Winning the Job: That Is the Award

By Sandy Mathews

Erosion control professionals associated with IECA do outstanding work protecting and restoring soil and natural resources. IECA’s awards program recognizes these achievements. Needless to say, there is strong competition to be honored with an IECA Award of Environmental Excellence.

The annual call for nominations for 2012 awards will be released shortly, featuring several changes due to regionalization and to facilitate a simpler process. 2012 will be the first year that IECA’s awards will be separated by region. Region 1 comprises North America, South America, and Europe; and Region 2 comprises Asia, Oceania, and Africa. For more details about regionalization, please see the Director’s Message by Julie Etra in the last issue of this magazine, as well as the Director’s Message by Rick Morse in the September/October 2010 issue. Each region will run its own awards programs, and although the programs of the two regions are likely to be similar, the focus of this article is on the Region 1 program.

Process Overview
The application process has been modified to make it more straightforward and focused on the key judging criteria for each award. Nominations will be completed on Adobe Acrobat forms to help maintain consistency with the information submitted in each awards category, and a point system will be used to help the person making the nomination understand how the review panel will rate each of the judging criteria.

In many cases, winning an award of excellence is not just a matter of doing outstanding work. It is more a factor of being able to convey effectively the achievements to the Awards Committee review panel. Much like a competitive proposal process, the person making the nomination must demonstrate why the project or person is uniquely qualified for the award, while adhering to the page limit and application guidelines.

Each award has two categories of content: mandatory content and optional content. All nominations must contain an awards application with the mandatory content specified for each award category. Applications also may include optional content highlighting the attributes of the nominee that supplements the mandatory content. Be sure to view the optional content as an opportunity to “make the case” for the nomination proposal being reviewed for an award. Keep in mind that all the mandatory information must be covered on the form (or attached, as in the case of reference letters). Don’t bury the mandatory content in the supplemental pages, where it is likely to be missed.

Telling the Story
The basis of a great nomination is a coordinated package of information that highlights the achievements and qualities of the nominee. Members of the review panel are drawn from different professional and geographic areas of IECA who may or may not be familiar with the project or person being nominated, so the application needs to tell the story of why the person or project deserves to win an award.

Some helpful suggestions for submitting nominations follow:

Complete all the mandatory content.
Stick to the page limit guidelines on optional content.
Submit signed scanned copies of reference letters.
Create an integrated package of information.
If possible, assemble the application into a single indexed Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf).
If creating a single file is not possible, create a clear index, including notations on the file content and label files submitted.
Photos and examples are great additions, especially for project-based nominations.
Make sure to label all photos and examples and explain the context.
Submitting engineering drawings generally is not helpful unless the context is clear.
Letters of recommendation need to be from professionals not directly affiliated with the organization or person nominated. For example, letters should not be from an employee of the agency/firm nominated.
Cost effectiveness is a factor in two of the awards; don’t overlook the importance of this information.
Demonstrating effectiveness of the project or program is a factor in several of the awards. Just installing a practice/project or creating a program is not enough-nominations need to show that it worked. Measures of success will vary based on the type of award, and the person making the nomination should consider the appropriate measures of success, such as the following:
Post-installation monitoring data that show improvements in environmental quality, revegetation success, improved soil retention, or reduced pollutant loads.
Statistics that show changes in awareness or behavior for new regulatory programs or educational/outreach programs.
Finally…remember that the competition for these awards is strong. Each nomination should make it clear why the person, project, or organization is extraordinary!

The Awards Committee is composed of IECA member volunteers.

If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact IECA at mailto:[email protected], or Sandy Mathews, committee chair.