The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and the Society for International Comparative Policy Analysis established this award to recognize and encourage excellence in comparative policy analysis, as represented in research papers presented at APPAM's annual Fall Research Conference.
The author or co-authors of the selected paper received a shared cash award of $1,000, along with a plaque and recognition at the APPAM Fall Research Conference. The selected paper was also eligible for expedited review for publication in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis (JCPA). Travel support to receive the award was not provided. The award was presented annually to submissions that met the selection criteria.
Submissions were evaluated using the broad criteria outlined in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis's Statement of Aims and Scope. When a suitable recipient was identified, the selection committee announced the winner prior to the Fall Research Conference.
Since its founding in 1998, the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis has served as a leading journal dedicated to comparative policy analysis, fostering an international community of scholars. Published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis, JCPA is affiliated with the Society for International Comparative Policy Analysis and supports the advancement of comparative policy research.
2025 Award Winner
"Accelerating global reports of violence associated with conservation enforcement: Empirical evidence and a research agenda” by Nathan J. Cook, Indiana University
2024 Award Winner
Kyoung-cheol (Casey) Kim, University of Georgia
2023 Award Winner
Award was not given
2022 Award Winner
Immigration, Government Type, and Social Welfare Spending by Hang Qi, University of Missouri
2021 Award Winner
Life-Cycle Dynamics and Developmental Processes in Collaborative Partnerships: Examples from four watersheds in the U.S. by Mark T. Imperial, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
2020 Award Winner
The Political Development of Public Policy - Political Controversy, Partisanship, and Health Care for the Poor: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. Policies, 1965-1989 by Emily Parker, Cornell University.
2019 Award Winners
Empowering Women in South Asia’s informal settlements: The Challenges of Environmental Degradation, by Amit Patel, University of Massachusetts Boston; Hina Lotia, LEAD Pakistan; Ammar A. Malik, Urban Institute; Marcia D. Mundt, University of Massachusetts Boston; Hyunjung Lee, University of Massachusetts Boston; Muhammad Arshed Rafiq, LEAD Pakistan
Are We Digging in the Wrong Place? Age, Period, and Cohort Explanations for Changing Crime Rates, by William Spelman, University of Texas at Austin
No award was given in 2017 and 2018.
2016 Award Winner
Toward a Comparative Analysis of Labour Administration Systems, by Jason Heyes, Work, Organisation & Employment Relations Research Centre, Sheffield University Management School, United Kingdom
2015 Award Winners
Independent Professional Bureaucracies and Street-Level Corruption: Evidence from Latin America, by Laura Langbein, American University and Pablo Sanabria, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali, Colombia
2014 Award Winners
Global Expansion of Renewable Energy Generation: An Analysis of Policy Instruments, by Sanya Carley, Jennifer Brass, Elizabeth Baldwin, and Lauren M. MacLean, Indiana University