A call for nominations

16th Call for Nominations – 2013/14 NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards.

The NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards encourage and reward excellence in scientific research, education, capacity building, management and communication and in technological innovation, thereby publicly honouring and celebrating outstanding contributions to Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) in South Africa. These are the longest standing awards for SETI in South Africa and the only awards that bring public and national recognition to the winners, thanks to sponsorships such as those of the Business Report and Mail & Guardian.

The National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) is calling for nominations for these prestigious awards under nine different categories:
Awards for an individual and/or a researcher for outstanding contributions to science, engineering and technology (SET):

• Over a Lifetime (a decade or more) – 1 Award
• TW Kambule NRF-NSTF Awards for Research and its Outputs (over the last 5-10 years) – 2 Awards
• TW Kambule NRF-NSTF Awards for Emerging Researchers (Post-doctorates in a period up to six years after the award of a PhD or equivalent in research) – 2 Awards
• Management and related SET activities – 1 Award
• Eskom sponsored Awards for research capacity development (over the last 5-10 years) – 2 Awards
• SAASTA Award for communication for outreach and creating awareness of SETI – 1 Award

Awards to teams/individuals in organisations for research leading to an innovation:

• Corporate
• SMME
• Non Governmental Organisations (includes Public Benefit, Non Profit, Community Based Organisations/Civil Society)

You can now submit nominations for an outstanding scientist, researcher, engineer, technologist, innovator, manager or communication specialist. Enable your nominee to achieve public recognition on a national level! The process consists of two stages:

stage 1:

The first deadline is 6 December 2013 when you should have submitted a Notice of Intent to Nominate a candidate. The Notice of Intent to Nominate is a simple online form requesting the basic information of the nominee, the nominator, the category for which the nominee is nominated and a short description of the work of the nominee.

The NSTF will acknowledge receipt of the notice by email, and will provide all parties involved with the full formal nomination document for completion and submission by the Stage 2 deadline.

stage 2:

Your fully completed nomination document must be submitted no later than 12:00 on 7 March 2014. There will be no extension of this deadline.
The reason for this two-stage process is to make all parties involved, namely the nominee, nominator and the NSTF, aware of the nomination and to allow enough time for the completion of the nomination documents before 7 March 2014.

The criteria for evaluation of nominees are comprehensive to ensure quality and to maintain the prestige of the Awards. Nominators and nominees should take note that planning and time are required to complete the nomination document and therefore a period of 13 weeks is provided for preparation. Read more about the NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards and the nomination information where you can access the online Intent to Nominate form.
Processes to follow after the submission of completed nomination documents

An adjudication panel of independent judges, representing six different sectors within the NSTF as well as the award partners, will review the nominations to select the finalists and winners. Thereafter, a panel of experts, appointed by the NSTF Executive Committee, will assist the adjudication panel by reviewing and providing validation of the final selections.

The nominees eligible to compete for the prestigious NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards will be announced through the Awards eNewsletter during April 2014, followed by the announcement of the finalists during May 2014. The announcement of the winners will take place at the Awards Gala Dinner, planned for the end of June 2014, and presided over by the patron of the Awards, the Minister of Science and Technology. Nominees are advised to diarise thesearrangements and then watch their mailboxes for news from the NSTF Office!