The Bob Williams Awards for Outstanding Policy Achievement celebrate state think tanks doing exceptional work to develop and disseminate credible policy research and ideas that can help states implement free-market solutions that will have national impact. The awards are named in honor of our Network’s most iconic policy maven and a friend to many, Bob Williams.
2021 Finalists
Voting is now closed for the 2021 Bob Williams Awards for Outstanding Policy Achievement. See all of the 2021 Finalists.
Winners will be announced at SPN’s 29th Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.
Be sure to register for SPN’s Annual Meeting in Orlando so you can join us in celebrating this year’s finalists and winners!
2021 Finalist Selection Process and Voting
Finalists for the 2021 Bob Williams Awards were selected by a committee of SPN Staff. This committee was led by SPN’s Senior Director of Strategic Development, Todd Davidson. The committee was primarily made up of SPN staff, with input from our leadership team.
Nominations were judged based on the qualities listed below for each specific award. In addition to those qualities, consideration was given to the difficulty level of each state’s policymaking environment and each win’s contribution to future wins (i.e. does the win make future wins more likely).
2020 Winners
The 2020 winners were announced at the 2020 SPN Annual Meeting’s Award Ceremony.
Want to see more of what our incredible Network accomplished last year? Check out all of the the 2020 Finalists.
Bob Williams Award Categories
Best Issue Campaign
Recognizes the organization that ran the highest quality issue education campaign. Submissions will be judged based on measures of execution not necessarily if a win was ultimately achieved. Measure of execution include strategic thinking, exemplary use of outreach tactics, ability to reach target audiences, and team alignment.
2020 Winner: Center of the American Experiment’s Back2Work Minnesota Campaign
Most Influential Research
Recognizes the organization whose original research achieved a high level of influence in academia, media, or policy-making arenas. Submissions should describe one piece of research which is either a single publication or a closely related series of research publications (for example, one white paper, a collection of essays on a single topic, or a book). Submissions should also include information about the impact that the research publication made and clearly communicate the measured outcomes and results.
2020 Winner: Alabama Policy Institute’s Healthy Citizenry, Healthy Society, Healthy Economy
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. Submissions will be judged on the significance of the victory and how important the organization’s contribution was to the victory.
Note: submissions for Biggest Home State Win can also be considered for Biggest Win for Freedom.
2020 Winner: Yankee Institute’s Tax and Licensing Reform in Connecticut
Biggest Win for Freedom
Recognizes the organization 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. Submissions will be judged on the significance of the victory and how important the organization’s contribution was to the victory.
Note: submissions for Biggest Win for Freedom can also be considered for Biggest Home State Win.
2020 Winner: Commonwealth Foundation’s Justice Reinvestment Act 2.0
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can apply for the awards?
Any affiliate state think tank can apply for any of the four award categories.
- Only state think tanks are eligible to receive these awards.
- Nominations can be submitted by any staffer within a state think tank.
- 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.
What types of think tank projects or successes have been finalists in the past?
Finalists have spanned a wide range of issues and outcomes. Check out the 2019 finalists or the 2020 finalists for more details.
About Bob Williams
Bob is the founder of the Washington Freedom Foundation and is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of fiscal and tax policies, election reform, and disaster preparedness. Bob is currently the Director of State Budget Solutions a project of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Bob holds 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.