A major highlight of the Training Workshop Program every year is the Annual Planning Awards. The Awards Submission site is now closed for nominations.
We invite you to attend the Training Workshop to attend the Planning Awards program on the evening of Wednesday 2 April 2025 at the Westin to see the Individuals and organizations that will be recognized for their outstanding achievements in 2024.
Submission Eligibility
Project and Place Nominations must pertain to federal installations, programs, properties, involved in federal planning. Nominations may be submitted by any interested party. All project submissions must have been completed within the last two fiscal years (i.e., final deliverable submitted and accepted by federal agency between 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2024). Completion means the sample work product submitted for consideration has been submitted and accepted/approved by the federal agency.
People Nominations must pertain to federal employees or those of a company with direct support to federal planning contracts/work. Nominated individuals may not enter themselves.
Award Nomination Submission Fees
*Please Note: Nomination fees are used to cover program expenses. Event Performance Group, the Training Workshop event management company, will be processing all payments on behalf of FPD. Credit cards are accepted this year (online submissions only) and Event Performance Group will be the name listed on your credit card statement. If you are paying by check, instructions will be provided on your nomination confirmation to complete and mail your check payment.
Changes to Submission Requirements for the 2024 Awards Program
There are multiple changes to the FY2024 FPD Awards Program. It is recommended that you read all changes carefully for the applicability to your organization or nomination. Additionally, you can download the FPD Awards Program Updates webinar slides for more details on the changes, criteria, and screenshots of the online submission process. To address concerns and feedback provided from past year’s workshop and award programs, the following changes, approved by the Executive Committee at its August 2024 Board Meeting, were incorporated into this year’s award program:
Category Tiers
There are three tiers of awards in categories 1–5. If, based on awards jury recommendations that an awards category should not receive recognition at all three tiers, the FPD Awards Committee will respect this decision and provide submission feedback where possible.
There are no separate award tiers for categories 6–11.
Award Categories
The APA Federal Planning Division awards categories:
Category 1 – Outstanding Federal Planning Program
For a large-scale planning program that best represents and incorporates integrated design, innovative problem solving, and an effective planning process. Programs typically include enterprise-level planning initiatives applicable to multiple locations, facilities, installations, or properties.
Examples of previous winning projects in this category: Installation Management Command Lodge Program Definition Reports and DD1391s, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Worldwide Area Development Plans (ADPs) Program, and U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Bavaria Housing Area Development Plans
Category 2 – Outstanding District/Area Development Project
For the planning project that best represents a smaller development area that is a part of a larger federal installation, campus, park, or lands. Plans typically include, but are not limited to, Area Development Plans (ADPs), District Plans, Specific Functional or Operational Plans, Housing Area Plans, Park Unit Plans, Site Plans, etc. Small, singlesite, single-mission locations could also be considered for this category.
Examples of previous winning projects in this category: Kadena Industrial Park (Chibana District) Area Development Plan, West Point Clinton District Area Development Plan, and Peterson Air Force Base Triangle Area Development Plan
Category 3 – Facilities Requirements Project
For the planning project that best represents outstanding facility space and requirements planning. Projects typically include, but are not limited to, Facility Space Utilization Plans, Facilities Requirements Documents, Customer Concept Documents, Facility Planning Charrette Reports, etc.
Category 4 – Outstanding Technical Planning Project
For a planning effort demonstrating outstanding technical competence in federal operations. This category is intended for planning studies that do not clearly fit into Categories 1-4 above. Technical plans or studies typically include, but are not limited to enterprise-level strategic basing or siting plans (e.g., new aircraft, vehicles, vessels, or organizations); range/training area or other real estate or real property asset management plans; information management and analysis tools that enhance a planner’s ability to facilitate objective recommendations to inform decision makers; business case and economic impact studies; or site feasibility or other alternative analyses.
Examples of previous winning projects in this category: Naha Military Port Plan, Zion National Park Management Scenario Tool, and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni Stormwater Management Plan
Category 5 – Outstanding Environmental Planning Project
For the environmental project that best meets the criteria. Environmental planning typically includes, but is not limited to, Natural or Cultural Resources Management Plans; Energy, Water, and/or Waste Conservation and Management Plans; Installation Sustainability Plans; National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) planning such as Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) or Environmental Assessments (EAs); Air, Noise, or Water Pollution Management Plans; and site remediation and redevelopment plans.
Examples of previous winning projects in this category: US Air Force F-35A Operational Beddown Air National Guard Environmental Impact Statement, Customs and Border Protection Advanced Training Center Sustainability Component Plan, and Vegetation Plan Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR)
Category 6 – Outstanding Federal Place of the Year – New Development
Recognition of a Federally owned location that best represents considered forethought into the development of the entire space, structurally, spatially, culturally, environmentally, and sustainably. This category is open to locations which have been completed within the past 10- years.
Category 7 – Outstanding Federal Place of the Year – Historic Development
Recognition of a Federally owned location that best represents considered forethought into the development of the entire space, structurally, spatially, culturally, environmentally, and sustainably which has inspired the generation of similar spaces for future users. This category is open to locations which have been completed prior to 1965.
Category 8 – Outstanding Planner of the Year
This category is open to any FPD member or federal employee who has contributed to federal agency planning in a substantial manner over the past Fiscal Year. This award recognizes effective contributions and leadership within the profession through practice, management, consulting, and promotion of sound planning within the federal sector.
Category 9 – Outstanding Emerging Planner of the Year
This category is open to any FPD member or federal employee, with less than FIVE years’ experience, who has contributed to federal agency planning in a substantial manner over the past Fiscal Year. This award recognizes effective contributions and planning within the profession through practice, management, consulting, and informed planning within the federal sector.
Category 10 – Outstanding Planning Technician of the Year
This category is open to any FPD member or federal employee technical specialist in a support of planning role who has contributed to federal agency planning in a substantial manner over the past Fiscal Year. This award recognizes technical expertise within the federal sector through contributions such as, but not limited to, GIS, facilities requirements definition, project programming, visual material generation, etc.
Category 11 – Rik Wiant Distinguished Service and Leadership Award
The Rik Wiant Award is given to individuals who demonstrate sustained and significant contributions to the federal planning profession, and who have demonstrated significant leadership in promoting and encouraging planning at the federal level.
The category is open to any FPD member or federal employee who has contributed to federal agency planning in a substantial manner over a sustained period, as well as to the development and mission of the FPD in general. This award recognizes effective contributions and leadership within the profession through distinguished practice, management, consulting, and promotion of sound planning within the federal sector.
Eligibility for Rick Wiant Distinguished Service and Leadership Award: Nominated individuals may not enter themselves. Nominated individuals must either be involved within the practice of planning at the federal level (i.e., in the federal/public agency, for-profit, or nonprofit sectors) or retired from such service. Any FPD member or Federal employee other than the person nominated may submit a member’s name for the award. There is no time in service requirement for this Award.
Awards Submission Process
All Awards Nominations will be completed ONLINE. Please note the following:
Categories 1 – 7:
One (1) PDF of submission sample product not to exceed 200 MB and 200 pages (REQUIRED)
Up to four (4) high-resolution .jpg or .png files of submission supporting images (used for Awards Ceremony only) (ONE REQUIRED)
Categories 8 – 11:
Two (2) PDF letters of support (REQUIRED)
Up to four (4) high-resolution .jpg or .png files of submission supporting images (used for Awards Ceremony only) (ONE REQUIRED)
If you don’t have all of the supporting documents and images at the time of submission or you want to complete the nomination at another time, you can “Save and Edit Later” for each submission. You will receive an email with a link to log back into the Awards Service Center to complete your award submission.
Evaluation Process
The nomination packages will be reviewed for submission compliance by the FPD Awards Committee prior to being evaluated by the awards jury members. Evaluation criteria are listed on pages 5–7. There will only be one round of review and evaluation by the jury this year.
Nominations for categories 8-11 will be reviewed by the FPD Executive Committee. FPD Executive Committee Members cannot submit nominations, nor can they be nominated for these awards while they are serving in office. The FPD Executive Committee reserves the right to not recognize a category winner if submissions do not meet award requirements.
Evaluation Criteria
The awards jury will review submissions for awards categories 1–7 based on the following criteria:
The FPD Executive Committee will review submissions for awards categories 8–10 based on the following criteria:
The FPD Executive Committee will review submissions for the Rik Wiant Distinguished Service and Leadership Award based on the following criteria:
Awards Notification and Distribution
Awards will be presented on Wednesday evening, 2 April 2025, at the Westin. The program will include a reception followed by the awards program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has the Awards Committee expanded the categories for FY2024? In response to multiple surveys which were generated by both the FPD Executive and Awards Committees, it was determined that the overall Awards Program should be updated to better reflect the desires of its Division membership. This resulted in the People-Projects-Places focus. The FPD and Awards Committees are excited to see the membership response to the category updates and will provide updated information to the membership on its performance at a future date.
Why was the “Outstanding Federal Planning Project” category removed? Every awards category was reviewed for applicability in moving to the new People-Projects-Places categories. In reviewing the categories, it was determined that the increased specificity of each category sufficiently captured the wide breadth of federal planning projects. Therefore, the “Outstanding Federal Planning Project” category became superfluous and closed. This also prevents any organization nominating an additional project that would otherwise be included in a different category and circumventing the 1-nomination per category rule.
What if my nomination is chosen by the Awards Committee to move to a different category, which I have another nomination submitted? Are they both accepted or something else with new “One Submission per Category” rule? Every awards category has unique criteria and submissions should reflect this. However, instances occur when a nomination to one category may be better aligned and received by the jury of a different category. If there is a conflict that arises from the “One Submission per Category” rule, the Awards Committee will collaborate with the nominator to adjudicate the occurrence. Each circumstance will be viewed individually and will have different outcomes to rectify.
My federal agency completed a planning project with very minimal consultant input, I don’t have a submission fee, correct? No. To meet the requirement of no submission fees for federal agency project nominations, there shall be no consultant collaboration on the project.
What constitutes a “Security Officer”? Each agency will have a different person or office to refer this to. Primarily, due to the increased inclusion of sensitive information in planning projects, this individual should be an authority on what can, and cannot, be included with a nomination. As these reviews could take an unknown amount of time, our recommendation is to start early.
Should a nomination be questioned by a juror over a potential sensitive information leak, the Awards Committee will immediately reach out to the provided Security Officer contact for clarification. This could lead to nomination disqualification and/or loss of nomination fee.
Does the new online payment function allowing credit card payments charge any additional fees? Yes, there is a 3% convenience fee assessed for each credit card payment to help FPD cover credit card processing fees.
Can I complete the online form submission and still pay by check? Yes, this option is available through 15 December 2024. On 16 December, only payments by credit card will be accepted to enable sufficient mailing and processing times. This is in reflection of the overlap with end-of-year holiday period. When mailing any check, it is strongly recommended that certified mail be utilized to enable tracking and delivery confirmations. The nomination confirmation will have instructions to complete your check payment.
Questions?
For any additional questions, feedback on the Awards, or issues with the online submission process, Please email Travis Willer, Chair of the Awards Committee, at awards@fpdtrainingworkshop.com
APA Federal Planning Division
205 N Michigan Ave
Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60601
