Self-Nominations for 2023 Praxis Award

Be a Self-Advocate and Nominate Your Project for the 2023 Praxis Award

The Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists (WAPA) continues to accept self-nominations for the prestigious 2023 Praxis Award.  The Praxis Award was established in 1981 by anthropologists Shirley Fiske and Robert Wulff.  This biennial award recognizes “… outstanding achievement in translating anthropological knowledge into action as reflected in a single project of specific endeavor” (WAPA website).   If you have been the anthropologist working with a team of people on a specific project, or even if you’re a member of a team of anthropologists working with multiple communities of people on a specific project, then you can apply for the Praxis award.  What’s important is your ability to articulate the anthropological difference that you or your team of anthropologists made in the form of project results or impacts.  The 2023 Praxis Award will highlight stories about anthropologists who are contributing their creative energy and insights to improving aspects of the human condition.

Any professional anthropologist who has earned a minimum of an MA/MAA is eligible to apply for this prestigious award.  The guidelines for the 2023 Praxis award are posted on WAPA’s website or you can write directly to me, Bill Roberts, praxisaward2023@gmail.com.  The deadline for full applications is Friday, September 1, 2023.  Most applications are five – ten pages in length, not including supporting documents in the forms of letters of support, news coverage, testimonials.  Full applications are sent to an anonymous group of five Praxis jurors who read, comment, and score each of the full applications.  The jurors send their assessment results and comments to me, and I share that information with the full Praxis committee of seven other anthropologists who have also read each individual application.  The committee meets and discusses the jurors’ results and our individual assessment and ranking until we reach a consensus on the award winner(s) or honorable mention(s).  All applicants are notified of the final decisions reached by the committee in early December, 2023.

The 2023 Praxis award winner(s) or honorable mention(s) will be formally recognized at an award ceremony and reception hosted by WAPA the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The Praxis award winner(s) will receive(s) a $1000 (one thousand dollar) financial award and Praxis certificate.  The Praxis committee will publicize the awardee(s) in appropriate professional media outlets in addition to contacting local media outlets from the awardee’s home town.  The awardee will be featured on the WAPA Praxis website and traditionally is invited to be the speaker featured for the first WAPA program meeting in October 2024.

If you think that you, a colleague, or a student has been working on a Praxis worthy project, then it’s time for you to get a 2023 Praxis application.

2023 Praxis Award Rubric

The following rubric is provided in the spirit of transparency for the full Praxis application.

1. Rate how clearly the entry described the situation/problems addressed, identified the project stakeholders (client(s)/sponsors, beneficiaries, etc.), and explained how one or more anthropologists were involved in the project. Score (0 – 10 points)

2. Rate the project’s goal, objective(s) and design, with attention to the role of the anthropologist(s) and the use of anthropological concepts in developing the approach to the problem at hand. Score (0 – 20 points)

3. Rate how well the project was implemented, including the phases and processes entailed, how any unanticipated difficulties encountered were resolved, and the ways in which anthropological methods and data were applied in carrying the project out. Score (0 to 30 points) 

4. Rate the project’s major results and the degree to which it succeeded in achieving its objectives, and how well specific evidence supported the conclusions. Also, rate the relative importance of anthropology in the attainment of project outcomes (i.e., the “anthropological difference”).  Score (0 – 25 points)

5. Based on the supporting letters, public testimonials from stakeholders, and any relevant media coverage, rate the overall benefits derived from the results of the project (e.g., the impact, utility, need addressed, and depth of results). If there are no supporting materials, assign a score of “0.”  Score (0 to 15 points)