How will the award winning practices be communicated?

The Conference Board coordinates media relations, publishes studies on winning companies, provides platforms at its meetings, and manages this Website.
See the latest publication about the award.

Who developed the award's principles and criteria?

A task force from the initial sponsoring companies, with input from the administration, developed the principles, criteria, and process. Former President Clinton's principles of corporate citizenship were used to define eligible employee practices.

Will the Business Community support the award?

This prestigious bipartisan Presidential award has garnered support from the distinguished Board of Directors, the Business Roundtable, The Business Council, and widely circulated business publications.

Who is on the board?

CEOs or top executives of leading companies, one foundation head, and one head of a small business.

The Secretary of Commerce and one other representative of government will serve as ex-officio members.

View a complete list of the board's members.

How is the award funded?

The award is fully funded by the private-sector companies on the board.

Who is managing the award and its finances?

The award is managed by a not-for-profit, non-advocacy organization: The Conference Board, a leading economic and business research group that was also selected by the Commerce Department to produce the Leading Economic Indicators.

Can we apply for the award in more than one category?
Yes you may, although most successful applications tend to be focused on a specific category or endeavor in which a company is particularly strong.

Who is eligible to apply for the award?
The Ron Brown Award is open to US corporations and to the US-based subsidiaries of non-US firms. Companies based outside the United States are not invited to apply.

Is the due date of the application the date you receive it or the postmarked date?
It is the date we receive it in our office. Please be sure it is addressed to The Ron Brown Award Administrator at The Conference Board.

What kind of financial data do you require if a company is privately owned and does not issue an annual report?
The annual report is requested to provide evidence of financial health, a premise which underlies success in the objectives of the Ron Brown Award. If your company does not publicly issue a financial statement, than some alternative that is provided to outsiders as evidence of your financial health is acceptable.

Many of the winning companies seem to be major national corporations. Do small companies stand a chance of winning?
Small companies are welcome to compete and have done so successfully in the past. Cascade Engineering, a smaller company, was a Ron Brown Award winner in 1998-1999.

Can we get copies of past winning applications to see how successful companies have done it?
As no company is asked to submit an application on the basis that it may be examined in detail by other than Conference Board staff, we are unable to share these private filings publicly. By and large, winning companies succeed by virtue of the compelling content of their applications not by their structure or style.