General Practices
1. The name and purpose of the award is clearly articulated in a mission or purpose statement so as to distinguish it from other awards, and particularly other awards that may have a similar name and or purpose.
2. The mission statement is concise and is stated in intelligible terms that may be understood by the general public or the particular audience of the award.
3. The audience of the award is clearly defined as the general public, a realm of enterprise or endeavor, a professional field, or a geographic entity such as a locality, state, or nation.
4. The eligibility of potential candidates is clearly stated with regard to professional qualifications, particular achievements, and such specialized requirements as may relate to status, age, gender, or nationality.
5. A clear declaration that there may be no discrimination among candidates with regard to status, age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, or race if these are not clearly articulated in the mission statement and purposes of the award or awards program.
6. A clear declaration as to whether the fundamental purpose of the award is to recognize particular achievements, the promise of achievements, or a career or lifetime of achievement or that this determination is at the discretion of the selection panel without prejudice to the candidate.
7. A publicly disseminated or posted description of the methods by which potential candidates may be nominated or brought into consideration for the award.
8. A publicly articulated standard that any individuals or organizations involved in the nomination or proposal of candidates for an award are disqualified from participation in the selection of individuals for a particular award; and any involvement in proposing or lobbying for a particular candidate for an award is an automatic disqualification for participation in the selection process.
Nominations for Awards
9. The level of documentation for an acceptable nomination or proposal of a candidate for an award is clearly established and available to all nominators. The absence of required documentation is declared to be proper grounds for the disqualification of a candidate.
10. A deadline date for the receipt of nominating materials by the awarding institution is clearly established and adhered to giving due to consideration to differences in cultures and available communications technologies that may delay well intended nominations.
Administration of Nominations
11. All nominations are treated upon receipt are properly documented, accurately recorded, and acknowledged to the nominator with a notice of any required materials that may be missing.
12. A qualified slate of nomination reviewers are maintained to conduct an initial reading of nominations to determine whether additional subject nomination or reference materials will be needed to properly evaluate each nomination.
13. Nominations that are determined in the foregoing process to be technically incomplete or to be substantively frivolous are eliminated at this stage so as not to encumber or burden further levels of evaluation.
Award Panels or Juries
14. A formal panel of experts has been established to serve as a jury for determining a group of finalists for the award and ultimately for selecting the recipient for the award.
15. The panel or jury has been chosen broadly and representatively from invited lists of candidates from individuals or institutions in the field of the award; or from a group of candidates who are able to evaluate achievements across a broad spectrum of human achievements.
16. The panel or jury consists of individuals both prominent in the field of the award and representative of national, cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender variety whether or not the field itself contains such variations.
Information to Panels or Juries
17. The panel or jury is provided with a list of all nominations for the award even if some have been determined to be incomplete or frivolous so that the panel may judge whether a particular nomination should be further considered on known merits of the nominee, particularly in cases where nominees come from a nation or culture with linguistic or institutional limitations that may hamper the submission of a competitive nomination.
18. The panel or jury has been given an opportunity to refer nominations on which additional information or perspectives may be needed as a built-in part of the evaluation and selection process.
Deliberations of Panels or Juries
19. The panel or jury has been convened to deliberate on finalists and a final selection either in a face-to-face meeting or in a defined set of procedures via e-mail, phone or teleconferences, or delegated subcommittee report that will include all panel or jury members able to participate in the deliberations.
20. The panel or jury submits its selection to the institution sponsoring the award as its final judgment so that the institution can determine that the proposed laureate can meet all other requirements for receipt of the award.
Determination of Awardee or Recipient Qualifications
21. Such determination do not relate to the qualifications of the proposed recipient, but rather to the legal or statutory requirements of the nation or state in which the sponsor organization is chartered; or the stated requirements of public laws regarding such awards or the terms of a charter or bequest establishing the award (e.g., the award cannot be presented posthumously, the recipient must attend the award ceremonies to receive the award, the recipient can legally accept a monetary prize attending the award).
Interaction with Awardees or Recipients
22. The sponsoring institution has formally established procedures for informing the recipient of his/her selection for the award and regulations providing that no individual associated with the administration, review, or selection process is permitted to circumvent or bypass these procedures.
23. The recipient is notified both informally and formally not only of the selection for receipt of the award but also of any requirements attending receipt of the award (particularly attendance at ceremonies, required lectures or presentations and the like, and any other demands that may occur during the reception process.
24. The recipient is advised to seek counsel on any tax, tariff, or monetary consequences that may result from the acceptance of any cash prize that may accompany the award; and is also advised that the sponsoring institution is receptive to suggestions or proposals that may assist the recipient in meeting these requirements.
Announcement of Awards and Award Recipients
25. The selection of the recipient for the award and the periodic presentation of the award is announced in channels and to media that cover the field of work covered by the award; and, wherever, possible to the general public in geographic realms where the conferring of the award and the selection of the recipient are of particular interest.
26. The institution sponsoring the award is judicious in the expenditure of funds for purely publicity and public relations activities, understanding that the presentation of an award is likely less newsworthy than the original achievement of the laureate; and that the career of the recipient may be of greater human interest than the fact of the award presentation itself.
Presentation of Awards and Award Ceremonies
27. The institution sponsoring the award presents the award and any related prize in circumstances and at times that are appropriate to the nature of the award, taking into consideration that the presentation of the award may be an opportunity to commemorate historic epochs in the evolution of the field in which it is conferred, to highlight historical settings important to the field of the award, and to present conferences, meetings, and symposia to explore new avenues of research or development in the field.
28. Award presentation ceremonies are occasions primarily to recognize the award and its recipient and the recipient’s achievement and not to serve as a platform for political, ideological, sectarian, or other partisan or special interest agenda.
29. The sponsoring organization has made every effort to present the award in a tasteful, educational, and entertaining manner, avoiding unnecessary and repetitive speeches, cumbersome or awkward stage presentations for participants and the recipient, and entertainments that detract from the award itself and the recipient
Presentation of Award Medals and Prizes
30. The sponsor organization has made every effort to present the recipient with accompanying medals, cash prizes, and other award materials in a timely manner either at the ceremony itself or in a prescribed schedule previously provided to the recipient.
31. The sponsor organization has demonstrated good faith efforts to include in the ceremonies nominators, selection panel, the family and associates of the recipient, mentors and inspiring colleagues of the recipient, officials from organizations related to the field of the recipient’s work, and an audience that can relate to the recipient and the special accomplishments.