NISPAcee is pleased to announce the best graduate student paper award competition as part of the 13th annual NISPAcee conference in Moscow. The purpose of the best graduate student paper award competition is to give recognition to a graduate student who demonstrates ability to produce a high quality research paper.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for the competition, a conference participant should meet the following criteria:
- be enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate degree program in a NISPAcee member institution, or associate member institution;
- the paper abstract should be accepted by one of the annual NISPAcee conference’s working groups or working sessions.
Papers written in co-authorship with other graduate students are allowed provided they meet the eligibility criteria.

Criteria

In selecting the best graduate student paper, the Selection Committee members will use the following criteria:
- the paper addresses an important public sector issue;
- good research design;
- quality and significance of research
- high-quality data collection methods and analysis where appropriate;
- originality, clarity and sophistication of argument
- overall professional organization of the paper (style, footnotes, bibliography).

Award

The winner of the best graduate student paper award will be announced during the closing session of a NISPAcee annual conference. The winner will be presented with a certificate; the paper will be published in the conference proceedings or NISPAcee Occasional Papers.

Application and deadline

In order to participate in the competition, a student must submit an application to the NISPAcee Secretariat by e-mail or fax with the following information:
- First and last name;
- Title of the paper;
- Institutional affiliation;
- Degree program;
- E-mail address and phone number of the academic adviser or department head.

The deadline for submitting the application and the paper is April 1, 2005.
The paper should be uploaded on the NISPAcee website as a regular conference paper. The application should be sent to the NISPAcee Secretariat by e-mail or fax:

E-mail: sklenar@nispa.org
Fax: +421-2-6428 5557