INFORMS Award

INFORMS Award

2022 Call for Nominations
Submission deadline: December 15, 2022

IT artifacts are broadly defined as IT systems (instantiations), as well as the related constructs, models, and methods that enable their representation, analysis, understanding, and development. Constructs are vocabulary and conceptualizations that enable communication and description of problems (phenomena, possibly within a causal chain), solution components, constraints, and objectives for the designed artifact. Models use defined constructs to represent problem and solution spaces. Methods are algorithms or guidelines that are used to search problem and solution spaces and enable the construction of instantiations—computer-based systems implemented within an organization. Such systems demonstrate the feasibility and value of the utilized constructs, models and methods. Each may constitute a contribution to design science research knowledge.

The award recognizes research efforts that use an experimental research approach– building and evaluating working IT systems or creating IT artifacts, as a vehicle for generating design science methods, principals, practice guidelines, insights, and lessons learned.

The submission must be based on an IT artifact that is novel and innovative with respect to previous work in the field and that demonstrates utility in solving important problem in the development, management, and use of information technology within an organizational context. Preference will be given to work that develops and applies such IT artifacts to application areas that were not previously believed to be amenable to IT support.

The intent of the award is to encourage the creation and articulation of IT design science knowledge by university research communities that will be useful for both research and practice. Distinct from the current set of ISS awards which are focused principally on the quality of published papers in well-known journals in the IS academic community, this ISS Design Science award is principally focused on the quality, novelty and significance of the IT artifact created and validated. In this sense, the award is not solely based on the publication.

Yet, the award acknowledges academic and research excellence in IS related Design Science research. Since research thinking and results are most effectively distilled and communicated through carefully written publications, submissions for this award must include related publications which describe the key ideas and substance of the work.

The publication venue in which this IS related Design Science work appears is not the primary determinant for the award. Priority is given to the substance, quality, and innovative nature of the IT artifacts created and evaluated.

The award is open to university or graduate professional program faculty and students across any discipline, department or school within a university that is engaged in designing, building and evaluating IT artifacts for research and experimental purposes.

The award amount is US $1,000 per year.