Sascha Mayer accepts the 2023 Innovation and Inspiration Award on behalf of Mamava (photo by Isora Lithgow Creations)

NOMINATE SOMEONE FOR VBSR’S INNOVATION AND INSPIRATION AWARD AWARD

Nominations

Nominations will be accepted through Monday, July 31, 2023. Self-nominations are welcome and encouraged. The Nominating Committee will review nominations and select an awardee for approval by VBSR’s Board of Directors based upon the criteria below. The award will be given at the 21st Annual VBSR Awards Ceremony in October 2023.

Eligibility

The VBSR Innovation and Inspiration Award recognizes organizational achievement using the criteria below. All VBSR Members in good standing are eligible. The award is given in two categories:

  • Small VBSR Member (15 or fewer employees)
  • Large VBSR Member (16 or more employees)

Criteria

Awardees are VBSR members who have accomplished an innovative and/or inspirational achievement within the past three years* in two or more of the following areas:

  • Planet (Environmental Impact)
  • People (Social Impact)
  • Prosperity (Economic Impact)

*More recent achievements will be given preference.

Definitions

Innovation – The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. To be called an innovation, an idea must be replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need. Innovation involves deliberate application of information, imagination and initiative in deriving greater or different values from resources, and includes all processes by which new ideas are generated and converted into useful products. In business, innovation often results when ideas are applied by the company in order to further satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers. In a social context, innovation helps create new methods for alliance creation, joint venturing, flexible work hours, and creation of buyers’ purchasing power.

Innovations are divided into two broad categories:

  • Evolutionary innovations (continuous or dynamic evolutionary innovation) that are brought about by many incremental advances in technology or processes
  • Revolutionary innovations (also called discontinuous innovations) which are often disruptive and new.

Inspiration – the power of something extraordinary or pioneering to motivate others to reach for a higher standard or goal.

 

 

Past VBSR Innovation and Inspiration Awardees

Other VBSR Awards

VBSR 2022 Award Recipients