novelty, replicability and impact.