The NCPH Excellence in Consulting Award recognizes outstanding contribution to the field of public history through consulting or contract work by recognizing professionals whose primary engagement with public history is through consulting within the past five years. Up to three (3) $300 prizes in two categories (individual and group) will be awarded. Award winners also receive complimentary registration for the awards luncheon. To be considered for the award, the applicant/nominee should submit a resume, synopses of consulting/contract projects in which the applicant/nominee played a significant role, and a sample of work to which the applicant made substantial contributions (such as a written work, public program, exhibit, or media project). Contract work sponsored or funded by NCPH is not eligible for consideration.
Nominations and supporting materials should specifically address these criteria:
- value of contributions to a project’s intended public audience(s)
- ability to serve client needs effectively
- best practices in public history, as evidenced by letters of support from clients or another independent party
- contribution to the public’s understanding of history
- intellectual rigor
- originality and creativity
Procedures and Submission Requirements
1. Applications/nominations should include a resume, synopses of consulting contract projects, describe each contributor’s contribution, and a sample of work to which the applicant/nominee made substantial contributions.
2. Applications/nominations also should include letters of support from clients or another independent party. Other examples of feedback from clients or the public (such as newspaper articles) are encouraged.
3. At the committee’s discretion, it may choose, in any given year, not to make an award in one or both categories if it feels that none of the applications/nominations rise to the level of excellence.
4. Winners are ineligible to apply or to be nominated for the three subsequent years.
5. A total of four copies of all submission materials are required. Send a cover sheet and a copy of all materials to each of the three Consulting Award Committee members and one to the NCPH execuitve office at: NCPH, 327 Cavanaugh Hall – IUPUI, 425 University Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Clearly mark each submission, “NCPH Consulting Award.”
Submissions must be postmarked by 1 December 2010.
A challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities makes possible our expanding awards program and other uses of earned income on the NCPH endowment. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Past Award Winners
2010 – Christine Baron, Baron Educational Consulting
Honorable Mention – Susan Kline, Independent Scholar and Preservation Consultant
2009 – Manon Parry, National Library of Medicine and James Steely, SWCA Environmental Consultants
2008 – Douglas Littlefield, Littlefield Historical Research and Marya McQuirter, Independent Consultant