IADR/AADOCR Award, Fellowship, and Grant Recipient Selection Policy and Procedures
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This document outlines the minimum requirements for the review and selection of all IADR/AADOCR awards, fellowships, and grants. All awards committees must have processes in place that meet these requirements, under the management of the Assistant Manager, Awards, Fellowships and Grants.[i]
There are more than 50 IADR/AADOCR award, fellowship, and grant opportunities. Each award/fellowship has a Committee which recommends a recipient(s) to the appropriate Board Governance Committee, then ultimately to the Board of Directors, in most instances.
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IADR and AADOCR wishes to recognize its members through its awards programs while also managing several awards, fellowships, and grants supported by corporate sponsorships and donations. Award criteria, eligibility and application processes vary. A description of each award including scope, deadline date, frequency (annual, biennial, etc.), application process, award criteria, and past recipients, is maintained on the IADR and AADOCR award webpages above.
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A Call for applications/nominations is included in blast emails to members, on the IADR and AADOCR websites and in monthly newsletters IADR Global Research Update (GRU) and AADOCR Science Advocate (SA).
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Committees are vital to the successful review and implementation of IADR/AADOCR awards, and each year the Associations seek volunteers, representing as many geographic areas and scientific disciplines as possible, to fill committee vacancies. Committee Members serve a three-year term (unless otherwise noted), while Chairs are selected from current Committee members and serve a one-year term (usually in their last year on the Committee).
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- Committee members are responsible for recognizing and disclosing to the rest of the committee any conflict of interest that could be perceived to bias their decision in reviewing and selecting recipients. Committee members must withhold their evaluation of the award candidate if a COI exists.
- a. Committee members will recuse themselves from judging any candidate from their own institution (i.e. University, company).
- b. Committee members will recuse themselves from judging any candidate with whom they have had a close personal or professional relationship.
- A personal relationship would include a current or past spouse/partner or a close family member.
- ii. A professional relationship would include any of the following in the preceding three (3) years: a mentoring relationship, a reporting relationship, a substantial working relationship, collaboration in grant applications or research projects, or co-authorship of a submitted manuscript.
- Members of the Award Committee are not eligible for the award being judged during their term of committee service.
- Committee deliberations should not be shared with anyone outside the committee, nor should the award recipient be discussed until IADR/AADOCR has notified the recipient.
- Committee members are responsible for recognizing and disclosing to the rest of the committee any conflict of interest that could be perceived to bias their decision in reviewing and selecting recipients. Committee members must withhold their evaluation of the award candidate if a COI exists.
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There are three primary methods for submitting applications or nominations for IADR/AADOCR awards: via email to the Assistant Manager, Awards, Fellowships and Grants, via the IADR/AADOCR online abstract site and via an IADR/AADOCR online awards submission site.
Deadline dates are clearly noted on the IADR/AADOCR award webpages. Extensions may be necessary due to a lack of appropriate number of applications or nominations, or to give applicants more time if needed.
All awards are assigned to an appropriate cycle that allows the necessary time for the selection process, recipient notification and award announcement.
All award applications/nominations must be submitted using the three primary methods described above. All applicants for AADOCR awards are required to agree to the AADOCR Policy for Honors and Awards upon submission of an award application or nomination.
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The Assistant Manager, Awards, Fellowships, & Grants provides review instructions to each award review committee. Instructions include that ‘all applicants will be reviewed according to this IADR/AADOCR Award, Fellowship, and Grant Recipient Selection Policy and Procedures and given equal consideration.’
Should an award application request optional demographic information, the information is used for internal association recording purposes only. This information is confidential and is only accessible by the appropriate IADR/AADOCR employees and is not used as eligibility or selection criteria to conduct the review of award applicants.
Any applicant demographic information is hidden from reviewers and applicants are instructed at the time of application that declining to provide this information will not affect their application.
[ii] Although the review criteria vary for each award, the following are critical steps that are required to be completed in the selection process:
- Applicant eligibility and criteria requirements are verified by Assistant Manager, Awards, Fellowships, & Grants.
- Application/Nomination reports are sent to the appropriate Committee Chair.
- The Chair determines that there are sufficient qualified candidates who meet the award criteria to proceed.
- On behalf of the Chair, the Assistant Manager, Awards, Fellowships, & Grants provides these instructions plus the link to the online awards submission site to all committee members.
- The review process is conducted [see Scoring Methods]. The award committee shall review candidates using the evaluation criteria as defined by that particular award, fellowship, or grant.
- Preferably the full Committee must participate in the review process, but as Committee members are volunteers, it is understood that circumstances may arise that prevent the participation of some members. However, a majority of Committee members must submit a review in order for a recipient to be selected. Detailed review instructions are given to the Committee in advance.
- Scores are compiled by the Assistant Manager, Awards, Fellowships, & Grants and sent to the Committee.
- A Video Conference Call (Zoom or similar) is conducted to select the recipient(s) and to discuss any issues, concerns about scoring or close applicant scores if the Committee deems necessary.
- Final Committee Chair reports are submitted to the appropriate IA/AA Board Governance Committee for approval.
- The Board of Directors gives final approval [except in cases of onsite award competitions held at the IADR/AADOCR General Session].
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To ensure a fair and equitable review for selection of IADR/AADOCR award, fellowship and grant recipients, the following award scoring method for each review criteria is used for a consistent and proven approach to allow for a reliable review of award applications.
Scoring Method
IADR/AADOCR uses the NIH Scoring for Grants and Funding, specifically the 9-point rating scale for each review criteria:
Overall Score Signifier HIGH 1 Exceptional 2 Outstanding 3 Excellent MEDIUM 4 Very Good 5 Good 6 Satisfactory LOW 7 Fair 8 Marginal 9 Poor COI Conflict of Interest The IADR/AADOCR scoring system uses this 9-point rating scale (1 = exceptional; 9 = poor) in whole numbers only (no decimals) for most award applications.[i]
- It is expected that scores of 1 or 9 will be used less frequently than the other scores.
- 5 is considered an average score.
- Reviewers should consider the strengths and weaknesses within each criterion on the award scoresheet. (The criterion established for each award will remain the same and will be scored using the 1-9 scale).
- The final application score is the average of all reviewer scores. Average scores will be rounded to the nearest whole number.
Acceptable Review Criteria
The review criteria vary by the award’s intent and is developed with review committee input.Acceptable review criteria include:
Academic credentials
Projected career plan
Commitment to research career
Academic promise
Quality of research
Quality of application components such as the budget, personal statement, letters of support, etc.
Applicant’s ability to conduct proposed research
Institutional environment/commitmentAward Competition Scoring
The scoring procedure for onsite/virtual award competitions are conducted by each Committee responsible for the onsite judging. Each Committee has thoughtfully developed these score sheets which are used in real time and time efficient review of competition presentations and winner selection held on the same day.
[i] There are exceptions to this policy for awards that are not competitive and are nominated and selected by Committee – e.g., Honorary Member, Gold Medal, Jack Hein, etc.
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After approval by the Board of Directors, the following actions will take place:
- Award recipient notification letters and/or email notifications are sent.
- Award recipient photos are collected for Opening Ceremonies recognition.
- Press Releases are sent/posted during the IADR/AADOCR General Session.
- Post-Presentation: Recognition of awardees will appear on the appropriate award website and in the Annual Report.
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Award recipients are recognized at the IADR/AADOCR General Session Opening Ceremonies.
