Submit a nomination for the 2012 UEDA Awards of Excellence
Download the 2012 UEDA Awards of Excellence Nomination Brochure
The New Engines of Economic Prosperity
Members of the University Economic Development Association (UEDA) are transforming their campuses into engines of economic prosperity. The UEDA Awards accelerate this process by recognizing leading edge initiatives and encouraging their adoption among UEDA members. Colleges and universities make five major contributions to the economies they serve:
- They develop talent with the 21st-century skills needed to support high-growth businesses.
- They support networks of researchers, entrepreneurs, high-growth businesses, and regional innovation clusters.
- They develop quality, connected campuses that become entrepreneurial hotspots and magnets for new people and businesses.
- They support the sophisticated strategies and collaborative leadership needed to link, leverage and align the many assets within a regional economy.
- They provide leading edge research and analytic tools to enable civic leaders to understand their economy and make decisions quickly to promote collaborative investments.
How the Award Process Works
Colleges and Universities submit their leading edge initiatives to UEDA where the members consider and vote on the awards. The process works as follows.
Colleges and universities nominate their initiatives for a UEDA Award for Excellence over the Web. The UEDA Awards Team selects three to five finalists in each category based on award criteria. The finalists make presentations to the UEDA membership at the annual meeting. UEDA members vote on the final awards. Awards are presented at the annual meeting. UEDA recognizes excellence in the following five categories:
Talent Development
This category recognizes initiatives that promote the development of 21st-century skills. The category emphasizes the importance of educational attainment and workforce development to economic prosperity. The award focuses on the partnerships needed to create flexible, responsive career pathways to expanding businesses.
Examples:
- Collaboration between a community college and a research university to develop a new certificate program in sustainable manufacturing.
- Early college partnerships to connect high school students to further studies at a community college.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
This category focuses on initiatives designed to support startups, high-growth companies and clusters within a region. A region’s prosperity depends in large part on how well the region can convert talent into wealth through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Examples:
- An angel capital network formed among university alumni.
- Business assistance collaborations that direct business managers to responsive, high quality assistance quickly.
Community-Connected Campus
This category focuses on the physical development of quality, connected campuses and their surrounding communities. College and university campuses can play a vital role in stimulating regional economic development. The award focuses on innovative approaches to campus and community planning that make the campus a magnet or “hot spot” for the regional economy.
Examples:
- A new university building that serves as a location for community convening.
- A new incubator facility.
- Mixed use development adjacent to the campus.
Collaboration and Leadership
This category recognizes innovative efforts by colleges and universities to support the development of collaborative economic development strategies and the leaders required to implement them.
Examples:
- A regional strategy supported and led by a college or university.
- Leadership training that provides students with experience in leading community conversations.
Research and Analysis
This category focuses on the capacity of colleges and universities to provide new forms of research and to design the next generation of analytic tools for community, economic and workforce development practitioners.
Examples:
- New analytic tools that take advantage of the power of geographic information systems.
- Reports that provide useful insights into a community or regional economy.
