Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development

Purpose:

To give national recognition to innovative housing and community development projects, programs, and services provided by NAHRO agency members throughout the country; to provide additional opportunities to inform the public of the best in housing and community development; and to create a resource bank of information on significant innovative activities performed by housing and redevelopment agencies and community development departments. Information from award recipients also will be used to support NAHRO's positions at HUD and in Congress. All entries are judged on their own merit—not in competition with each other.

Award Categories:

Program Innovation: Resident and Client Services -- Includes programs that enhance the lives of residents and clients:

• Self-Sufficiency Programs—Including employment, job readiness, homeownership counseling, etc.
• Youth Programs—Including education, summer programs, recreation, etc.
• Elderly or Special Needs Housing—Social Services Programs—Including health, social programs, security issues, etc. for the elderly, homeless, mentally or physically disabled, etc.
• Other—Those programs that cross categories above or are general services in support of all residents/clients.

Program Innovation:  Community Revitalization -- Includes programs that have a positive economic impact on a neighborhood or city, i.e. balanced growth, economic development, job creation; creative financing, public/private partnerships, mixed-use developments, neighborhood preservation.

Administrative Innovation -- Includes programs that improve the efficiency or effectiveness of administrative operations or the general functioning of the agency, i.e. management systems, maintenance, community relations, inter-agency cooperation, computer use, professional development and public relations.

Program Innovation: Affordable Housing -- Includes programs that produce affordable housing in an innovative manner, i.e. creative financing, public/private partnerships, mixed income developments, adaptive reuse, special needs housing.

Project Design -- Focuses primarily on the physical or landscape design of a building or project.  (If what is most innovative is the program or financing rather than the design, the program should be entered in an Innovation Category.)  Specific awards recognize four types of design.

• Project Design: New Project-- For new buildings or developments.
• Project Design: Modernization/Rehabilitation Project -- For the modernization, rehabilitation, preservation, or alternative use of existing buildings, developments or areas regardless of their original architectural intent. 
• Project Design: Enduring Design-- Recognizes those projects which were completed before December 31, 2002, which show continued excellence in design and original program and in the creative aspects of its statement by today's standards.
• Landscape Design -- Recognizes the use of landscape design to enhance the sense of community, increase security, provide recreational areas, advance environmental efficiency, or to augment natural landscapes.

Eligibility Requirements:

All applications must comply with the following standards.

• Since the awards are meant to honor new programs, the program must have been put into operation/construction after January 1, 2009, and have produced demonstrable results by October 31, 2012.  Entries in Project Design categories must be occupied.  If the program was in existence before 2009, only major changes are eligible and should be clearly indicated in the application.
• The nominated program, either in whole or in substantial part, may not have received a previous NAHRO Award of Merit.
• A program may be entered in more than one category, but a separate application reflective of how it meets the intent of each category must be included as well as a separate application fee.
• NAHRO Agency Members must have played a significant role in developing, implementing, or financing the program.  The agency must remain a member to receive the award.
• All steps in the application process must be completed and the application fee must be paid.

Click here to complete and submit your 2013 application online.  
(Please note that the website will automatically log you out after one hour of inactivity and you may lose your work.  If you have to leave the computer, please click "Save for Later" so that you will receive an email with a link to enable you to get back to your work.  The email is sent to the contact person's email address.  You may wish to use the attached word application to complete the application and edit it so that you can use it to copy and paste into the online form. -- Word version of the application to use as a working tool.)

Deadlines/Application Fee:            

Early Bird:    November 30, 2012    $50
Regular:       December 17, 2012    $75
Late:              January 11, 2013         $100

Please note, you must be an organizational member of NAHRO in order to be eligible for an Award of Merit.  For more information on NAHRO membership, please visit: Organizational Membership information

Awards Tips

Past Merit Award Winners:

•  2012 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners
•  2011 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners
•  2010 NAHRO Agency Awards of Merit in Housing and Community Development Catalog of Winners