We are proud to recognize our members’ work
The OGC runs several awards to honor and recognize individuals and organizations that go above and beyond in advancing, promoting, and supporting the application and interoperability of geospatial technologies.
Gardels Award
The Kenneth D. Gardels Award is a gold medallion presented each year by the Board of Directors of the OGC to an individual who has made exemplary contributions to OGC’s consensus standards process. Award nominations are made by members – the prior Gardels Award winners – and approved by the Board of Directors. The Gardels Award was conceived to memorialize the spirit of a man who dreamt passionately of making the world a better place through open communication and the use of information technology to improve the quality of human life.
David Schell Lifetime Achievement Award
With the David Schell Lifetime Achievement Award, OGC recognizes and celebrates an individual’s lifetime of service, and their steadfast support of interoperability, open standards, and the OGC mission as a component of effective governance and improved decision making. David Schell Lifetime Achievement Awards are given to recipients on an ad-hoc basis, and at the behest of the consortium’s Board of Directors. The first OGC Lifetime Achievement Award was granted to Charles Roswell in July 2007. The award was renamed from the Lifetime Achievement Award to the David Schell Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, after David Schell was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award during OGC’s 30th Anniversary Celebration, OGC@30.
Community Impact Award
The Community Impact Award award is given to a team, organization, or group of organizations that has made an impact in the OGC Community over the course of the previous calendar year. OGC Community Impact awards highlight the importance of collaboration, volunteering time and energy, advancing technologies and standards, and raising awareness of and solving issues over a relatively short period of time.
Global Impact Award
The Global Impact Award award is given to an individual that has made global impact using OGC technologies. OGC Global Impact Awards highlight the power of interoperability, collaboration, and standards, to address issues across the globe.
Board Chair’s Award for Excellence
The OGC Board Chair Award for Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions to advancing interoperability and fostering an interconnected geospatial ecosystem. The award honors organizations that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in developing and/or implementing OGC standards and best practices to promote the exchange and seamless integration of data and information.
The OGC Board Chair Award for Excellence serves to acknowledge and celebrate those who are driving innovation and progress in geospatial interoperability, ultimately leading to a more efficient, effective, and impactful use of geospatial information.