Awards of Excellence and Merit

Eligible planning projects are those completed within the last two years in Florida. An awards application should be submitted in electronic format and include a copy of the planning document (if applicable) and a completed application form.

Incomplete applications or those not received in the APA Florida Chapter office by the deadline will not be considered. The award recipients will be notified by early July of their selection. Those selected for an Award of Excellence will be requested to provide a short video for the awards ceremony. The Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit will be presented to the recipients at the opening morning session of the 2025 Florida Planning Conference.

Nominations will be evaluated for the award category in which they are submitted. However, the Awards Committee may upon a majority vote, move a nomination to a different category, if appropriate. Generally, only one Award of Excellence and one Award of Merit are granted per category each year. If the Awards Committee finds that none of the nominations in a particular category meets the desirable standards, they may opt not to grant an award in that category for that year. The jurors make the distinction between Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit based on several factors including scoring, innovation, superior quality, transferability, and other factors.

There is a fee for each application submitted:  $50 for members; and $75 for nonmembers.

Projects must fall under one of the following seven categories:

Implementation Project Award for a specific physically constructed project that is the result of good planning of unusually high merit. Projects must be in the process of being constructed or has been constructed within the last two years. The project should demonstrate “on-the-ground” results of planning efforts, programs, policies, or studies and show documentable physical or social change and/or enhance resiliency and sustainability.

Examples include: streetscape improvements that implement a corridor plan; public space improvements that implement plan policies; hospital, college, or other campus improvements implementing a master plan.

Comprehensive Plan Award for a comprehensive plan, or individual element, of unusually high merit completed and adopted by the public agency within the last two years for, by, or within a jurisdiction, with separate categories for Large and Small Jurisdictions. Small Jurisdictions are defined as cities under 25,000 population and counties under 100,000 population based on the most recent BEBR official population estimate. Large Jurisdiction will apply to all cities greater than 25,000 population and counties of 100,000 population or greater.

Best Practices Award for a specific planning tool, practice, program, or process that is a significant advancement to specific elements of planning. This category emphasizes results and demonstrates how innovative and state-of-the-art planning methods and practices helped to implement a plan. . The practice should be adopted or implemented for at least one year to be able to show effectiveness.

Examples include: regulations and codes, tax policies or initiatives, growth management or design guidelines, transferable development rights programs, land acquisition efforts, public-private partnerships, applications of technology, handbooks, or efforts that foster greater participation in community planning.

Grassroots Initiative Award for an initiative that illustrates how a community utilized the planning process to address a need that extends beyond the traditional scope of planning. Typical projects should be community initiated; emphasis is placed on the success of planning in new or different settings. Nominated projects should expand public understanding of the planning process.. Nominations in this category must be accompanied by one letter of recommendation from the community group involved.

Examples include: This could include such efforts as community policing or drug prevention, neighborhood outreach initiatives, programs designed for special populations, public art or cultural efforts, community festivals, environmental or conservation initiatives, summer recreational initiatives for children, or focused tourism ventures

Neighborhood Planning Award for a neighborhood plan, program, design, or related effort that effectively utilizes innovative planning principles and measures that creates sustainable neighborhoods that have lasting value. Nominations in this category must be accompanied by one letter of recommendation from a neighborhood organization involved in the neighborhood plan.

Examples include: Adopted neighborhood plan, street or corridor plan, community driven programming, design plans for community infrastructure.

Innovation in Planning for All Ages Award for a project, program or campaign that emphasizes innovative planning in meeting the needs of the 50+ population and demonstrates how communities can become more age friendly. This award is sponsored by AARP Florida.

Examples include: Pedestrian infrastructure, innovative transportation programs that increase senior mobility, placemaking and outdoor spaces projects fostering intergenerational and multi-cultural connection and socialization, project design that promote wellness and active aging.

Outstanding Student Project Award to recognize outstanding class projects or papers by a student or group of students in accredited planning programs in Florida that contribute to advances in the field of planning. While it is appropriate to submit a project or paper on which a faculty member(s) has given guidance, the submission should be primarily the work of the students. All projects with students as the primary authors of the work or with students receiving class credit for the work will be moved to this category. In other categories, student involvement and work products should be secondary.

A complete award package, submitted in electronic format to the APA Florida Chapter Office, must include the following documents:

1. The planning document or project.
2. Completed Annual Project Awards Application including:

• • Completion of awards form including the following information:
    • Specify the originator of the submittal. If the work was done for a local government/agency, but submitted by another party (such as a consultant), the application should include a sign off from the local government/agency that they are in agreement with the information in the awards submittal.
    • Specification of the requested awards category and timeframe in which the project was completed.
    • Specification of whether the project was submitted previously to the APA Florida awards, and if so, in what year and in what category.
    • Specify if there was student participation in the project. If students were involved, did the students receive class credit? Were they the primary authors of the work? If yes, then the submittal must be made to the student award category.
  • A brief description of the project, including the setting, time frame, significance to the planning field, innovations in theory, methodology and/or practice and other unique aspects to the application. (Max. 500 words)
  • A project summary to be used for the award handout at the conference. (Max. 100 words)
  • A brief discussion demonstrating how the project meets the following criteria. Please provide a different answer for each criteria; repetition is discouraged. ( 200 words each criterion):

Originality and Innovation – How does the entry present a visionary approach or innovative concept to address needs? How does the use of the planning process in this context broadened accepted planning principles within the context of the situation?

Quality – How does the project represent the excellence of thought, analysis, writing, and graphics, regardless of budgetary limitations? How were available resources used in a thoughtful and ethical process?

Transferability – How does the project have potential application for others and how does the use of the entry’s components and methodology would further the cause of good planning?

Comprehensiveness – How have planning principles been observed, especially in consideration of the entry’s effects on other public objectives?

Implementation and Effectiveness – (This is not a criterion for the Outstanding Student Project Award) What steps were taken to build momentum and public support for following or adopting the project? How did the project address the need or problem that prompted its initiation? How have the results made a difference in the lives of the people affected?

Engagement – How were various public interests involved and what was the extent of that involvement? How does the project demonstrate a strong effort to solicit input from those who historically have been left out of the planning process? How were those affected brought into the planning process? How did the project obtain public and private support?

Role of Planners – (This criteria does not apply to the Grassroots Initiative Award)Detail how the planning staff (public or private) was engaged in the project. What was the role, significance, and participation of planners? How did the project increase awareness in the community of planners and planning?

Education – (This is a criterion for only the Grassroots Initiative Award) How has the project encouraged community leaders to revise their opinions about the varied uses and broad applications of the planning process? What influence has the project had on public awareness beyond those immediately affected? What connection is there between the effort’s success and increased awareness in the community of planners and planning?

Age Friendliness – (This criterion is only for the Innovations in Planning for All Ages Award)
How has the project or program helped the local community become more age-friendly, specifically with respect to the 50+ population?  What influence has the project had on public awareness of the importance of including age-friendly considerations in planning decisions? What tangible impacts has the project or program had within the community in terms of being able to age in place? What connection is there between the effort’s success and increased awareness in the community of barriers with respect to this issue?

3. Ten (10) digital graphics or images (jpg format, color, 300 dpi minimum) which are copyright-free that illustrate the planning area or project that is being submitted. Submit only graphics or images that are not copyrighted, and which may be reproduced by APA Florida without a fee, charge, or copyright infringement. By submitting images, you agree to pay any copyright or image use license violations fines levied upon the chapter.

• • Images should provide context and show the award nomination’s positive or intended results.
  • Images should supplement what exists in the written summary and criteria sections.
  • Each image is limited to a maximum 10 megabytes (10 MBs). If your image is too large, please provide a link to view or download. You can list these links on an additional document and then upload or list it on the captions document.
  • Each image must include a photo caption. Captions must be no more than 25 words each.
  • Photo collages, videos, and PowerPoint presentations are not acceptable.

4. Up to five (5) one-page letters of support or testimonials are encouraged, but not required in support of the application. If the work was done for a local government but submitted by another party (such as a consultant), a representative of the local government must submit a letter that they have reviewed the application and are in agreement with all the information listed in the awards submittal. Letter(s) should offer support for the value of the nominated effort. Letters may not be written by the nominator of the submission or by the nominated project author or client.  For the Grassroots Initiative and Neighborhood Planning categories, at least one letter must be included from an organization representing the impacted community/neighborhood. .

5. Name, address, daytime telephone, and email numbers of the person(s) to contact regarding the application, project author(s), and project client.

6. Application fee: $50 for APA Florida members and $75 for non-members. In the online form, you will have the option to pay by check or credit card.

Make checks payable to APA Florida and mail to the chapter office at:

APA Florida

2017 Delta Blvd.

Suite 101

Tallahassee, FL 32303

Please notate the project name on the check. If you are paying for multiple applications with one check, please include a note with a list of the projects.

A complete award package must be received via the online form no later than 5 pm ET, Friday, May 10, 2024. (Student Project Award applications are due by 5 pm ET, May 10, 2024.)