ISO is calling for nominations for the 2012 edition of the prestigious Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award for excellence in creative and innovative standards development.

The award recognizes superior performance of an ISO technical committee or subcommittee. It encourages creative and collaborative work by rewarding the implementation of innovative and efficient processes and solutions that ensure the provision of excellent services. The award is an opportunity to publicize and share best practice among ISO committees.

Last year the prize went to ISO technical committee ISO/TC 34, Food products, whose more than 780 standards make an important contribution to the human and animal food and feed industry, from primary production to consumption. ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain, is just one example of their successful standards whose global uptake is growing rapidly.

Past winners of the LDE award include subcommittee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information Technology, SC 29, Coding of audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information, who developed the widely popular MPEG standard; ISO/TC 176, Quality management, SC 2, Quality systems, responsible for ISO 9001; ISO/TC127, Earth-moving machinery; ISO/TC 8, Ships and marine technology; ISO/TC 172, Optics and photonics; and ISO/TC 211, Geographic information/Geomatics.

2012 nominations can be submitted by anyone working at an ISO national member body, or by any participating experts in the ISO standards development process. Nominations can be sent to [email protected].

ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele says, "Your nomination will help recognize and disseminate excellent practices in standardization. It will also draw attention to the well-deserved merit of colleagues. I cannot encourage the ISO community enough to get involved."

The winner will be announced at the ISO General Assembly in San Diego, USA in September 2012.

The award was established as a tribute to the late ISO Secretary-General (1986-2002) Lawrence D. Eicher.