Nominees must meet the following criteria:

• Be an individual NHCGNE member or an NHCGNE Institutional member
• Be a gerontological nurse (lead nominee if team-based)
• Submit a project completed within the past three years
• Focus on innovation in research, practice, education, policy, or community engagement
• Self-nominations are accepted and encouraged

Applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which they demonstrate the following:

1. Innovation
   
   • Introduces a novel, creative, or significantly adapted approach to address a complex challenge in gerontological nursing
   • Clearly differentiates the innovation from standard practice, education, or models of care
2. Impact
   
   • Demonstrates measurable or observable improvements in outcomes for older adults, caregivers, or health systems
   • Includes evidence of effectiveness, feasibility, or scalability of the innovation
3. Alignment with NHCGNE Mission
   
   • Advances NHCGNE’s commitment to leadership, evidence-based practice, and interprofessional collaboration
   • Addresses key priorities such as workforce development, care of vulnerable elders, healthy aging, or reducing disparities
4. Sustainability and Dissemination
   
   • Describes a plan for sustaining the innovation beyond initial implementation
   • Shares or has the potential to share outcomes, tools, or best practices broadly within the field
5. Collaboration and Teamwork
   
   • Demonstrates effective collaboration across disciplines, institutions, or organizations in the development or implementation of the innovation

Each nomination must include:

• A one-page application form
• A two-page narrative that:
  • (a) Describes the specific innovative project
  • (b) Addresses each of the five award criteria listed above
  • (c) Two signatures from nominators on the application or one signature if a self-nomination
    • If a self-nominations is submitted, a letter of support is required from a colleague.