SPN's Bob Williams Awards celebrate state think tanks doing exceptional work to develop and advance policy solutions that strengthen communities and improve lives.

The Bob Williams Awards for Outstanding Policy Achievement celebrate SPN affiliates doing exceptional work to help states implement free-market solutions that will have national impact. The awards were named in honor of our Network’s most iconic policy maven, Bob Williams, and are presented yearly at SPN’s Annual Meeting.

Information about next year’s awards will be available in early 2026.

Learn more about the award:

Announcing the 2025 Bob Williams Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Bob Williams Awards! The awards were presented at SPN’s 33rd Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA.

Most Influential Research

Recognizes the organization whose original research achieved a high level of influence in academia, media, or policy-making arenas. 

Iowans for Tax Relief –  Shining Light on Education Spending and Waste 
In response to Iowa’s alarming 2024 NAEP scores—showing 71 percent of fourth graders below proficient in reading and 73 percent of eighth graders in math—Iowans for Tax Relief launched the ITR Report Card, an interactive web platform offering fiscal and academic data for all 327 school districts. Despite $3 billion in annual school property taxes and additional state aid, student outcomes remain stagnant. Recognizing that universal school choice alone wouldn’t help students remaining in public schools, ITR created a tool to empower local decision-makers with transparent, accessible data. Key insights revealed only 47.7 percent of budgets go to instruction (well below the national benchmark), spending per student has risen nearly 20 percent in five years, and chronic absenteeism averages over 21 percent. Many school board members, previously reliant on administrators, now have the independent data needed to make informed decisions. The ITR Report Card shifts education advocacy from static reports to real-time engagement—sparking accountability, informing reform, and putting power back in the hands of parents and local leaders. 

Best Issue Campaign

Recognizes the organization that ran the highest quality issue education campaign towards achieving a policy win. 

Opportunity Arkansas – Saving Education Freedom in Arkansas 
 The misleadingly named “Educational Rights Amendment,” a proposed ballot initiative, threatened to end education freedom, expand welfare without funding, and undermine religious liberty in Arkansas. While the initiative was initially under the radar, Opportunity Arkansas quickly launched a campaign to expose its dangers before it gained momentum. Within days, the team developed a strategic plan, created the “For AR Families sub-brand,” produced shareable explainer videos, conducted messaging polling, and engaged media statewide to inform voters. The campaign reached hundreds of thousands through earned media, direct mail, and a comprehensive digital strategy, while equipping partners and parents with resources to push back. Opportunity Arkansas also uncovered deceptive signature-gathering tactics, prompting public outcry and halting these efforts. As a result of their fast thinking, the amendment’s sponsors failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, protecting Arkansas families and preserving education freedom in the state.

Best State-Based Litigation

Recognizes litigative efforts at the state and local level, which help to advance the cause of free markets and federalism. 

Beacon Center of Tennessee – Ending Nashville’s Stormwater Capacity Fee 
The Beacon Center of Tennessee delivered a crushing blow to government overreach with a landmark class action lawsuit that forced Nashville to abandon its illegal stormwater fee and pay back over $1.4 million to 361 wrongfully charged homeowners. This groundbreaking victory came just days after filing—Nashville didn’t even attempt to defend the unconstitutional scheme. 

The city’s predatory fee targeted families simply trying to build or improve their homes, charging $0.71 per square foot while forcing property owners to fund infrastructure that should be paid by the public. One client was hit with over $6,000 just to expand his home for his growing family. 

This decisive legal triumph sends shockwaves through Tennessee’s local governments, warning them against similar unconstitutional money grabs that drive up housing costs. The settlement not only delivers justice to hundreds of families but establishes a powerful precedent that protects property rights and makes housing more affordable for all Tennesseans. 

Biggest Home State Win

Recognizes the organization that achieved a significant policy win in their home state.  

Empower Mississippi and Mississippi Center for Public Policy – Phasing Out Mississippi’s Income Tax 
In 2025, Mississippi became the first state since Alaska to set a course toward full elimination of its income tax—thanks to campaigns led by Empower Mississippi and the Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP). Empower built years of public momentum, releasing policy reports, publishing a tax calculator, and engaging leaders through media and grassroots advocacy. MCPP led legislative strategy, crafting the “Build Up Mississippi Act” with innovative revenue triggers that alleviated fiscal concerns and secured bipartisan support. Together, the groups helped pass House Bill 1, a historic law that phases out Mississippi’s income tax over the next decade. The campaign’s success was fueled by coalition-building, targeted digital outreach, legislative testimony, and media engagement. The law will return up to $100 million annually to taxpayers once triggers are met—benefiting over one million households. This victory marks a turning point in Mississippi’s economic policy and creates a model for pro-growth tax reform across the nation. 

Biggest Win for Freedom

Palmetto Promise Institute – Giving Hope to South Carolina Students 
After the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the state’s ESA program, Palmetto Promise Institute (PPI) sprang into action—determined to protect families and preserve education choice. As the organization that introduced ESAs to the state in 2017, PPI responded to the crisis by mobilizing parents, launching a legal and legislative strategy, forming an advocacy capacity to their Durable Freedom Infrastructure, and raising $2.5 million through an emergency Rescue Fund to keep students in their schools.   

Their swift, integrated response—grounded in policy, communications, and compassion—resulted in the passage of a stronger, permanent ESA law. Today, 10,000 students are benefiting, 98 percent of families have reapplied, and every scholarship has been claimed. PPI’s bold, all-hands approach turned a devastating court loss into a landmark policy comeback. More than a state win, it’s a roadmap for the school choice movement nationwide—proving that when education freedom is threatened, state-based organizations like PPI are best positioned to lead the charge and deliver lasting results. 

2025 Process and Criteria

Project Criteria: Projects occurring between July 2024 and June 2025 will be accepted

Finalist Selection Process: Finalists will be selected by an internal committee composed of SPN staff with a wide range of backgrounds and fields of expertise. The committee is selected based on their understanding of the policy landscape, and operations of state think tanks.

Scoring Guide: All nominations will be appraised according to this scoring guide . Please direct any questions to Taylor Anderson (tanderson@spn.org). Please note that most submissions will fit the submission criteria, and the selection committee will sometimes need to make subsequent judgment calls. For example, if two wins are similar in impact, the committee is more likely to give the finalist spot to an organization that is not a finalist in another category or did not win last year.

Voting Dates: Voting will take place June 30-July 10 for the 2025 Bob Williams Awards for Outstanding Policy Achievement. Winners will be announced at the annual Celebration of Success Awards Dinner at this year’s SPN Annual Meeting in New Orleans August 25-28.

Voting Process: Like in previous years, voting is limited to Annual Meeting registrants. This is meant to create a more accurate “peer vote” on the Bob Williams Awards. Our goal is to have policy achievements voted on by people with the greatest relative knowledge on the difficulty and impact of that policy achievement. So, be sure to register for Annual Meeting in order to cast your vote!

Vote Totals: Vote totals for the first, second, and third place finalists will be available upon request following the award presentation in New Orleans.

2025 Bob Williams Award Categories

  • Most Influential Research: Recognizes the organization whose original research achieved a high level of influence in academia, media, or policy-making arenas.
  • Best Issue Campaign: Recognizes the organization that ran the highest quality issue education campaign towards achieving a policy win.
  • Biggest Home State Win: Recognizes the organization that achieved a significant policy win in their home state. Your win can come from any jurisdiction in your home state, local government, executive, judicial, legislative, or etc.
  • Biggest Win for Freedom: Recognizes the organization(s) whose effort was instrumental toward securing a significant policy victory this year. Wins can be one state or a multi-state effort; offense or defense; state or national.
  • Best State-Based Litigation Award: Recognizes litigative efforts at the state and local level, which help to advance the cause of free markets and federalism.

Past Winners

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we give the Bob Williams Award?

The Bob Williams Award for Outstanding Policy Achievement celebrates the monumental work of our 50-state Network. The award also gives validation to our in-state partners’ work and their supporters. The goal of the awards isn’t just to reward and celebrate excellence but also to help our network grow.

Who can apply for the awards?

Any affiliate state think tank can apply for any of the original four award categories. The Best State Based Litigation Award is open to national partners, provided their litigation was state or local in focus.

  • Only state think tanks are eligible to receive the first four awards. National partners can only recieve the Best State Based Litigation Award.
  • SPN members are welcome to nominate each other, provided they can fully complete the nomination details.
  • State think tanks can submit nominations in multiple categories. State think tanks can also submit multiple projects/wins in the same category, provided the submissions are for separate, distinct projects or successes.

What is required in order to nominate a think tank?

In preparation for your nominations, you may find it helpful to gather the following information prior to filling out each nomination form. You do not have to provide information in every category, but providing as much information as possible will improve the quality of the nomination.

  • Your contact information & contact information of organization (if you’re nominating another state think tank)
  • What problem or opportunity the campaign/research successfully addressed and who was helped. 
  • Details about specific objectives and how specific departments helped contribute to the effort.
  • Links to or copies of campaign collateral – videos, ads, publications, infographics, etc.
  • Information about the impact this success has had on the organization and/or the Network.

Can I nominate more than one organization?

Yes! We’re excited to see the impact so many state think tanks are having in their communities, their state, and even the nation. You are welcome to nominate every  state think tank you believe should be recognized.

Although only one think tank will be selected as the winner in each category, the impressive work of every nominee will be featured on SPN.org and through other SPN channels.

Can I submit nominations in more than one category?

Please do! You are encouraged to submit nominations for different projects from one state think tank or submit nominations for multiple think tanks. If you’re unsure whether a project should be considered for “Biggest Win” or “Biggest State Impact,” feel free to indicate on your nomination form that you would like the nomination to be considered for both.

Can I nominate my own organization?

Absolutely. State think tanks are encouraged to let us (and the Network) know about your influential achievements.

Can I nominate an organization even if I don’t have all the requested information?

The more information in the nomination we have, the better. If your knowledge of a project is limited to basic facts, consider encouraging the state think tank to nominate themselves. You’ll have an opportunity to vote your support once the nominees are announced.

About Bob Williams

Bob founded the Washington Freedom Foundation and was a nationally recognized expert in the areas of fiscal and tax policies, election reform, and disaster preparedness. Bob was also the Director of State Budget Solutions, a project of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Bob held a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Penn State and was a Certified Public Accountant. In that capacity, he served as an auditor at the Pentagon and Post Office for the U.S. Government Accountability Office. He served five terms in the Washington State Legislature and was the 1988 Republican nominee for governor of Washington State.