Innovation in Practice Award
This award honors occupational therapy practitioners, including clinicians, educators, and researchers, who have demonstrated bold, creative leadership in expanding the reach and impact of occupational therapy. Recipients have pioneered new practice models, transformed service delivery for communities with the greatest need for occupational therapy services, or applied occupational therapy expertise in ways that challenge convention. Their work produces meaningful, documented changes for the people and communities they serve, with demonstrated impact on client outcomes and the advancement of the profession.
Spirit of the Award
This award honors bold, creative leadership that expands the reach and impact of occupational therapy. Recipients pioneer practice models that produce measurable change for the people they serve and extend their influence through replication, adoption, or impact on practice, policy, or education beyond their original setting.
Description and Purpose
- To recognize occupational therapy practitioners who develop and utilize innovative and emerging occupational therapy practices that serve the diverse needs of clients in an evolving health care climate.
- To elevate practice that expands access to occupational therapy services in areas of greatest need.
- To promote innovation that advances the profession’s relevance in a rapidly evolving health care and societal landscape.
- To encourage entrepreneurial leadership and scalable solutions that influence practice beyond a single setting.
Criteria
Nominations must address all three of the following areas. The depth and nature of evidence may differ across dimensions and across career contexts.
Scope of Work
- The nominee’s work represents a meaningful departure from conventional practice in its setting, population served, or method of delivery.
- The practice model addresses an area where occupational therapy has historically had limited presence or impact.
Impact on Clients and Communities
- Measurable improvements in client or community outcomes, documented through qualitative or quantitative evidence.
- Increased access to occupational therapy services for communities with the greatest need.
- System level changes, including contributions to policy (community, local, national), reimbursement models, or care delivery structures.
Replicability and Influence
- Evidence of replication, scalability, or adoption of the practice model beyond its original setting.
- Dissemination of professional knowledge through publication, presentation, education, or other means that clearly demonstrate evidence-based outcomes.
- Demonstrated influence on professional practice, policy, or education beyond the nominee’s immediate setting.
What Does Not Qualify Alone
- Doing excellent clinical work in a conventional setting, fulfilling standard job duties as an educator or clinician, or producing work with no documented reach beyond the nominee’s immediate setting does not, by itself, meet the criteria for this award.