The 1823 Call Centre has won the annual Global MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises) Award 2009 for the second consecutive time.

The call centre offers a round-the-clock one-stop service answering public enquiries and complaints on behalf of 20 Government departments.

Run by the Efficiency Unit, the centre handles about 250,000 incoming calls a month, of which 190,000 involve enquiries about Government services.

The Efficiency Unit said more than 95% of enquiries can be answered immediately. All enquiries are logged and complaints are tracked to ensure a response is given.

It gives convenient and efficient public service, lessening the phone enquiry workload on participating departments.

The centre analyses all enquiries and complaints received to update and improve its knowledge base which integrates the most updated and comprehensive database on departmental services with enquiry and complaint-handling procedures.

Apart from the Global MAKE Award 2009, the centre has been awarded the Merit Award (Small Department Category) of the Service Enhancement Award under the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme. It has also received the "IT Case Excellence" award in BIZ organised by PC Market.