ASPA's 2020 Annual Awards Program is now open for nominations! The nomination process will close on Friday, November 1, 2019. Click here to submit a nomination!

The majority of awards will be presented at ASPA's 2020 Annual Conference, April 3-7, in Anaheim, CA. Click here to register now!

For more information, visit ASPA's Website

AWARD DESCRIPTIONS AND CRITERIA

Click here to submit a nomination

Donald C. Stone Service to ASPA Award

ASPA presents the Donald C. Stone Service to ASPA Award to pay tribute to ASPA members who have contributed outstanding services to the Society. The award can be presented to more than one person. Criteria may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

• Outstanding service as a member or former member of the National Council
• Major contributions to the success of national committees
• Excellence in leadership of chapters or sections
• Outstanding contributions to the planning and conduct of national or regional conferences
• Sustained effort to enhance the image of the profession through ASPA
• Other distinguished service to ASPA

Dwight Waldo Award

This award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the professional literature of public administration over an extended career. To be eligible the nominee must have:

• At least one article published in Public Administration Review
• Twenty-five years of active scholarship that has furthered the discipline of public administration

Elmer B. Staats Lifetime Achievement Award

The award was established to honor a public administrator's career accomplishments and contributions to public service and ASPA over a lifetime. The award criteria are threefold:

Career Accomplishments: The nominee may be retired or still in the workforce but must have:

• At least 20 years of professional public service
• Made outstanding contributions to an organization or organizations on a sustained basis
• Managed, created or facilitated significant programs and/or projects within her/his areas of responsibility to the ultimate benefit of the general public

Contributions to Public Service: Service and contributions to the public sector and/or nonprofit sector are important factors in this award. Such activities may include service on boards and commissions, governmental service and service to professional organizations.

Contributions to ASPA: The nominee must have distinguished him or herself through two or more of the following:

• Excellence in leadership of ASPA as its national president
• Outstanding service as a member or former member of the ASPA National Council
• Major contributions to the success of ASPA's national committees, boards and/or steering groups
• Excellence in the leadership of ASPA Sections and/or Chapters
• A sustained effort to enhance the image of the profession through ASPA
• Other distinguished service to ASPA

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Exemplary Practices Award

This award is presented to individuals and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to a more equal society. Up to four awards may be presented to individuals and/or organizations representing the following categories: federal, state or local government units; educational institutions; nonprofit institutions; private sector organizations. A narrative, not exceeding five pages in length, will provide the basis for the nomination. Emphasis will be on achievement and results, not simply effort. The following will also apply:

• Complexity of the problems addressed and organizations directed
• Severity of the problems addressed
• Use of original/innovative/effective approaches
• Impact of contributions
• Contributions to the attainment of the goals of ASPA's EO/AA national policy positions

International Public Administration Award

This award is open to both individuals and organizations that contribute to the field of public administration.

For an individual to be eligible for nomination, he/she must:

• Hold citizenship in a country other than the United States.
• Live and work (primarily) in a country other than the United States.
• Contribute significantly to the field of public administration as a scholar, practitioner or both, as demonstrated by publications, other awards and honors and the testimony of the nominee's colleagues and beneficiaries of the nominee's work.
• Be recommended or sponsored by an individual or institution that in some demonstrable way is affiliated with ASPA.

For an organization to be eligible for nomination, it must:

• Be headquartered in a country other than the United States.
• Develop and deliver its primary program(s) in a country other than the United States.
• Contribute significantly to the field of public administration by providing an environment that nurtures and advances the practice and/or teaching of public administration.
• Be recommended or sponsored by an individual or other institution that in some demonstrable way is affiliated with ASPA.

John W. Gaston, Jr., Award

This award is presented to a public manager for excellence in public service management, particularly in the areas of natural resource management or environmental protection. Selection criteria include demonstrated attention to the achievement of results that contribute to public safety, health, welfare and the quality of the environment through:

• Strategy
• Structure
• Systems
• Shared values and skills

Nesta M. Gallas Award

The award has been established to honor the lifetime achievements of a dedicated public servant and seeks to honor a pioneering and innovative leader of the Society whose career has been demonstrably characterized by:

• Exemplary efforts to uphold legal and ethical standards locally, nationally and internationally
• Sustained work to advance gender equality and diversity
• Responsible, democratic and expert accomplishments in public affairs locally, nationally and globally
• Mentorship of young academics and public servants who would seek to continue such professionalism in service to the public

Oveta Culp Hobby Training Award

These awards recognize chapters and sections that provide professional development to members through planned activities. All chapter and section programs presented during the past year are eligible. Nominations should explain how the programs meet the following criteria:

• Is the program offered to ASPA members and transferable to other organizations?
• Is the program a vehicle for ensuring ethical practices in government?
• Does the program identify new topics and target audiences?
• Does the program promote knowledge and skills to be a creative, ethical and responsible public manager?
• Does the program identify beliefs and practices to excel in the public service?

NASPAA/ASPA Charles Levine Memorial Award for Excellence in Public Administration

This award is jointly presented by ASPA and NASPAA, the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration. It recognizes a public administration faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, research and service to the wider community. Nominations must include a current curriculum vita of the nominee and a one-page statement on each of the following three criteria:

• Research: The nominee should have publications in the public administration field that have made an impact on the field. The publications may include books, refereed journal articles, research notes, monographs or book chapters
• Teaching: The nominee should have a demonstrated record of outstanding teaching. Teaching evaluations, awards and accomplishments of students may be submitted as evidence of teaching ability
• Community and Public Service: Service and contribution to the public or nonprofit sector is an important factor in the award. Such activity may include service on boards and commissions, government service and service to professional organizations

Patricia Yearwood Chapter/Section Newsletter Awards

The award is given annually to recognize newsletters as a vital means of communication and a valuable service offered to chapter and section members. The chapters and sections will be placed into categories by membership size and judged accordingly. All chapters and sections are eligible. Chapters and sections wishing to be considered must submit three issues of their newsletters that were published between October and July 31 of the preceding year.

Paul P. Van Riper Award

The award is given to an ASPA member who has made significant contributions both as an academic and practitioner. Award recipients will have distinguished themselves through their current active engagement in and contributions to developing the public service of the future. Special consideration will be accorded nominees with at least two of the following attributes:

1. A distinguished professional and nationally recognized leader who is actively and continuously engaged in contributing significantly to the practice and study of public administration throughout the 10 years preceding nomination for the award
2. An exceptional innovator in the practice and/or study of personnel administration and human resource development, with a focus on meeting the "human capital" challenges of the 21st century
3. An outstanding contributor for at least 10 years of service to ASPA, including previous recognition for exemplary service through an ASPA-affiliated national, section or chapter award

Public Integrity Award

This award pays tribute to an individual or organization, that has made outstanding contributions to responsible conduct in public service. The award is presented to an individual or organization that represents any domain of public service, local, state, national, international government or nonprofit; and presents evidence of accomplishing, or causing to accomplish, significant programs or projects benefiting the general public.

Center for Accountability and Performance (CAP) Awards

To submit a nomination for any of the CAP Awards, click here and choose "CAP Awards" as the award type.

CAP Organizational Leadership Award

This award, presented to an organization, recognizes outstanding applications of a systems approach to performance measurement that has resulted in a culture change, sustained improvements and demonstrated positive effects on government performance and accountability. The award recognizes an organization, rather than a person that has yielded outstanding results on a sustained basis. The organization may be selected from all levels of public service ̶ local, state or federal government, as well as from international and public service nonprofit organizations. Preference will be given to an organization whose results have been measured and whose impact has been documented in the literature or at conferences.

Emerging Leaders Award of Excellence

This new program will recognize up to five early- or mid-career professionals in the field of performance management at the federal, state or local level. This award recognizes and encourages a new generation of practitioners who are actively implementing performance management systems, innovating new practices and promoting the importance of performance and accountability within their governments and communities.

Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Mangaement and Practice Award

Awarded to an individual whose outstanding teaching, education, training and consultation in performance measurement has made a significant contribution to the practice of public administration. This award recognizes a person who has made outstanding contributions on a sustained basis rather than a single accomplishment. The award winner must have spent the primary part of his/her career in public service.

Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship Award

The Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship is awarded for outstanding scholarship on performance in public and nonprofit organizations. Preference is given to a scholarly work that is relevant to the broad public administration community and is of interest to both practitioners and academicians. The author(s) must provide a significant contribution to advancing knowledge in a scholarly journal about the development, implementation, use and impact of performance measurement.

Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Award

This award recognizes lifetime achievement and effort in the cause of social equity. Candidates may be employees of state, local or federal government; employees in the nonprofit sector; or employees of colleges and universities. Elected public officials are also eligible for the award. Employees from the private sector are also eligible for the award, but the emphasis is on achievement and effort in the public sector. Candidates do not have to be ASPA members. Nominations may be submitted by anyone, including self-nominations. Candidates will be evaluated on three criteria:

• The impact of their efforts on social equity
• The consistency and level of effort on behalf of social equity
• The duration of the effort on behalf of social equity

National Public Service Awards (NPSA) — Awarded jointly with NAPA

Award winners are selected from all levels of public service: local, state and federal governments, as well as international and public service nonprofit organizations. Awards are not made by category, so there could be, for example, two county winners and no winners from a state government. While individuals may hold a position in academia or a nonprofit organization, all recipients must have made significant contributions as career public servants in at least one level of government. Nominees holding elected office will be evaluated on the basis of their careers in public service, excluding time served as an elected official. Legislative branch staff are eligible, however legislators without public management experience should not be nominated. Nonprofit organizations are those with a service delivery mission. NPSA winners will be those who have, on a sustained basis, done some or all of the following:

• Made a profound difference in improving service to the public
• Been willing to take risks to achieve change
• Fostered a more democratic society
• Served as a champion of social equity
• Changed the way a governmental organization operates so that it better achieves its goals
• Achieved substantial savings in government
• Developed a cadre of other government leaders

Rosslyn Kleeman Keeper of the Flame Award

The "Keeper of the Flame" Award was established in 2000 as a special recognition for "an individual who has continued to provide public service after their official retirement from the profession." The physical memento is a candlestick. In establishing the new award, the National Public Service Award Executive Committee recognized that many individuals retire from their career positions and continue to serve the public in other volunteer or paid positions. Often, these active retirees become very directly involved in their local community, working with civic or nonprofit organizations. Nominations for the Keeper of the Flame Award follow the timeline and other requirements of the National Public Service Awards. Those who have retired from their public service career as of the nomination deadline will automatically be considered for the Keeper of the Flame Award. The Selection Committee has the option of awarding up to two Keeper of the Flame Awards.

• The nomination itself may be no more than six pages (including the one-page summary of accomplishments and any attachments)
• The nomination may include up to five letters of endorsement (at least two are required)
• Letters of endorsement may be signed by more than one individual

Wallace O. Keene ASPA Conference Scholarships

Awarded to students in the fields of public administration and public policy, this scholarship is intended to provide a student with financial assistance to attend the ASPA national conference and thereby expand their knowledge of the field and their acquaintance with others in the field. The $250 scholarship is intended to emphasize the impact of ethical leadership on the public's trust in government.

Walter W. Mode Scholarship

The Mode Scholarship is awarded from a special ASPA Endowment fund named in honor of Walter W. Mode, the 30th National President of ASPA and a public administrator with a distinguished record of public service at the federal and international levels. A $1,500 scholarship is awarded for graduate study in public administration to a student who is an ASPA member and who demonstrates a commitment to a career in the public service.

Note: This is a self-applying scholarship for ASPA members only—the nomination of others will not be accepted.

Click here to submit a nomination