Awards Categories and Criteria
To be awarded at the 2024 OAPA Conference:
- Student Achievement in Planning
This category recognizes an exceptional project produced by individuals or teams of students enrolled in college or graduate school in planning or a related field. This award recognizes the value of connecting students and their work with the broader professional community. Submittals do not need to be the product of coursework.
Criteria:
- Originality. Describe how the nomination presents a visionary approach or innovative concept. Explain how the use of the planning process broadened accepted planning principles within the context of the situation.
- Contribution. Describe how the nomination makes a significant contribution to its community, region, the State, or the field of planning. Demonstrate the connection between the success of this effort and increased awareness of the planning process
- Comprehensiveness. Describe how planning principles have been observed, especially in consideration of the nomination’s effects on other public objectives. Identify how the nomination addresses issues important to the local community. Issues may include the built environment, natural resources, conservation areas, wildlife, and planning elements such as those addressing economic or social arenas.
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To be awarded in 2025:
Professional Development
This award seeks to honor individuals or projects that help create and sustain great communities through community leadership, education & outreach, and mentoring of traditionally underrepresented populations.
Criteria:
- Support of Planning. The project or individual must demonstrate that they created and/or sustained great communities through community leadership, education and outreach, mentoring, etc.
- Effectiveness and results. Identify the level of influence and effectiveness achieved by the nomination within different segments of the community.
Advocacy
This award seeks to honor individuals or projects who champion planning through advocacy of sound planning practices and policies that are reflective of and responsive to Oregon’s diverse people and places. Nominations may include individuals or projects whose efforts resulted in significant advancement of a community’s comprehension of planning issues or outcomes, greater awareness and understanding among residents or specific segments of the public, and raised awareness of critical issues.
Criteria:
- Support of Planning. Describe how the nomination positively supports the public engagement aspects of planning and a greater understanding of the planning process.
- Effectiveness and results. Describe how the nomination has been effective in formulating and implementing plans and ideas in support of good planning and in response to its context. Identify the level of influence and effectiveness achieved by the nomination within different segments of the community
- Transferability. Describe how the nomination has application for others and how the nomination’s components and methodology would further the cause of good planning.
Community Planning
This award seeks to honor individuals or projects that develop resources and structures that enable volunteer or civic leaders and communities to accomplish the organization’s goals and support the needs of its members through community-based planning.
Criteria:
- Effectiveness and results. Describe how the nomination has been effective in developing resources and structures to enable volunteer leaders and communities to accomplish community goals. Identify the level of influence and effectiveness achieved by the nomination within different segments of the community.
- Transferability. Describe how the nomination has potential application for others and how the application of the nomination’s components and methodology would further the cause of good planning.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Planning
Individuals or projects that showcase diverse and culturally responsive planning and support more inclusive, just, and equitable communities.
Criteria:
- Support of Planning. Describe how the nomination positively supports inclusive, just, and equitable communities through planning and the planning process.
- Effectiveness and results. Describe how the nomination has been effective in formulating and implementing plans and ideas in support of equitable planning and in response to its context. Identify the level of influence and effectiveness achieved by the nomination within different segments of the community.
- Transferability. Describe how the nomination has potential application for others and how the application of the nomination’s components and methodology would further the cause of good planning.
Professional Achievement in Planning
This award recognizes an individual or project that showcases excellence in planning processes and/or project-based planning. The project or program must be located in Oregon and have been adopted within the past four years.
Criteria:
- Originality. Describe how the nomination presents a visionary approach or innovative concept. Explain how the use of the planning process broadened accepted planning principles within the context of the situation.
- Contribution. Describe how the nomination makes a significant contribution to its community, region, the State, or the field of planning. Demonstrate the connection between the success of this effort and increased awareness of the planning process.
- Effectiveness and results. Describe how the nomination has been effective in formulating and implementing plans and ideas in support of good planning and in response to its context.
- Transferability. Describe how the nomination has potential application for others and how the application of the nomination’s components and methodology would further the cause of good planning.
Career Achievement
This award recognizes a person for their sustained commitment and the significant contributions they have made during their career to the planning profession and to the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association. Nominees must be members of the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Criteria:
- Leadership. Evidence of exceptional and sustained leadership, resulting in a readily definable change to a place, people, or process.
- Innovation. Examples of innovation and excellence creating consensus and support for a planning activity that led to community improvement.
- Impact. A legacy for their profession, community, and society, such as an impact that has created or shown potential to provide a benefit to his/her profession, community, and society.
- Accomplishment. Exceptional accomplishments in planning over the extent of their career or an extended period.
- Minimum 10 years of professional experience.