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Nomination Requirements

All of the APA National Planning Award nominations must be submitted through the appropriate online form (when available). Be sure to review the individual eligibility and criteria requirements for the specific award category you wish to submit a nomination.

This information does not apply to the AICP Student Project Awards, AICP Outstanding Student Awards, or the SRC Planning Student Organizations (PSO) Awards.

General Submission Information

Nominations must be submitted online through APA's website.

Review the eligibility requirements

The following information is required for each nomination:

  1. Summary of the entry (100-250 words)
  2. Award criteria
    Describe how the entry satisfies the award criteria
    (Maximum of 300 words per each item listed under category criteria)
  3. Letters of support
    Letter(s) should illustrate broad community support for the nominated effort and can be addressed to "APA Awards Jury".
  • At least one (1); up to five (5) one-page letters of support.
  • Letter(s) must be included in the online nomination form. Do not mail letters.
  • Letter(s) may not be written by the nominator of the submission, by the nominated individual, or by anyone who directly worked on the project: members of the project team, consultant team or planning department staff, or anyone that had daily interaction or oversight on the project. APA staff may not provide a letter of support.
  • Client letters are acceptable.
  • Comments from APA chapters, divisions, members, and other stakeholders involved with the subject of the nomination are encouraged.
  1. Digital images (jpg format only) that are copyright-free with captions.

Submit only images that are copyright-free and may be reproduced by APA without a fee, charge, or copyright infringement.

Read the photography tips

  • Images should provide context and show the award nomination's positive or intended outcomes.
  • Images should supplement what exists in the written summary and criteria sections.
  • Each image must be uploaded individually.
  • Images must be in .jpeg format.
  • Each image is limited to a maximum of 10 MB.
  • Each image should be 200 dpi with a minimum physical size of 5 inches by 7 inches
  • Each image must include a photo caption. Captions must be between 15 and 25 words each. Captions should be entered separately into the nomination form.
  • Photo collages and PowerPoint presentations are not accepted.
  • Five (5) digital images are required for all of the National Planning Awards.
  1. Supplemental materials (optional)

Supplemental materials may add additional support to your nomination. Materials may include press clips, brochures, posters, design guidelines, fact sheets, etc. If your nomination is about a plan, be sure to include a copy of the plan.

All supplemental materials must be included in your online nomination. You have two options:

  1. Upload the document to your nomination form.
    • Each uploaded document must be less than 10 MB in size
  2. Provide links to your online document
    • Ensure that your URL will remain active through April.
    • Links to FTP sites, Google drives, and Dropbox are not acceptable.

Entry Fee

The fee for submitting a nomination:

  • $95 per nomination for APA members (the APA member must be the nominator and logged in to obtain the member rate)
  • $225 per nomination for non-APA members

Fees must be paid by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover) online via the nomination form. Cash payments are not accepted.