Nomination Requirements

All of the APA National Planning 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, 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 (100–200 words)

2. Award criteria Describe how the entry satisfies the award criteria (Maximum of 300 words per each item listed under category criteria)

3. Letters of support

• At least one (1); up to five (5) one-page letters of support.
• Letters should be addressed: Members of the 2013 Awards Jury.
• Letters must be included in the online nomination form. Do not mail letters.
• 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 only) 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 are required for all of the National Planning Awards except the Advancing Diversity and Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff and Planning Advocate categories.
• Five (5) digital images for the Advancing Diversity and Social Change in Honor of Paul Davidoff and Planning Advocate.
• 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 (except for the Communication Initiative category).
   • 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 your Nomination (Your title)
     • Award category
4. CDs must be received by August 31, 2012.

Mail the CDs to:

American Planning Association
2013 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 National Planning Award categories:

• HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award
• Planning Pioneer
• Planning Landmark

The fee for the 2013 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

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