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.

2026 Key Award Dates

  • May 25 – June 4: Nomination window is open for all awards. The nomination window will close at 11:59pm EST on June 4th. 
  • June 24: Finalists Announced and voting opens. Voting is exclusive to SPN Annual Meeting Registrants.  
  • July 8: Voting Closes at 11:59pm EST 
  • August 26: Awards are presented at SPN’s 34th Annual Meeting

Jump to Section:

Announcing the 2026 Bob Williams Award Categories

As the state policy landscape is ever evolving; the 2026 award categories have been updated to reflect the new, influential roles that state think tanks hold. 

Securing Durable Freedom
Recognizes the organization(s) that utilized strategic capacities, like investigative journalism, state-based litigation centers, or voter insights, to secure a significant win. 

Guardian of Liberty
Recognizes the organization(s) that made a monumental effort to be a stalwart guardian of liberty over the past year. Defensive wins can come at any point in the legislative cycle including: an innefective or harmful policy being stopped before it is passed into law, an implementation battle that led to the defense of freedom, or another tactic to protect the state’s citizens from a change that would stifle freedom. 

Biggest Win for Freedom
Recognizes the organization(s) whose effort was instrumental toward securing a significant policy victory this year. Wins can be focused on one state, or part of a multi-state effort, offensive or defensive.  

2026 Process and Criteria

Project Criteria: Projects occurring between July 2025 and June 2026 will be accepted. Note: Given the overlap in timeline between many legislative sessions and the nomination window, organizations are encouraged to submit any pending legislation/projects that are likely to secure a win after the nomination window closes. 

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.  

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

Voting Dates: Voting will take place from June 24 – July 8 for the 2026 Bob Williams Awards. Winners will be announced at the annual Celebration of Success Awards Dinner on August 26, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. 

Voting Process: Like in previous years, voting is exclusive to Annual Meeting registrants. 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. Limiting the vote to Annual Meeting attendees creates a more accurate “peer vote”. 

Vote Totals: Vote totals for the first, second, and third place finalists will be available upon request following the award presentation. Please contact Taylor Anderson (tanderson@spn.org) with any questions. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we give the Bob Williams Awards?
The Bob Williams Awards for Outstanding Policy Achievement celebrate the monumental work of our 50-state Network. The awards give validation to our in-state partners’ work and their supporters. The goal of the awards isn’t just to reward and celebrate excellence, but to push our Network to think strategically to secure long-lasting wins.

Why have the categories for the Bob Williams Awards changed?
As the Network continues to adapt to changing policy landscapes, the Bob Williams Awards are evolving to more accurately celebrate their work and success. SPN’s priorities focus not only on securing sound policy but also on ensuring that it remains won for decades to come. The new slate of Bob Williams Awards aligns with that goal

Why have these award categories been selected?
Securing lasting policy takes more than good ideas. As our Network continues to innovate and incubate new strategies to pass sound policy and defend against poor policy, the new slate of award categories addresses critical gaps that were present in previous years. 

Who can apply for the awards? 
Only current SPN state-level affiliate members are eligible to receive all three awards. SPN National partner members may apply for the Securing Durable Freedom Award. To check your organization’s membership status, please contact Sharon Milhollin at sharon@spn.org.

Can I submit nominations in more than one category? Can I submit more than one nomination per category?
State-level affiliate members may submit nominations in more than one category. Nominees can also submit multiple projects/wins in the same category, provided the submissions are for separate, distinct projects or successes. If you are unsure which project should be considered for which award, please reach out to Taylor Anderson at tanderson@spn.org. 

What is required to nominate a think tank?
In preparation for filling out the nomination form, it is important to remember that each award requires slightly different information. While you do not have to provide information in every category, providing as much information as possible will improve the quality of the nomination. Broadly speaking, you should be prepared to give the following information:

  • Your contact information and the contact information of the organization being nominated. 
  • What problem or opportunity did the organization successfully address, and who was helped. 
  • Details about specific objectives, coalition partners, impact metrics, and other measurable outcomes. 
  • Links to or copies of campaign collateral – videos, ads, publications, infographics, etc. 
  • Information about the impact this success has had on the state, organization, and/or the Network. 

What if our project/win hasn’t concluded by the nomination deadline?
Given the overlap in timeline between many legislative sessions and the nomination window, organizations are encouraged to submit any pending legislation/projects that are likely to secure a win after the nomination window closes.

What metrics and indicators of success should I provide?
The more data that you can send with your application showing impact or success, the better. This can come in many forms, including: social media metrics, media placements, anecdotes from lawmakers, etc.

Can an organization submit the same win for Bob Williams Award consideration as well as the Excellence in Research and/or the Communications Excellence Award?
We encourage our affiliates to select different projects for both the Communications Excellence Award and the Bob Williams Award applications. While affiliates may submit the same project for both awards, please keep in mind that the same project will not be eligible to be a finalist to both awards.

Past Winners

Note: Bob Williams Award categories have changed for the 2026 cycle.

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

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.