Call Status: Open
Deadline: February 4, 2026
Application: Submit by email to earma@earma.org
Scope and objectives
The Outstanding Contribution Award (OCA) is a recognition award that honours an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the RMA profession across the European RMA community. Such a contribution may take many forms, for example, delivering a critical project with sector-wide benefits, organising a significant event for the whole EARMA community, or providing valuable support and guidance to early-stage RMAs. There are many ways to be recognised for this award, and proposers are encouraged to submit nominees from all areas of the RMA profession.
Nominations can be made by any colleague, national and international RMA associations/networks, as well as members of EARMA standing committees and expert or thematic core groups.
Funding details
Ordinarily, there is no automatic prize for this award, monetary or otherwise. However, this is at the EARMA Board’s discretion. In past years, recipients have been offered a free ticket together with reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs to attend the awards ceremony at the EARMA annual conference.
Eligibility
The following eligibility criteria must be met:
- Nominees must have a minimum of two years’ experience in Research Management and Administration.
- Nominees must be members of EARMA in good standing for at least the previous membership year.
- Board and Awards Expert Group members are ineligible and remain so for 3 years after the end of their term.
Nominees need not be involved in the application process. However, self-nomination is not permitted.
Selection criteria
The Awards Committee will evaluate applications based on the following criteria:
- Alignment with EARMA's mission: EARMA's Mission.
- Contribution to professional development and current work in research management and administration.
- Effectiveness of measures to publicise the event and disseminate knowledge gained.
Each criterion carries equal weight.
Application process
Outstanding Contribution Award nominations can be made by any colleague, national and international RMA associations/networks, as well as members of EARMA standing committees and expert or thematic core group members. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, nominations are not permitted from the EARMA Board members and the Awards Expert Group members, both of which play a critical role in the decision-making process.
Nominations need to be clearly written and present a well-reasoned case for their choice of nominee. Nominations must set out a clear case for the nomination and make concrete references to the nominee’s activities, achievements, and relevance to the overall objectives of the award as stated above. Nominees with at least two nominations will be considered. The two written nominations can be submitted together or separately, by people based in different organisations, to demonstrate the breadth of the contribution being outlined. Each nomination can address only one type of award for only one nominee.
The nomination can be provided in any format, but we do ask proposers to adhere to the following guidelines:
- A page per reference is sufficient; there is a 2-page limit per reference.
- The reference can take any form, although a signed letter on headed paper in PDF format is most traditional.
- The two references need not be the same; indeed, if they highlight different parts of the contribution made by the nominee, then the application as a whole is likely to be stronger.
Each nomination should contain at least the following core information:
- Name, organisation, and contact details of the referee/proposer;
- Name, affiliation, and contact details of the nominee;
- Short overview of the candidate, including current position, short CV, and a short written case for their nomination being put forward for consideration;
- Outline the achievements and/or contributions made by the nominee to EARMA and to the European/global RMA community and/or profession:
- Being specific about what they did and why it was important
- Include specific timescales
- Giving evidence for any achievements cited, please be as concrete and specific as possible
- Be “signed” by the referee making the nomination
Evaluation and notification
All nominations should be submitted to the EARMA Secretariat at earma@earma.org with “OCA – Recognition Award Nomination” in the subject line.
All nominations received by that time will be forwarded to the Chair of the Awards Expert Group, normally no later than two working days after the submission deadline. Each nomination received in time will be evaluated by the EARMA Awards Expert Group. The Secretariat will inform the EARMA Board, which will ratify the AEG decision at the regular EARMA Board meeting. The awardee will receive a written notification and will be invited to the EARMA Conference in Utrecht (May 5-7, 2026) via the EARMA staff.
