Nomination Requirements

All of the APA National Planning Excellence, Achievement, and Leadership Award nominations must be submitted through the appropriate online form (only active during the nomination period). Be sure to review the individual eligibility and criteria requirements for the specific award category you which to submit a nomination.

Any planning project or work occurring outside of the United States must be entered in the Pierre L'Enfant International Planning Award category.

This information does not apply to the AICP Student Project Award, AICP Outstanding Student Awards, the APA Journalism Awards, or the SRC Planning Student Organizations (PSO) Awards.

General Submission Information

Nominations must be submitted online through APA's website.

The following information is required for each nomination. Be sure to review the eligibility requirements:

1. Summary of the entry (200–400 words)

2. Provide an overview of the nomination. Describe how the entry satisfies the award criteria (400–800 words)

3. Letters of support

• At least one (1); up to five (5) one-page letters of support.
• Letters should be addressed: Members of the 2012 Awards Jury.
• Letters must be included in the online nomination form. Do not mail letters. These will not be included in your nomination.
• Letter(s) should offer support for the value of the nominated effort.  
• Letter(s) may not be written by the nominator of the submission, by the nominated individual or by anyone who directly worked on the project: members of the project team, consultant team or planning department staff or anyone that had daily interaction or oversight on the project.
• Client letters are acceptable.
• Comments from APA chapters, divisions, members, and other stakeholders involved with the subject of the nomination are encouraged.

4. Digital images (jpg format) that are copyright-free with captions.

Submit only images that are not copyrighted and may be reproduced by APA without a fee, charge, or copyright infringement. Read the photography tips (pdf).

• Images should provide context and show the award nomination's positive or intended outcomes.
• Images should supplement what exists in the written summary and criteria sections.
• Each image must be uploaded individually.
• Images must be .jpeg format.
• Each image is limited to a maximum 600 kilobytes (KB).
• Each image must include a photo caption. Captions must be between 15 and 25 words each.
• Photo collages and PowerPoint presentations are not accepted.
• Ten (10) digital images required for all of the National Planning Excellence and Achievement Award categories.
• Five (5) digital images for the National Planning Leadership Award categories.
• Include at least one (1) recent picture of the individual.
• Photos should be representative or illustrative of the person's most significant professional work and endeavors.

5. Supplemental materials (optional)
Supplemental materials may add additional support to your nomination. Materials may include press clips, brochures, posters, design guidelines, fact sheets, etc. If your nomination is about a plan, be sure to include a copy of the plan.

You have three options for including supplemental materials with your nomination:

1. Upload the document to your nomination form.
• Each uploaded document must be less than 5 MB in size
• All of the uploads in total may not exceed 30 MB in size
2. Provide links to your online document
   • Ensure that your URL will remain active through December.
   • Links to FTP sites are not accepted.
3. Provide a CD or DVD with your supplemental materials.
   • Only CDs or DVDs are accepted. Bound documents, brochures, or other paper-based materials will not be accepted, returned, and will not be advanced to the jury.
   • Five (5) duplicate copies of the CD must be provided. If 5 copies are not provided, the CD will not be advanced to the jury.
   • Label each CD with the following information:
     • Nomination ID number (four-digit number)
     • Name of the Nomination (Your title)
     • Award category
4. CDs must be received by September 8, 2011.

Mail the CDs to:

American Planning Association
2012 National Planning Awards
205 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60601

Entry Fee, If Applicable

An entry fee is required for all award nominations EXCEPT the following award categories:

• HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award
• AICP Student Project Awards
• AICP Outstanding Student Awards
• APA Journalism Awards

The fee for the 2012 award categories not listed above are:

• $95 per nomination for APA members (the APA member must be the nominator and logged in to obtain the member rate)
• $225 per nomination for non-APA members
  
  The nonmember fee includes one year of APA membership.
  Membership will start October 1, 2011, and will expire September 30, 2012.

Fees must be paid by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express) online via the nomination form. Cash payments are not accepted.