Winning an award is great for showing value for the work that you do, and

earning recognition for your achievements!

The AAPA Award Committee (composed of the members of the Board of Directors) will select the best paper(s) presented at the annual conference. The best paper awardee(s) will be announced during the closing ceremony and the certificate of accomplishment will be presented by the AAPA President to the authors/presenters at the annual conference. To be considered for the Best Paper Awards, the following eligibility must be met: (1) all submission must be a “full paper,” and abstract and PPT will not be considered for the awards; (2) presenters have to complete the registration process along with the payment of the AAPA annual membership fee; (3) authors need to present the paper at the conference; and (4) all papers should be original and submitted in English. Starting from the AAPA Annual Conference in 2016, the following three kinds of the Best Paper Awards are considered for graduate students, professional researchers and scholars, practitioners and public officials:

● Best Conference Paper Award (for Scholars); the name of this award is changed to the Akira Nakamura Award. The Akira Nakamura Award is given to the scholar(s) of the best paper presented at the AAPA Annual Conference. It is named in honor of the first AAPA President, Professor Akira Nakamura (Japan), served in 2010-2011.

● Best Graduate Student Paper Award (for Graduate Students); and

● Best Practice Award (for practitioners in the "local" government); the name of this award is changed to the Anthony Cheung Award. The Anthony Cheung Award is given to the scholar(s) of the best paper presented at the AAPA Annual Conference. It is named in honor of the second AAPA President, Professor Anthony Bing Leung Cheung (Hong Kong SAR of China), served in 2012.

Best Conference Paper Award and Best Graduate Student Paper Award:

The award selection criteria for best paper awards include: the academic quality of the paper (clear problem statement and/or the objectives, adequate literature review, and critical analysis of concepts and/or theories), research methods and analytic rigor (scientific/technical significance of the topic and critical analysis of findings), overall content of the paper (consistency and coherency of debate), fitness of the conference theme or relevance of the topic, conference attendance and presentation, and submission of a full academic paper (5,000-7,000 words).

* Submission: To be considered for the Best Best Awards, a full paper must be submitted to the conference organizer by the due date (please read each year's call for papers) and he/she must deliver the paper on site along with his/her "registration and AAPA annual membership fee" payment. Otherwise, the application for the awards cannot be completed.

Best Practice Award:

The AAPA Awards also celebrate the spirit of innovation at the local government level by recognizing organizations that have made significant contributions to improving governance and services in the local public sector. This award is for best practices of “local governments” in the Asian region, not for cases of national or federal governments. A practitioner’s case study should have a paper for the best practice award. A synopsis along with PPT presentation could meet the submission criteria, but a synopsis should have at least a 3,000-word description (that includes the context in which the innovation has been implemented at the local government level and this context should reflect: how strategies were adopted to adapt the innovation to local circumstances; lessons learned; and approaches used to overcome difficulties in the implementation process). The content should be innovative for improving the delivery of public services, fostering participation in policy-making decisions through creative mechanisms, and/or transforming public administration in the information age. We are inviting innovative performers from the local public sector across Asia to present their creative work and to become part of an extensive Asian network of public sector excellence.

* Submission and Follow-up: To be considered for the Best Practice Award, a synopsis (it should have at least a 3,000-word description) must be submitted to the conference organizer by the due date (please read each year's call for papers) and he/she must present an innovative practical case (using PPT or PDF file) on site along with his/her "registration and AAPA annual membership fee" payment. Once an application is chosen for the award, a small amount of information- and knowledge-sharing fee (USD300) needs to be paid after the conference (Its PDF file will be uploaded in this website for the information- and knowledge-sharing purpose).