HONORING NATIONS SELECTION PROCESS AND DEADLINES

• Applications submitted for Honoring Nations 2008 must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, January 11, 2008.

• In mid-February, 30-35 programs will be chosen as semifinalists by the Harvard Project staff. The Harvard Project staff will conduct a short telephone interview with representatives of each of the semifinalist programs. Each semifinalist will then be asked to submit supplemental information and a letter of endorsement from the chief executive of the nation (i.e., chief, chairperson, president, governor, etc.)

• In mid-April, the Honoring Nations Board of Governors and the Harvard Project staff will choose up to 10 programs to receive site visits.

• In May, June, and July, one day site visits will be conducted and finalists will be notified.

• In mid - October (tentative date: October 21, 2008), finalists will gather in, Phoenix, Arizona for the final round of evaluation—held in conjunction with the annual session of the National Congress of American Indians. Finalists will be asked to make a 10-minute presentation to the Honoring Nations Board of Governors and the public. The Board will then deliberate and select High Honors and Honors recipients. High Honors receive a $20,000 award to share their success story with others. Honors receive $10,000. Awards will be announced and all programs celebrated at an honoring ceremony that night.

• In mid-November, Honorees will be asked to develop a short proposal that describes how their monetary award will be used. Monetary awards must be used to share information about the honored Contribution.

• Honorees play a critical role in sharing their success stories. Honored programs are expected to participate in occasional conferences and symposia, particularly the 2009 Honoring Nations Symposium, Learning From Each Other: Improving Tribal Government Performance IV.