Research and Technical Practices Award 2007
Sponsored by the Research and Technical Practices Committee, Michigan Section AWWA
Click here to download the Award Nomination Form as PDF
Click here to download the Award Nomination Form as DOC
Purpose of the Award
1. Acknowledge outstanding research and technical practices.
2. Share research and technical practice findings among utilities.
3. Encourage new research and technical practices.
Eligibility
The award recipient must be a Michigan water utility involved in non-sponsored research or technical practices related to water works activities. The research or technical practice may be undertaken in conjunction with consultants or university personnel, but must involve a Michigan water utility. Consultants or university personnel performing research or technical practice independent of a specific Michigan water utility are not eligible for the award.
The research or technical practice must be completed or in progress within two years of the date the award is given. The results of the research or technical practice do not necessarily need to be positive.
The Award
The award will include a plaque to acknowledge the awardee’s efforts, which will be permanently displayed at the utility. The award will also include a polo shirt embroidered with the MI-AWWA logo and RTP committee name. The plaque will be presented at the conference’s award luncheon. In addition, the awardee will have the option to have the plaque presented again at a city/township/village meeting to publicly recognize the utility’s accomplishments.
Award Categories
Separate awards may be granted in the following two categories:
Research – includes research performed in an effort to improve utility operation.
Technical Practice – includes modifications tried and tested in everyday practice to optimize utility operation.
Note that positive results are not necessary to be considered for the award. Projects can be related to any aspect of a water utility, such as source water, treatment, and distribution. The research and technical practice activities must be supported directly by the utility. It does not include research funded through grants such as the AWWARF projects or university sponsored research.
Frequency of the Award
The award will be presented at the Michigan Section Annual Conference. It is the intent of the Section to issue one award per year in each of the above categories. In exceptional cases, more than one award in a category may be given in a particular year if more than one utility is deserving. Similarly, no award will be given if there are no deserving applicants.
Award Committee Membership
The Chairperson of the Research and Technical Practices Committee of the Michigan Section, AWWA shall appoint a standing Research and Technical Practices Award Subcommittee to select the award winner(s). This subcommittee shall consist of approximately five individuals from the Research and Technical Practices Committee. The Research and Technical Practices Award Subcommittee will screen nominations based upon the eligibility and entry requirements indicated below, and select the utility(s) most deserving of the award.
Entry Requirements
Entries will be evaluated by the Research and Technical Practices Award Subcommittee in a two phased approach. Initial entries are to be completed on the attached RTP Award Nomination and must include a short summary of the goals and conclusions of the research or technical practice. Utilities whose RTP Award Nominations are selected for further consideration must then submit a RTP Award Application for Finalists, which must include the following in a clear and understandable format:
1. Name of the water utility(s) involved in the research or technical practice.
2. Name, title, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and employer of individuals involved in research or technical practice project.
3. Name, title, mailing address, email address, telephone number, employer, and signature(s) of individual(s) making nomination (if different from above).
4. Signature of an individual from the water utility authorizing the nomination.
5. A clear summary of the goals and purpose of the research or technical practice.
6. A clear summary of the procedures used in conducting the research or technical practice.
7. A clear summary of the research or technical practice data and results.
8. A clear summary of the conclusions that are supported by the data.
All entries must be available for distribution or publication by the Michigan Section, AWWA.
Nomination Procedure
At least 150 days prior to the annual Section Meeting, the chairperson of the Research and Technical Practices Award Committee will solicit nominations by announcement in Water Works News. Nominations must be made on behalf of the water utility by individuals directly involved in the research or technical practice project. Self nominations are acceptable.
Nominating Deadline
Nominations must be received at least 120 days prior to the start of the Michigan Section AWWA Annual Conference.
Method of Selecting Award Recipient
The Research and Technical Practices Award Committee will meet at least ninety days prior to the Michigan Section AWWA Annual Conference to review the RTP Award Nominations and select those deserving further consideration. For this purpose, each committee member will review each nomination and provide a score of 1 to 5 in each of the three rating criteria. These scores will then be multiplied by the respective weighting factor to determine a weighted score for the nomination. The weighted scores awarded by each committee member will be added to determine a total weighted score for each nomination. The nominations with the highest total weighted scores in each category (research or technical practice) will be asked to submit a RTP Award Application for Finalists for further review. No more than five RTP Award Nominations will be selected form each category for further evaluation.
RTP Award Applications for Finalists must be submitted at least 45 days prior to the annual Section Meeting. The Research and Technical Practices Award Committee will meet again at least 30 days before the annual Section Meeting to select the nomination in each category (research or technical practice) most deserving of the award based solely on their review of the RTP Award Applications for Finalists. For this purpose, the Applications for Finalists will be rated utilizing the same process used to rate the RTP Award Nomination. The nomination(s) with the highest total weighted score in each category will be selected to receive the award. The committee may decide that the nomination with the highest score in a category is not deserving of the award, in which case an award for that particular category will not be given.
Presentation of the Award
The award(s) will be presented at the Awards Luncheon during the Michigan Section AWWA Annual Conference.
RESEARCH AND TECHINAL PRACTICES AWARD
Criteria for Rating Nominations
Weighted Value
A. VALUE TO THE WATER UTILITY(S) INVOLVED 50%
IN THE RESEARCH OR TECHNICAL PRACTICE
Credit for this category should be based on the significance
of the research or technical practice upon the operation of
the water utility(s) involved in the research.
B. VALUE TO OTHER WATER UTILITY(S) 30%
Credit for this category should be based on the significance
of the research or technical practice upon other water utilities.
C. QUALITY OF PRESENTATION 20%
Credit for this category is based on the clarity of the goals,
procedures, and conclusions of the research or technical practice
as well as upon the degree by which the data supports the
conclusions.
Each of the above criteria is to be rated on a 5-point scale as follows:
Superior = 5
Excellent = 4
Good = 3
Fair = 2
Poor = 1