The FAO Conference, at its Twenty-seventh Session held in November 1993, decided to establish the "Edouard Saouma Award" for presentation at the beginning of each regular session of the Conference, to a national or regional institution which has implemented with particular efficiency a project funded by the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP).

Nature of the Award

• a medal inscribed with the name of the recipient institution;
• a scroll describing the achievements of the recipient institution;
• a cash prize of US$ 25 000;
• travel to FAO headquarters in Rome by a representative of the winning institution to participate in the Award ceremony and to receive the award on behalf of the institution.

Eligibility

Any national or regional institution, which - in the course of the biennium preceding the Conference - has implemented with particular efficiency a project funded by the Technical Cooperation Programme of FAO.

Basic Criteria

In the spirit of Conference Resolution 2/93 the winning institution should be one that has implemented a TCP funded project having a model character and which has either:

• allowed the rapid mobilization of resources or responded efficiently to emergency situations;
• met successfully unforeseen short-term technical assistance needs which could not be covered by other sources of support;
• filled a critical gap or had particular catalytic effects in generating investment or large-scale follow-up action, thus expanding the overall volume of agricultural development financing;
• contributed in a pragmatic and flexible manner to the strengthening of the beneficiary country's capacities in the formulation of national policies for food production, agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

Particular attention is given to the nature, the sustainability and the replicability of the achievements and the catalytic effects generated compared to the inputs provided by the Technical Cooperation Programme.

Call for nominations and applications

The call for nominations for the Award is done through the issuance by FAO of a Director-General’s Bulletin as of September of the year preceding each FAO Conference. Applications by national or regional institutions can be made by completing the nomination form, which can be downloaded directly from this Web site,or obtained from the Office of the Chief, TCOT.

Submission of Nominations

For the 2008-2009 Edouard Saouma Award, proposals for nomination presented by national or regional institutions should be submitted by 31 December 2008 to FAO Representatives (in countries with an accredited FAO Representative) or to FAO Regional and Subregional Representatives (in countries with no accredited FAO Representative), as appropriate, for endorsement and submission to the FAO technical department in charge of the project’s technical backstopping. The FAO National, Regional and Subregional Representatives or UNDP Resident Representatives, as appropriate, may also submit proposals for nomination directly to the FAO technical department concerned. The proposals for nomination are reviewed by the FAO technical department for eventual submission to the Chief of the Technical Cooperation Programme Service (TCOT).

Edouard Saouma Award Ad Hoc Screening Committee

An ad hoc interdepartmental Screening Committee chaired by the Deputy Director-General and comprising the Assistant Directors-General of all headquarters departments, the Director of the Field Operations Division and the Chief of the TCP Service as Secretary, will review the list of nominations submitted to it by the Award Secretariat, and establish a short-list of three nominations. The Chairperson of the Screening Committee will submit the short-list of three institutions nominated to the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.

Edouard Saouma Award Selection Committee

The Selection Committee, chaired by the Director-General, and comprising the Independent Chairperson of the Council, the Chairperson of the Programme Committee and Chairperson of the Finance Committee, will make a final decision on the basis of the short-list submitted by the interdepartmental Screening Committee.

Conferment of Awards

The Award is conferred for projects completed during the biennium preceding the current one. The Award for the achievements during each biennium is presented by the Director-General during a special ceremony, at the beginning of the Session of the FAO Conference in November. The representative of the selected institution is invited to FAO headquarters in Rome for the ceremony, the cost of travel and per diem being borne by the Organization.