Excellence in Practice Awards

The 2011 Excellence in Practice application window is closed. Organizations will receive notification of the decisions regarding their entries by January 31, 2012.

The Excellence in Practice category recognizes results achieved through the use of practices and solutions from the entire scope of workplace learning and performance. Applications are accepted for both new and proven practices in these categories:

• Career Development
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Integrated Talent Management
• Learning Technologies
• Managing Change
• Organizational Learning
• Performance Improvement
• Technical Training
• Training Management
• Workplace Learning and Development

Accomplishments will be recognized at two levels:

• Awards will be presented to practices that have demonstrated clear and measurable results of achieving organizational goals, meet a demonstrated need, have appropriate design values, and are clearly aligned with other performance improvement initiatives.
• Citations will be presented to practices that have yet to demonstrate clear and measurable results, but that have strong evaluation plans, meet a demonstrated need, and have appropriate design values. Citation winners are encouraged to seek an Excellence in Practice Award in a subsequent year. 

Award and citation winners will be honored at the awards ceremony during the ASTD International Conference & Exposition in May 2012 in Denver, Colorado.  Announcements of the winners will be in ASTD publications and on the ASTD website. 

Criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate the Excellence in Practice applications:

• Needs Identification
  • Indication that the practice was an appropriate response to the problem or need
• Design Values
  • Evidence that the intervention was designed and implemented in a way that considered the best interests of the organization as well as those of employees
• Alignment
  • Evidence of, and degree of alignment with, other training, learning, and performance improvement practices, as well as organizational goals, to achieve desired outcomes
  • Evidence of partnerships within and outside the organization (e.g., with senior management, frontline supervisors, unions, external resources, etc.)
• Evaluation Strategy
  • Evidence of a clear, measurable, and feasible evaluation plan
• Results
  • Evidence of actual or anticipated organizational impact
  • Evidence of actual or anticipated individual/team impact
• Shared Learning
  • Indications that this practice can be transferred and replicated in other organizations
  • Extent of the diffusion of this practice in the field
  • Opportunities for other professionals to learn from this practice.

Eligibility

All practices must be nominated by two individuals, at least one of whom is from the company, organization, or entity in which the practice is used.

Because practices focus on results, training suppliers and consultants should apply only in collaboration with a customer. The application must be written from the perspective of the customer organization.

Applicants and nominators are not required to be members of ASTD.

There is an $80 application fee that can be paid through the ASTD Store.

(To pay by check or wire transfer complete and submit the EIP Application Fee Form.)

Watch this webcast to learn more about the application process, tips for success, and examples of winning entries.

Practices may range from a single, narrowly focused activity to a multifaceted, multidisciplinary initiative, so long as the results can be clearly linked to advancing the organization's goals. ASTD staff will review all initial applications to ensure they are complete and may request additional information. All complete applications will go through a blind review process conducted by a panel of experts from companies in the ASTD Benchmarking Forum, ASTD staff, and other training, learning, and performance improvement experts. ASTD reserves the right to dismiss applications that lack clarity or sufficient information.

Shared Learning

ASTD is committed to shared learning and recognition of excellence. ASTD will disseminate and share information from the winning applications, and will recognize the winning organizations on its website, in publications, and at the ASTD International Conference and Exposition in May 2012.

Submission Guidelines

• The entry form must be submitted in its original format: Questions or information requested must be listed and numbered, each followed immediately by the response. All applications must be submitted electronically.  
• All signatures are provided. Electronic signatures or scanned copies of the signature pages are acceptable for email submissions.
• Sections G, H, and I do not exceed word/page limits.
• Do not include references to your organization or division, or names of products or individuals, in text or on headers and footers anywhere within Sections G, H, and I. Applications that include information that reveals the organization will not be considered.
• The entire application has been proofread for clarity and content.
• The $80 application fee has been paid.
• The application file size does not exceed 950 KB.  (Files exceeding this limit will be returned for editing.)
• Do not send any supporting materials aside from those requested in the application.

Email applications to eip@astd.org

Attach to the submission email:

• Part 1 as a PDF. This file should contain all required signatures. Use the following format to name your file: organization name_title of practice_Part1.
• Part 2 as a .doc or .docx file. Do NOT send Part 2 as a PDF. Use the following format to name your file: organization name_title of practice_Part2.
• Provide a separate file for each practice. If applicable, any necessary supplemental documentation requested in Section H should be saved in the Part 2 file.