As a volunteer on the 2020 ISACA Awards Working Group and past ISACA Michael Cangemi Award recipient, I am excited to help ISACA recognize the incredible contributions our colleagues and organizations make, and the positive impact we, as the global IT community, have on the world.
This year, the working group was charged with reviewing our current awards portfolio and identifying ways to enhance the program. We have spent the past six months evaluating other industry awards programs, identifying strengths and weaknesses of our own program, and discussing what our purpose and goals are in having an awards program. I am proud of how this work has finally come together, and invite you to nominate a colleague or organization for the new-look ISACA Awards and to learn more about the enhancements to the program.
To begin, the working group articulated four goals for the updated program:
- Prestige: A prestigious awards program attracts prestigious recipients and positive publicity for an organization, industry and for the recipients. It’s a win-win-win.
- Aspiration: We want people to aspire to be nominated for and to receive an ISACA Award, and people across the industry should recognize the high caliber of recipients we honor.
- Engagement: A peer-recognition program involves our whole community: members, nonmember professionals, volunteers, companies and partners across our industry.
- Recognition: Recipients of ISACA awards should feel honored, and we want to show our appreciation for the dedicated members and incredible professionals across our industry.
Then we looked at the current awards in our Global Achievement, Chapter and Certification Exam Top Score categories. We recognized that our Global Achievement Awards were rather ISACA-centric in scope and wanted to expand our highest honors to incorporate broader organization, program, individual and industry achievements. Therefore, we are retiring the seven awards in that portfolio and establishing four new Global Achievement Awards, with more likely to come in the future:
- ISACA Technology for Humanity Award
Recognizes an individual, program or organization whose efforts in connecting with underserved communities or underrepresented individuals have helped bridge the digital divide. - ISACA Educational Excellence Award
Recognizes an inspiring educator or academic at the primary, secondary or tertiary educational level or an educational institution with inspiring initiatives that has empowered students to pursue careers that advance technology. - ISACA Inspirational Leadership Award
Recognizes a visionary leader who has inspired organizations and professionals to advance and adapt within a digital world. - ISACA Innovative Solutions Award
Recognizes an individual or organization who has developed or utilized technology to solve business or societal challenges.
These changes to the Global Achievement Awards portfolio opened up an opportunity to expand our recognition of ISACA service, and the passion and dedication of our members and volunteers by creating a new ISACA Hall of Fame. Members are invited to nominate other dedicated members to be inducted into this exclusive recognition opportunity each year. Within each class of inductees, the entire ISACA membership will be invited to vote for the most inspirational volunteer, who will be announced live at the awards ceremony.
The Chapter Awards portfolio was revamped a couple years ago to recognize the positive impact our chapters and chapter leaders have on creating a positive local member experience, so the working group did not recommend significant changes to the Best Chapter Award, Innovative Chapter Program Award or Outstanding Chapter Leader Award. We did eliminate the chapter-size categories so that we can expand opportunities for recognition.
Our Certification Exam Top Score portfolio will grow to include CDPSE after the first full year of exam testing in 2021.
In addition to enhancing the awards portfolio, the working group also sees the presentation ceremony as a significant opportunity to raise the prestige of the program, celebrate the recipients, and generate publicity for the individuals and for ISACA. Starting in 2021, we plan to host an ISACA Awards Ceremony in conjunction with one of our flagship events, while Chapter Awards will be presented at the Global Leadership Summit with an enhanced ceremony. Stay tuned for more details in 2021, and we hope you can join us!
As ISACA transitions into its next 50 years, we are eager for the ISACA Awards Program to help us honor the past, and to recognize future achievements and inspirational individuals. As a former global award recipient, I recognize that receiving the award could not have happened without having been nominated, without ISACA’s award nomination evaluation process, and without the support of ISACA as the world’s pre-eminent IT organization supporting the growth and development of IT professionals around the world.
Being part of the awards working group has given me a great sense of appreciation for what it takes to make this happen for a community spread across 180 countries around the world. Even more, I find that having received the award has inspired me to strive to become even better at my discipline and to continue sharing my experiences and learnings. My recommendation to the community is unequivocal: Be sure to take advantage of our enhanced awards program and join us on this journey by submitting a nomination for someone you believe has made a significant contribution to IT by 30 September 2020.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the 2020 ISACA Award recipients and congratulate them on their significant achievements. Well done!