Types of Planning Awards

Award Categories

These awards recognize excellence of plans, processes, and implementation of plans or programs. Also recognized are those who are advocates for the planning profession, in addition to great places.

All award submissions will be submitted through the following link. You should receive an email confirming your submission. If you do not, please contact the Ashley Gremillion at webmaster@louisianaplanning.com.

APA-Louisiana Planning Excellence Awards

Excellence Award For a Plan

For a comprehensive plan, or a separate plan that addresses a specific area such as a neighborhood, downtown, corridor, redevelopment area, or critical and sensitive area, or a specific topic such as transportation, housing, economic development, community facilities, parks and open space, or hazards mitigation; with an emphasis on plans that advance the science and art of planning.

Excellence Award for a Process

For an initiative, program, or project that illustrates how a community uses citizen participation and the planning process to create a plan or realize an implementation strategy under the traditional scope of planning, or to address a need extending beyond the traditional scope of planning in new or different settings; with an emphasis on the involvement of people in the creation and management of their built and natural environments.

Excellence Award for Implementation

For a planning technology, program, project, or tool, such as a land development regulation, incentive, financial initiative, or similar measure, that is ensuring the realization of proposals advanced in a plan and accomplishing positive change with medium- to long-term, measurable results through continuous effect for a minimum of four years.

APA-Louisiana Planning Achievement Awards

The Louisiana Planning Achievement Awards include these three awards: Planning Leadership, Elected Official, Volunteer of the Year, a Student award, and the Enriching a Community’s Quality of Life in Honor of Francis P. Keevers. They honor individuals for outstanding, significant, and sustained contributions to, and in support of, planning or the planning profession. They are subject to the following eligibility and criteria:

Achievement Award for Leadership

Eligibility: Individuals may not self-nominate and must earn or have earned their living in planning as professional planners or over a sustained period of time as a planning educator in a PAB accredited program. Open only to APA members in good standing.

Criteria: Each nomination must address all of the following criteria:

Support of planning and planners. Illustrate how the nominee’s work has increased the understanding of the planning profession and planning process. Indicate how the nominee has shown support for and a thorough knowledge and clear understanding of the role of planners in public life.

Collaboration. Describe how the nominee has developed or fostered strategic partnerships or alliances to help meet planning goals and objectives, change the working dynamic, and expand the support for planning.

Effectiveness, results, and influence. Describe the extent that the nominee has been effective in formulating and implementing plans, programs, projects, technologies, and ideas in support of good planning. Identify the level of influence and effectiveness achieved by the nominee within different segments of the community. Demonstrate the nominee’s positive influence on the direction and professional advancement of planning.

Ethical practice. Show how your nominee consistently upholds and champions the highest standards of professional ethics in terms of the public trust and guides and educates staff, students, stakeholders, or colleagues on the importance of high ethical practice.

Achievement Award for Enriching a Community’s Quality of Life in Honor of Francis P. Keevers and Elected Official

Eligibility: Individuals may not self-nominate and must not earn or have earned their living in planning as a professional planner. Open only to non-APA members.

Criteria: Each nomination must address all of the following criteria.

Support of planning. Illustrate how the nominee’s work has increased the understanding of the planning process. Indicate how the nominee has shown a clear understanding of, and support for, the role of planning in improving a community’s quality of life.

Collaboration. Describe how the nominee has developed or fostered strategic partnerships or alliances to help meet planning goals and objectives.

Effectiveness, results, and influence. Describe the extent that the nominee has been effective in formulating and implementing plans, programs, projects, technologies, and ideas in support of improved quality of life. Identify the level of influence and effectiveness achieved by the nominee within different segments of the community. Demonstrate your nominee’s positive influence on the advancement of planning.

Social and economic concerns. Explain how the nominee’s efforts have addressed not only a community’s physical realm, but also its social and economic or civic and business concerns and issues. Describe how the nominee’s efforts have improved a community’s overall quality of life.

Volunteer of the Year Award

Eligibility: Individuals may not self-nominate and must be an APA member in good standing.

Criteria: Each nomination must address all of the following criteria:

Chapter Support. Illustrate how the nominee’s work has helped the Chapter better serve its members. Indicate how the nominee is dedicated to the Chapter and has contributed to its continued improvement.

Collaboration. Describe how the nominee has developed relationships with fellow members and has helped meet Chapter goals and objectives.

Effectiveness, results, and influence. Describe the extent that the nominee has been effective in formulating and implementing plans, programs, projects, technologies, and ideas in support of the Chapter. Identify the level of influence and effectiveness achieved by the nominee with fellow members. Demonstrate the nominee’s positive influence on the Chapter’s direction.

Ethical standards. Show how your nominee consistently upholds and champions high ethical standards within the Chapter.

APA-Louisiana Student Project Award

The APA-Louisiana Student Project Award recognizes outstanding class projects or papers by a student or group of students and intends to recognize exceptional work that advances the field of urban planning, work primarily by the student(s) with minimal, appropriate guidance by faculty. It is subject to the following eligibility and criteria:

Eligibility: A paper or project completed within the previous three years from a student or group of students in a Louisiana university urban planning program, or a related program such as architecture, landscape architecture, geography, environmental sciences, or public policy, may receive this award one time in one of three categories: 1) contribution of urban planning to contemporary issues, or how the related field supported planning’s contribution to contemporary issues; 2) application of the planning process; and 3) applied research that supports urban planning. A program may submit only one nomination. A nomination from a program related to urban planning must clearly demonstrate its application to and support for urban planning. If a student holds an elected or appointed office in national or Louisiana Chapter APA, her or his work or the work of the group in which s(he) participated is not eligible during the student’s term of service. A nomination for this award may be submitted by either: 1) the head of the Louisiana university division that contains the urban planning or related program; or (2) the duly elected or appointed Planning Student Organization (PSO) Student Representative of the Louisiana university planning program.

Criteria: Each nomination must address all of the following criteria:

Originality and innovation. Originality of concept or appreciable refinement of existing techniques or procedures

Transferability. Potential application to other locations, projects, or areas of planning interest

Quality. Excellence of thought, analysis, writing, graphics, and character of presentation

Implementation. Proposals of the paper or project have been carried out, show promise of being carried out, or demonstrate an effective implementation technique

Comprehensiveness. The paper or project observes planning principles, especially in considering effects on public objective