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Best Practices Awards FAQs

Each year, dozens of MAPP member organizations enter submissions into one of the three Best Practices Awards offered by the organization. Below are frequently asked questions by participants:

  • What is the purpose of the Best Practices Awards?
    • The purpose of the Best Practices Awards is to celebrate the creative and innovative efforts within MAPP member companies. MAPP is dedicated to sharing best practices throughout the MAPP network. These best practices allow members across the country to grow and improve their own operations.
  • What are the benefits of entering my organization into the awards process?
    • Participants in the awards process report improved company culture and celebration within your own organization. As one participant shared, "One neat aspect of the awards process, is that it motivated us as a team to take an idea and run with it in a way that we might not otherwise have done, with the result that the creative juices really flowed and our program will be that much more effective, regardless of the outcome of the award."
    • Additionally, participants and award recipients receive additional positive exposure through the MAPP Best Practices Book, recognition as industry events and in industry publications.
  • Who can enter a submission for an award?
    • Any employee of a plastics company that is part of the MAPP organization is eligible to enter a submission. 
  • How do I enter my company's submission?
    • When MAPP solicits entries for the various awards, there is always a link to an entry page. Additionally, the awards are always posted on the MAPP calendar page, which also links to the entry page. If you have questions about submissions, call the MAPP office at 317-913-2440.
    • Prior to submitting, be sure to have the following:
      • A description of your Best Practice 
      • Any pictures, videos, samples or media that help to showcase your Best Practice
    • Companies DO NOT need to create a PowerPoint or slide deck, A3, etc. Instead, they should fill out the entry form and share media as instructed for that award.
  • Can my company enter more than one submission?
    • Yes! Your company is eligible to enter more than one submission for any of the Best Practices Awards. The spirit of the Best Practices Awards series is to share best practices within the industry, and the more best practices, the better!
  • How are topics for the awards selected?
    • Each year, the MAPP Leadership Team and the MAPP Board of Directors review feedback from the MAPP membership and brainstorm potential topics. These topics are then voted on based on their viability in allowing the membership to share in that specific topic area.
  • How are the winners chosen?
    • Winners are selected by the MAPP membership!
    • All submissions are anonymized to the best of the MAPP staff's ability. They are then entered into a voting form. This voting form is shared with the entire MAPP network, which votes on the submissions based on set criteria.
    • On the occasion that there is an overwhelming number of submissions, making it too cumbersome for general voting, a subset of the MAPP leadership team and membership will be selected to narrow down the submissions based on the award criteria.
  • What are the criteria for entering?
    • To enter, your organization must:
      • Be a member of MAPP
      • Share a best practice aligning with that topic
    • If you have entered in that same topic area in the past, your entry must be different than that of the previous year.
  • What happens to the submissions after each award series ends?
    • After the award submission deadline ends, MAPP's staff puts all submissions into a Best Practices Book. This Best Practices Book is printed and shared at MAPP events and is available to MAPP members on the MAPP website.
  • Where can I see examples of previous submissions?
    • You can view samples of previous submissions under each award page or in the annual Best Practices Book, which can be accessed here.
  • When are the awards conducted?
    • The Best Practices Award Season runs from April through October, culminating the awards presentation during the annual Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference. Typically, entry to each award is open for 6 weeks, and voting for that award is conducted for 2 weeks.