QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

"Will my submission qualify?"

NATURE OF THE SUBMISSION:
The focus of this award is on excellence in Integrated Environmental Management.  It aims to recognise a individual or team from across the sector who showcases the benefits of IEM undertaken in line with IEM principles and in a professional manner, thereby profiling the sector.  
The scope of the submissions is broad, and focuses on an individual’s, or a team’s, overall contribution to IEM in South Africa.  The submission must demonstrate the individual or team’s outstanding contribution to IEM through their work, tools or activities, such as:
(a)    policy development; 
(b)    law-making and law enforcement;
(c)    training and education;
(d)    decision making;
(e)    impact assessment;
(f)    environmental reporting;
(g)    environmental monitoring and auditing;
(h)    rehabilitation programmes; and
(i)    environmental framework development.
Note: This list is not exhaustive.  The chief question to be considered in deciding on a winner is:
Does the individual or team meet the objectives of the Award by showing “excellence in integrated environmental management (IEM) practice that advances the environmental profession and demonstrates a clear contribution to environmental sustainability”?
Submissions should be succinct, but well-motivated and documented covering such aspects as detailed below. 

SCOPE OF THE SUBMISSION:
•    The submission may not relate to a product – such as a physical output or technology.
•    The evidence supporting a submission for the IAIAsa Premium Award may relate to any initiative that has taken place within South Africa.  Submissions from outside of South Africa will be considered, but specific motivation should be included addressing this aspect of the submission.
•    The initiative/s should preferably be recently completed, that is, within the last three years. If not completed, the action must be near enough to completion to be assessed by the time of the submission to clearly demonstrate the benefits in line with the judging criteria. 
•    The scope of the initiative in terms of both spatial and temporal scale will be considered for each project on a case-by-case basis. That is, consideration of the project’s appropriateness and relevance to that scope will be integrated into the adjudication process.

ELIGIBLE SUBMITTING ENTITIES:
Submissions are encouraged from the full spectrum of environmental professionals including 
(a)    policy and decision makers (i.e. regulating authorities);
(b)    non-government organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs);
(c)    specialists;
(d)    private sector;
(e)    environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs); or 
(f)    academia / educators / research sector. 

Submissions can be made by individuals, the entire project team, or a participating organisation. 

The award is open to IAIAsa members only.

Note: Depending on the quality and/or nature of the submissions made, fewer finalists than three could be selected, or no award may be presented for a particular year, as has occurred in the past. 

SUBMISSION CRITERIA

"What do I need to submit?"

• Nominee’s own institution, if any;
• Institutional information relating to the initiative(s), such as project team and client, roles and responsibilities; and
• end-users and/or beneficiaries (who has been involved and/or benefited from the project). 

MOTIVATION:

The motivation should include reference to relevant evidence (i.e. documentation, data, correspondence, other awards, press releases (please be selective!)), that clearly demonstrates:
(a)    Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) principles – Application of IEM principles in the work presented.
(b)    Professionalism – A high quality / standard of work and integrity of the nominee’s approach and conduct in the project.
(c)    Innovation – How the work is different to or builds on existing standards / benchmarks.
(d)    Best practice – What makes this work best practice, that is, pushes the greater industry forward towards the set goals of IEM and sustainability.
(e)    Sustainability – How the approach and/or outcomes contribute to the achievement of sustainability.
(f)    Lessons learnt – Reflection on aspects that could be further improved and thereby advances the sector.  Benchmarks against which the success of other projects may be tested can also be included.
Supporting information should be submitted in electronic format (preferably on a flash drive) and should be chosen for direct relevance and to prove specific points. Guidance should be included as to where points of specific interest can be reviewed.

PRESENTATION CRITERIA

"What do I need to present at the conference?"

ADJUDICATION 

"How will the award be adjuducated?"

The Award is adjudicated through a multi-step process, to ensure that the process is robust, well-informed, and transparent, and which is open to interrogation if required by the IAIAsa membership.

STEP 1: ADJUDICATION PANEL AND DETAILED REVIEW
At the end of July an adjudication panel reviews the full submissions. Any submissions for which the supporting documentation has not been made available to the panel timeously will be disqualified. The adjudication panel will undertake an evaluation process of the written submissions using the judging criteria summarised below, and three finalists will be selected.  The finalists will be notified two weeks prior to the commencement of the conference.
(a)    Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) principles 
(b)    Professionalism 
(c)    Innovation 
(d)    Best practice 
(e)    Sustainability
(f)    Lessons learnt 

A score out of 80 will be determined by the adjudicators.

STEP 2: PRESENTATION AT CONFERENCE
The formal presentation by the finalists will be judged according to the criteria summarised below and provided with an opportunity for the presenter to respond to queries. 
(a)    Content
(b)    Organisation
(c)    Delivery
(d)    Supports (visuals and other)
(e)    Questions
The presentation will be scored out of 20, and combined with the initial scoring to total a score out of 100.

STEP 3: FINAL DECISION
The adjudication panel will then meet to co-ordinate scores and final comments.

STEP 4: THE AWARD PRESENTATION
The presentation of the award will take place at the Gala Dinner.

• All awards will be made on merit, with evidence of demonstrated excellence and outstanding contribution to achieving sustainable development.
• Prospective applicants for the IAIAsa Premium Award should submit a Nomination as soon as possible to guide the Awards Committee on the conduct of the competition.
• The summary section of the nomination should be concise but sufficient to be provided to the IAIAsa membership in isolation to allow for input to be made.
• Clarity in the title of the nominee and/or relevant project and the names of the project team is requested as the information included on the nomination forms will be used on the certificates / trophy if chosen as a finalist / winner.
• A distinction is drawn between the Nominating Body and the Nominee, as these two may not necessarily be the same organisation. In order to acknowledge the obvious role of the Proponent in the Activity (if they are not the nominating body), it is the intention that they should if at all possible participate and receive credit at the Award ceremony.
• Nominations judged to be the best finalists for the Award will be invited to give a presentation on their submission as part of the Conference programme.
• All finalists will receive a certificate.  The winner will be awarded the floating trophy to display for the year.
• Every effort will be made to keep the winner confidential until the moment of announcement at the gala dinner, in order to contribute to an atmosphere of suspense.
• The Awards will not necessarily be made every year.  IAIAsa reserve its right not select finalists, or to select fewer finalists, or not to present the award, in the event that the quality and/or nature of the submissions made are found to be deficient.
• IAIAsa reserves the right to retain material submitted until the end of July of the following year for exhibition and other promotional purposes. Whilst all reasonable precautions will be taken to ensure the safe-keeping and subsequent return of material submitted in support of nominations, IAIAsa will not be liable to any entrant for loss of, or damage to, any such material, whatsoever the cause.

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

"Will my submission qualify?"

NATURE OF THE SUBMISSION
The scope of the submissions is broad, and focuses on a specific project which showcases best IEM practice in South Africa.  Applications must include supporting evidence relating to the nominated project.  
Submissions can be made by individuals, the entire project team, or a participating organisation. You may nominate another team’s project if you believe it to show excellence and best practice, but we request is that you obtain permission from that team prior to submitting their nomination.

SCOPE OF THE SUBMISSION
•    The submission may not relate to a product – such as a physical output or technology.
•    Submissions should be succinct, but well-motivated and documented covering such aspects as detailed below. 
•    The IAIAsa Advance Award is open to any initiative that has taken place within South Africa.  Submissions from outside of South Africa will be considered, but specific motivation should be included addressing this aspect of the submission.
•    The project should preferably be recently completed, that is, within the last three years. If not completed, the action must be near enough to completion to be assessed by the time of the submission to clearly demonstrate the benefits in line with the judging criteria.

ELIGIBLE SUBMITTING ENTITIES
This award will is open to any IAIAsa member – it is not important who you are, but what you have thought, developed, done, or how you have done it.  
Submissions are encouraged from the full spectrum of environmental professionals including 
(a)    policy and decision makers (i.e. regulating authorities);
(b)    non-government organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs);
(c)    specialists;
(d)    private sector;
(e)    Industry;
(f)    environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs); or 
(g)    academia / educators / research sector. 
Note: Depending on the quality and/or nature of the submissions made, fewer finalists than three could be selected, or no award may be presented for a particular year, as has occurred in the past. 

SUBMISSION CRITERIA

"What do I need to submit?"

The motivation must be short and to the point! A submission (max five pages) should be submitted covering the following:

BACKGROUND
Brief overview of the context of the submission.   This should cover the:
(a)    Nature of the submission – project, tool, approach, concept, training course, activity etc.
(b)    Location – where the work took place and the sphere of influence.
(c)    Motivation – the need for, function and/or purpose of the actions, tools, ideas etc.   
(d)    Institutional summary:

• Project team and client, roles and responsibilities, including who developed and implemented the project; and
• End-users and/or beneficiaries (who has been involved and/or benefited from the project). 

MOTIVATION
The motivation should clearly demonstrate:
(a)    Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) principles – how a person’s work, tool, action etc give effect to one or more IEM principles.
(b)    Best Practice – a high quality/standard of work and integrity of the team or individual’s approach and conduct.
(c)    Innovation – how the work is different to or builds on existing standards/ benchmarks.
(d)    Impact – the impact (actual or potential) your action, idea, tool etc. has in terms of taking the sector forward.

PRESENTATION CRITERIA

"What do I need to present at the conference?"

ADJUDICATION 

"How will the award be adjuducated?"

The Award is adjudicated through a multi-step process, to ensure that the process is robust, well-informed, and transparent, and which is open to interrogation if required by the IAIAsa membership.

STEP 1: ADJUDICATION PANEL AND DETAILED REVIEW:
At the end of July / during August an adjudication panel of three people gathers to review the full submissions. Any submissions for which the supporting documentation has not been made available to the panel timeously will be disqualified. The adjudication panel will undertake an evaluation process of the written submissions using the judging criteria summarised below, and three finalists will be selected.  The finalists will be notified two weeks prior to the commencement of the conference.

The written submission will be scored against each of the four criteria listed in the motivation: Extent to which the submission 
(a)    gives effect to one or more IEM principles; 
(b)    demonstrates best practice; 
(c)    is innovative; and
(d)    the actual/potential impact of your submission – what makes it special and worthy of consideration.
A score out of 20 will be allocated for each of the above to obtain an overall score out of 80.

STEP 2: PRESENTATION AT CONFERENCE:
The formal presentation by the finalists will be judged according to the criteria summarised below and provided with an opportunity for the presenter to respond to queries. 
(a)    Content
(b)    Organisation
(c)    Delivery
(d)    Supports (visuals and other)
(e)    Questions
The presentation will be scored out of 20, and combined with the initial scoring to total a score out of 100.

STEP 3: FINAL DECISION:
The adjudication panel will then meet to co-ordinate scores and final comments.

STEP 4: THE AWARD PRESENTATION
This will take place at the Gala Dinner.

• All Awards will be made on merit, with evidence of demonstrated excellence and outstanding contribution to achieving sustainable development.
• Prospective applicants for the IAIAsa Annual Award should submit a Nomination Form (attached) as soon as possible.
• The Summary section of the nomination form should be concise but sufficient to be provided to the IAIAsa membership in isolation to allow for input to be made.
• Clarity in the wording of the title of the project and the names of the project team is requested as the information included on the nomination forms will be used on the certificates / trophy if chosen as a finalist / winner.
• A distinction is drawn between the Nominating Body and the Nominee, as these two may not necessarily be the same organisation. In order to acknowledge the obvious role of the Proponent in the Activity (if they are not the nominating body), it is the intention that they should if at all possible participate and receive credit at the award ceremony.
• Nominations judged to be the best finalists for the award will be invited to give a presentation on their submission as part of the conference programme.
• All finalists will receive a certificate.  The winner will be awarded the floating trophy to display for the year.
• Every effort will be made to keep the winner confidential until the moment of announcement at the Conference dinner, in order to contribute to an atmosphere of suspense.
• The award will not necessarily be made every year.  IAIAsa reserve its right not select finalists, or to select fewer finalists, or not to present the award, in the event that the quality and/or nature of the submissions made are found to be deficient.
• IAIAsa reserves the right to retain material submitted until the end of July of the following year for exhibition and other promotional purposes. Whilst all reasonable precautions will be taken to ensure the safe-keeping and subsequent return of material submitted in support of nominations, IAIAsa will not be liable to any entrant for loss of, or damage to, any such material, whatsoever the cause.