AECOM Innovation Award

Applications for the Institution of the Year Award open late March each year. See Awards & Scholarships Key Dates here.

To be considered for the Institution of the Year Award , applications and supporting material should be received by TEFMA no later than 5pm AEST on the closing date. If an extension is required, this request is to be received in writing by the Secretariat by this date.

Submissions must be made on the official application form.

Award criteria should be addressed in applications.   

Selection of the successful applicant will be approved by the TEFMA Board following receipt of a recommendation from a panel established to review the applications.

The review panel will include the following members:

• Deputy Chair, Membership Services Committee
• General Manager, TEFMA
• A Past-President of TEFMA
• Additional panel members may be included at the discretion of the Deputy Membership Services Committee Chair.

It is understood that work described will have different scopes of application and therefore benefits may be realised by small or large groups of people.  This will be taken into consideration in judging of applications and assessing the benefits of the work.  The largest example will not always be the winning application.   

Applications will be judged against the published criteria.  Panel deliberations will be confidential, and the judges’ decisions are final.  No correspondence or appeal process will be entered into. 

The judging panel may decide not to award if it deems that no suitable applications have been received.

Nominated institutions or individuals may be asked to host a site review by an evaluation panel (or representative) responsible for assessing the applications.

Evaluation of applications for the scholarship will be completed in June / July, with those short-listed to be contacted at least 4 weeks prior to the annual TEFMA Conference. The successful applicant will be announced at the TEFMA Awards Dinner, which forms part of the annual TEFMA Conference.  Details on the TEFMA Conference can be found via the Conference website.  Should there be any reason the Awards Dinner is unable to take place in person, an online event will be hosted.

The award winner may be asked to make a brief presentation, including a 2-minute video, on receiving the award at the TEFMA Awards Dinner.   

Non award-winning entries are able to be upgraded and resubmitted in a subsequent year.

The Innovation Award is open for applications from any TEFMA Institutional Member organisation or individual.  

Institutions and individuals with outstanding innovation achievements in relevant areas during recent years are encouraged to apply. 

Institutions with multiple campuses may submit applications pertaining to the whole institution or for an individual campus. 

There is no limit on the number of applications from one institution.   

Applications should clearly reference the criteria provided.  Words provided are a prompt only, to assist those completing an application, and  are not intended to be exhaustive.  

A.      Background

Applications for this award may highlight innovation excellence by an individual, a team or an institution.  

A thoughtful and creative approach to dealing with a practice, process or a physical development should be demonstrated, resulting in a contribution of significant value.  Submissions should show how the innovation has enhanced a facility or a service delivered on the estate of a member institution and should demonstrate its uniqueness. 

The innovation must be fully developed and implemented and should improve efficiency and effectiveness of a relevant aspect of property and / or facilities management within the member organisation.

Replicability to achieve similar successful outcomes in other situations, including being able to be implemented in other higher education environments, should be described. 

The innovation should be considered best practice, exhibiting professionalism and demonstrating significant outcomes for the benefit of staff, students and visitors, and bringing value to the organisation.

Applications for the Innovation Award will be judged with 60% weighting for innovation and 40% weighting for replicability.

B.      Innovation

Applications should demonstrate an innovative approach to resolution of a compelling issue in a relevant facilities management area.  This may relate to a specific physical development project or to development or improvement of a practice or a process. The application may, for example, describe an innovative change leading to a more sustainable, robust process, resulting in work effectiveness being measurably and reliably improved on a continuing basis. An alternative example may relate to a specific project that demonstrates an innovative solution to a physical development that can be applied in other circumstances.  

Applications may address such considerations as: 

• New knowledge: Information gathering, and analysis may have led to new knowledge or approaches being identified and applied to achieve measurably improved outcomes. 
• Creativity: A fresh break-through with a ‘wow’ factor may have been made.  It may have sparked further innovation on top of the original idea, or perhaps led to the creation of a new industry.  Something that did not exist before may have been invented, a new process or way of doing a particular thing may have been developed or an unrelated process may have been adapted to solve a problem.
• Uniqueness: The innovation may be unique; unusual and incomparable to anything else, with research showing that there is no other innovation like it.
• Value adding: The innovation may have changed the way that something is done and in doing so, solved a problem, made an improvement or created an efficiency.  Examples include improvements to quality of life, efficiency of use of resources, or the way business is conducted. 

C.    Replicability

Applications should demonstrate the value of the innovation in the way it is able to be replicated.  It may be able to be duplicated within the organisation, or adapted for use in other organisations, providing continuing benefits as a result. Replicability may be demonstrated through the development or improvement of repeatedly used processes leading to measurably improved business effectiveness.  This may relate to operations management, business, administrative, quality control, project delivery or other such applications associated with property and facilities management. Alternatively, the innovation described may apply to more than one development project, where it can be applied repeatedly.   Sustainability improvements in relevant contexts may also be examples meeting Innovation Award criteria. 

Applications may address such considerations as: 

• Replicability:  The extent to which your innovation is able and ready to be implemented in other institutions, creating value to the higher education sector.  The basic conditions that another institution would need for the innovation to work elsewhere may be identified.   
• Performance monitoring:  Simple and concise KPIs; baseline data periods and review milestones may be recommended; performance may be able to be forecast from data.
• Budget:  Implications described with basic business case argument described to secure senior management support and align project with institutional goals.
• Stakeholder consultation:  Collaboration strategies and methods described.  
• Post implementation feedback:  Methods articulated.

Instructions

1.     To be considered for this award you must provide the following:

• Completed application form 
• Supporting materials (if any)
• Details of any additional material to be made available should the judging panel choose to make a site visit

2.     All sections of the application form must be complete for an application to be considered. 

3.     Applications must be endorsed and signed by the relevant Institutional Member.

4.     Applications must be submitted online via the Online Submission Portal.

5.     Save your file name as YOURSURNAME_AWARDNAME_datesubmitted i.e. SMITH_AECOM_INNOVATION_AWARD_15.05.24.  Word or PDF is acceptable.

6.     If you have supporting documents (up to 2 supporting documents can be uploaded), please ensure they are saved as YOURNAME_AWARD NAME_Attachment A or Attachment B i.e. i.e. SMITH_ AECOM_INNOVATION_AWARD_ATTACHMENT A

7.    Once you have submitted your scholarship, you will receive an automatic email within 24 hours.  If you do not receive an email, please email the TEFMA Secretariat: info@tefma.com to confirm your application has been uploaded correctly.  

8.    Applications are due by 5pm AEST as advised on the TEFMA website unless otherwise agreed.  Please contact the TEFMA Secretariat on +61 2 9431 8692 or info@tefma.com with any queries.

9.    Applicants that are shortlisted may be asked to submit a 2-minute video presenting a snapshot of the nominee and their work proposed for the award.

Be factual and positive. 

It is important to provide evidence to back up your claims.  As well as describing the situation you are presenting, you should cite actual examples relating to the work done, how well it was carried out, what was achieved, and how it has benefited your institution’s staff, customers and students. 

Responses need not be lengthy, but they should be relevant, include meaningful supporting descriptions, and should demonstrate particular characteristics, qualities or approaches that have resulted in the work making a significant contribution to your organisation.

A submission should anticipate the key points a panel member will be looking for in the responses to the award criteria.  

To maximise your chances of success it is important that you address the award criteria to clearly identify the suitability of your application for consideration as winner of the award. 

When addressing the criteria you should look for things to highlight that might set you apart from other applicants.

Be clear and to the point and do not exceed word limits.  Edit your responses for grammar, spelling and punctuation.