Advice for Nominators

Nominators are asked to honor the work of the nominee by providing a complete, organized and timely nomination packet. To assist nominators, we have provided guidelines for developing a nomination packet, details on the required materials for each award, and a checklist to guide you through the submission process.

The nominator is responsible for soliciting and compiling all required nomination materials, and for submitting the completed nomination packet to the AEA Office by the submission deadline. Upon timely receipt, the AEA office will distribute the materials to the Awards Committee for consideration.

Tips for a strong nomination packet:

  • Think carefully about the nomination justification statement and make sure that it presents clearly and specifically what the candidate is being nominated for and what he/she has accomplished that is outstanding.
  • Choose supporting materials with care so that those materials are directly relevant to the contributions for which the candidate is being nominated.
  • Emphasize the quality and aptness of the nomination materials and their implicit illustration of the award criteria.
  • Look at the list of previous award winners for some idea about the kinds of persons who win the award for which you wish to make a nomination.
  • Solicit required letters of support from persons who are relatively senior and well known in the association and the profession.
  • Provide individuals offering to write letters in support of your candidate with a copy of the nomination justification statement and the award description to help them frame their letters.
  • Remember that the awards process is necessarily competitive, and your candidate however worthy, may not win. Please consider nominating that person the following year if you remain persuaded of the candidate’s worthiness and potential to win the award.

Who is Eligible?

Any group or individual who meets the criteria for a given award is eligible for that award with the following considerations.

  • AEA membership is a requirement of the AEA Robert Ingle Award.
  • AEA Board Members, whether they are voting or ex-officio, are not eligible for the AEA awards during the time that they are sitting on the Board.
  • Publications or evaluations to which a voting or ex-officio Board member made significant contributions are not eligible for the Outstanding Publication or Evaluation Awards during the time that they are sitting on the Board.

Submission Format:

When soliciting nomination materials, the Nominator should first decide whether he/she will submit the nomination packet to the AEA office electronically or via hardcopy.

  • For nominations submitted electronically, nominators should be sure to solicit all materials in an electronic format, or be prepared to scan hardcopy materials so they can be included in the packet. Details
  • For nominations submitted in hardcopy, nominators should be aware that they must provide the AEA Office with five copies of ALL nomination materials. Details

Submission Instructions

Go to the Submission Instructions

Example Nominations Packet*

*The above submission was selected as a nomination that was comprehensive, thorough, with supporting documents, and that articulated well and with clarity the reasons for a nominee's consideration.

The Chair of the Awards Working Group will notify the primary nominator if their nominee was selected or not.  It is the responsibility of the nominator to notify the nominee of the outcome of h/her application.

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