2024 Resilience Prize

Nominations are now open!

The Council of Resilience Leaders are seeking nominations for its 2024 Resilience Prize. This group of influential individuals from across the county represents private, nonprofit and public sectors, and supports ASU's Knowledge Exchange for Resilience, in its mission to build Maricopa County's capacity to adapt to shocks and stresses. As part of the mission to amplify and advocate for community resilience, the Council of Resilience Leaders chooses to honor groups or organizations across Arizona that have helped our communities become more resilient in the face of profound change to social, economic, and environmental systems.

The community is encouraged to participate in the nomination process and share stories of inspirational groups or organizations for their efforts to help build community resilience. All nominations, including self-nominations, are invited. Multiple submissions are encouraged to coordinate nomination letters. 

Purpose

The Resilience Prize is intended to bring widespread and high-level recognition to the significance of building community resilience by highlighting specific outstanding collective, long-term and systemic efforts to improve community resilience and build prosperity in Maricopa County. 

Building community resilience is an investment that elevates our capacity to respond to the shocks of a changing world. Doing it right takes an enormous amount of collaboration, knowledge, and vision. When successful, these efforts bring social, economic, and environmental dividends that accrue to the whole community and last beyond our lifetimes. For this reason, the Council of Resilience Leaders will identify and select each year’s recipient, and give high level recognition to this priority for our community. Please see our FUSE Themes as a framework for how resilience can appear in our community.

Eligibility & criteria

A deserving local group or organization operating in the State of Arizona is eligible for this prize. The recognition does not honor a single individual. Honored organizations have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to building community through data and partnerships. When considering what aspirational characteristics describe a resilient community, the Council has been inspired by the five elements of community resilience outlined by Dr. Judith Rodin in her book, The Resilience Dividend: Being Strong in a World Where Things Go Wrong. These important traits are awareness, diversity, integration, the capacity for self-regulation, and adaptiveness.  The honoree will be chosen on the basis of measurable impact towards community resilience, taking into account one or more of these attributes.

Previous recognitions

The Resilience Prize has been bestowed since 2019. The inaugural award was given to the City of Scottsdale for their foresight and long term efforts building the Indian Bend Wash as a symbol of resilience dividends. In 2020, due to the pandemic, a celebration was not held, but video documentary Recognitions of Resilience honored United Dairymen of Arizona and Arizona Food Bank Network for adaptation, RAIL CDC for equity, and Wildfire, for social cohesion. In 2021, the Prize was again given at the annual Celebration, this time to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health Office of Epidemiology and Data Services for their work to build heat resilience though data and partnerships. In 2022, The Friends of the Verde River were recognized for their efforts in ensuring the long-term health of one of Arizona’s last free-flowing rivers. For 2023, Tiger Mountain Foundation was honored for their community gardens that embody the very essence of resilience. They have transformed communities and touched countless lives while sowing the seeds of positive change.

How to nominate and important dates

Nominations for the 2024 Resilience Prize are open now! Make your nomination today!  

A selection committee, comprised of members of the Council of Resilience Leaders will notify finalists for an interview to provide the opportunity to convey important information about the impacts of the organization's efforts to build community resilience.

The award will be announced publicly and presented with an artful award and ceremony honoring the selected organization at the annual Celebration for Resilience. 

Questions?

For general questions or press inquires, please email resilience@asu.edu.