Planning Excellence
The Canadian Institute of Planners annual Awards for Planning Excellence honour planning projects judged on their excellence, innovation, impact on the profession, implementation potential, and overall presentation. All of these projects are deserving of recognition for their excellence in planning work, their contribution to the profession, and for showing particular strength in the category under which they won their award.
Awards for Planning Excellence Winners
For information on winners from any given year, please click below for the list of each year's award recipients.
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 - 1990 1989 - 1983
Awards for Planning Excellence Guidelines
1. Objectives
The purpose of the CIP annual awards is to recognize significant achievement in the field of planning. In particular, the awards program should:
- recognize submissions that demonstrate excellence, innovation, impact on the field of expertise, implementation potential and quality of presentation.
- communicate the process and results in a professional way to the members, related professions, employers and the public.
2. Submission Criteria
The projects being submitted must have been carried out during the period January 1st, 2010 to December 31st, 2011. Entries shall be submitted by Fellows, Full Members, provisional members in good standing. Submissions may have been accepted by a client or community group and not necessarily been adopted by legislation or other formal mechanisms.
CIP encourages submissions from communities of all sizes as well as for projects of all sizes. Your entry may consist of a plan or a policy; a physical design concept; applied research; or communication materials. Resubmissions from previous years will not be accepted. Entries under appeal to any board or tribunal are not admisssible.
3. Awards Jury
The Awards Committee serves as the Awards Jury each year. The Chair of the Awards Committee is a Full Member, who selects other members of the Committee in consultation with Council. The Chairman's term shall be for a period of three years, (with a maximum of two consecutive terms). The Committee should consist of 10 to 12 members (including the Chair). The Committee should include experienced members with a variety of backgrounds, representative of Canadian regions as well as both genders and languages. Committee members shall be appointed for a one-year renewable term.
4. Selection of Short List
The Jury shall hold a conference call to discuss the evaluation criteria, award categories and resolve questions as to process, and be introduced to each other by telephone. It is estimated that each juror will devote the equivalent of a half day reviewing background materials, becoming familiar with the awards program and participating in this first conference call.
Once the submissions are received and distributed to the jury, a second conference call will be arranged to develop a short list. Normally the short list shall comprise the top three submissions in each category -- however, the Awards Jury shall have the option of choosing a lesser or greater number for the short list. Ideally, each juror should develop their own short list in advance of this conference call, and provide it to the committee Chair and CIP. This call will also allow discussion of any contentious items or matters requiring clarification. It is estimated each juror will spend the equivalent of two to three days reviewing and evaluating the submissions and participating in this second conference call.
Note on conflict of interest: No juror should make an award submission. Submissions from the department or firm of the juror (which are sometimes submitted without the juror's knowledge) should not be evaluated by that juror, and the juror should be assigned another category to review or consider withdrawing from the jury if the juror has been personally or closely involved with the submission and a replacement juror can be found.
5. Selection of Overall Winners
The Awards Jury shall hold a final in-person meeting to determine the overall winners of the Awards for the Planning Excellence. A recording secretary should participate in this meeting and assist the Chair in making notes and commentary on the reasons for the selection and the positive features of the submission. This is required for the announcements, press releases, video production and PLAN CANADA article.
6. Evaluation Criteria
- Innovation & Contribution to the Profession (introduction of an original concept or refinement of an existing technique or procedure. Importance to the profession, and portability of ideas and ease with which they can be accepted)
- Methodology (how the project is conceived and developed to the point of implementation)
- Clarity of Goals and Objectives (overall focus and degree of comprehensiveness relative to pertinent subject matter and topics to be addressed)
- Implementation (how the project can be implemented and effectiveness of the implementation strategy and/or programming)
- Overall Presentation (judged on organization and clarity of the text and graphics as well as completeness of research and recommendations - consideration will be given to the ease with which the contents and style is understood by the target audience)
- Public Engagement (consideration will be given to the rationale and effectiveness of specific techniques used to share information between the proponent and the public at various points in the development of a project )
- Sustainability (how the project contributes to the quality of life and healthy community relative to environmental, economic, social and cultural attributes, as well as good governance over the long term)
7. Categories of Awards
Submissions must be entered within ONE of the following categories.
City and Regional Planning
Cities present significant challenges to Canada’s planners. Cities and regions must redefine themselves in response to changes in urban form, retail environment, housing and location of work with consideration to heritage revitalization, re-urbanization and economic development. The Committee seeks examples of innovative and effective initiatives that enhance the social, economic, and environmental well-being of cities and regions. In addition, the application should identify the challenges and demonstrate a clear link between the challenges and the solutions.
Natural Systems Planning
This category focuses on natural systems, interpreted here as the ecosystem. Examples could include: Plans for restoration, enhancement, or protection of natural systems; climate change initiatives; and/or environmental impact assessments.
International Development
International development refers to the planning, development, and implementation of capacity building initiatives in developing countries. Emphasis is given to the improvement of living conditions, in particular to projects that build local capacity through training of local populations, reinforcement of traditional values, establishment of healthy living conditions, and improvement of essential infrastructure.
Neighbourhood Planning
Many planners believe that neighbourhoods are the foundation of community life. This is the level at which planning processes, policies, and tools are experienced most directly. The Committee is interested in examples of neighbourhood-level land use plans, and specific neighbourhood-based planning processes that address issues of housing, economic development, brown field redevelopment, city centre revitialization, and heritage planning.
Aboriginal Community Planning and Development
This category acknowledges the increasing attention that the planning and development of urban and rural Aboriginal communities are receiving. Particular attention is given to: the comprehensiveness of the planning processes and their effectiveness in respecting and incorporating histories and traditions; developing capacity within the communities; and/or the preparation of land use plans that realize environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
Planning Publications
This category has been developed to recognize the contribution to the planning profession by research and policy publications. We invite submissions of articles, reports or books that educate or implement innovative planning policies or practice.
Recreation Planning
This category includes municipal recreation planning, such as urban parks planning, recreation systems planning, and planning for open space and natural features. The Committee also seeks examples of regional-scale park and conservation area planning.
Rural / Small Town Planning
This category is based more on geography than on specific planning themes, thus encouraging professionals working in rural and small urban areas with a population of less than 50,000 to submit projects from a wide range of topic areas. Examples of topic areas include: planning agricultural and natural settings; urban-rural interface; housing; heritage issues; social consequences of economic change within rural and small urban areas; and maintaining community identity in times of rapid change and scarce resources.
Social Planning
Planners work to improve quality of life and opportunity for a community’s residents. Demography, arts and culture, multiculturalism, gender, housing and income issues, among many other factors, have a direct and significant impact on a community’s and its residents’ quality of life, health, and sustainability. Provision of safer places through crime prevention should be considered. Planning interventions could include examples of relevant applied research, strategies, or policies.
Sustainable Mobility, Transportation, and Infrastructure
Mobility is a key condition for economic development. But in a world under increasing constraint by the consumption of fossil fuels, transportation will change in its function and its energy use characteristics. What solutions exist? Are they applicable internationally? What decisions should be taken? Projects of interest will be those who not only establish lasting solutions to single-occupancy vehicle use, but also those that demonstrate a healthy integration of transportation planning and land use. Moreover, examples of infrastructure may include waste management, potable water and wastewater, utilities planning,and communication networks.
Urban Design
Planning and design that addresses public outdoor spaces, and the interface between public and private spaces and structures. This includes public spaces, ceremonial spaces, plazas, urban waterfront developments, streetscapes, campuses, and other major groupings of buildings with associated planned public outdoor spaces. Submissions should demonstrate how urban design principles and land use policy have been applied to improving the quality of the life in the urban environment, considering: physical character, readability, physical and social integration with the existing urban fabric, adaptability of spaces, pedestrianism and alternative transportation modes, sustainability, and healthy living.
New and Emerging Planning Initiatives
This category recognizes the new and emerging planning initiatives that supplement or precede more traditional planning efforts and are helping to shape our communities. Examples may include: planning for healthy communities; local food systems planning; or culture planning.
These categories are reviewed each year during the first teleconference call meeting by the Awards committee to ensure that they are still relevant. On an annual basis, the committee may recommend new categories for Council's endorsement.
8. Presentation of Awards
Awards are presented during the annual conference. Normally the presentation occurs at an eafternoon luncheonin conjunction with a multimedia presentation of award winners. CIP staff provide support to the Awards Committee in terms of planning the presentation, preparing the video show, administrative and technical support, and media relations.
9. After the Awards Presentation
A special feature on the awards is published in the post-Conference issue of PLAN CANADA.
10. Archive of Award Submissions
All winning CIP Award for Planning Excellence submissions are kept at the National office and added to the library.
Application Form
Guidelines and application forms for the 2012 Awards for Planning Excellence are now available.
Your submission must be received in the CIP office by: Thursday March 15, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Submissions will not be accepted after the deadline. You will not be notified of receipt of your submission, so please use a method of shipping that will allow you to track your parcel. Fax or e-mail submissions will not be accepted.
