100% completion of government development plans achieved in 'Partners of Excellence 2.0'

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) has concluded the 'Partners of Excellence 2.0' initiative, following an institutional development journey that ran from 30 May 2025 to 11 June 2025. The initiative succeeded in transforming the concept of government partnership from a framework for exchanging expertise into a practical model for creating institutional impact, embodying Dubai's vision of building a government in which knowledge is integrated, capabilities are shared, and operations follow a unified methodology towards a more prepared and sustainable future.

The initiative was implemented under the supervision of the Dubai Government Excellence Programme, with the participation of five government entities: the Dubai Government Human Resources Department, the Community Development Authority, the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department, the Dubai Sports Council, and the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation in Dubai.

Its results reflected the scale of impact achieved: more than 31 coordination meetings were held, along with more than 29 specialised workshops and 17 institutional assessment sessions totalling more than 46 assessment hours. A total of 353 participants benefited from its outputs, while the general happiness index registered 97%.

The initiative's impact extended to all participating government entities, which completed their development plans at a rate of 100%, and exchanged 55 leading institutional practices. These were distributed as follows: 19 practices by the Community Development Authority, 12 by the Dubai Government Human Resources Department, 10 by the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation in Dubai, 9 by the Dubai Sports Council, and 8 by the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department.

These practices covered the areas of financial agility, governance, sustainability, supplier management, innovation, artificial intelligence, and impact measurement. This broadened the scope of benefit from government expertise, strengthened institutional knowledge transfer between entities, and cemented GDRFA Dubai's standing as a strategic partner in developing government performance and enabling a culture of institutional excellence.

The forum also witnessed the launch of the 'Partners of Excellence Portal', a comprehensive digital platform designed to enhance communication with partners and efficiently meet their needs and requirements, contributing to faster response times, greater coordination and integration between entities, optimal use of resources, and support for a data- and innovation-driven government partnership.

The initiative's results were announced during the closing forum, attended by His Excellency Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai; Her Excellency Hessa bint Issa Buhumaid, Director General of the Community Development Authority; Abdullah Ali bin Zayed Al Falasi, Director General of the Dubai Government Human Resources Department; Dr. Louay Mohammed Balhoul, Director General of the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department; Brigadier General Obaid Mahair bin Suroor, Deputy Director General of GDRFA Dubai; Dr. Mohammed Abdul Wahhab Al Ansari, Director of the Strategy Office at the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation in Dubai; Ahmed Abdul Karim Al Fahim, Director of the Strategy and Institutional Excellence Office and Chairman of the Excellence Committee at the Dubai Sports Council; along with members of the Executive Council of the Dubai Government, assistant directors general, and a number of leaders and officials from the participating government entities.

His Excellency Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri affirmed that the true value of the 'Partners of Excellence 2.0' initiative lies not only in the scale of the numbers it achieved, but in its ability to translate them into tangible institutional reality — where knowledge becomes initiatives, practices become results, and integration becomes an ingrained work culture. He noted that the initiative's outcomes reflect Dubai's approach to building a government ecosystem that evolves through partnership and leverages the expertise of its institutions to create a broader and more sustainable impact, supporting Dubai government's competitiveness and enhancing its readiness for the future.

For his part, Brigadier Abdul Samad Hussein Suleiman, Assistant Director General for the Pioneering and Future Sector at GDRFA Dubai, affirmed that the 'Partners of Excellence 2.0' initiative represents a practical model of joint work and development, reflecting institutions' ability to transform the exchange of expertise into development projects with sustainable impact. He added that the initiative did not merely focus on transferring institutional practices, but established a working methodology that supports government entities' readiness to meet future requirements through investing in knowledge, unifying efforts, and adopting best practices across Dubai's government.

The results of the 'Partners of Excellence 2.0' initiative affirm that government excellence in Dubai is built on creating shared spaces for learning and development, where entities exchange their expertise and successful practices are transformed into scalable institutional value. Through this initiative, GDRFA Dubai reinforces its role as an active partner in supporting a more integrated and mature government ecosystem, capable of creating sustainable impact that keeps pace with Dubai's ambitions and global leadership.