NIH Employee Awards
NIH Employee Recognition Award:
NIH employee recognition awards include, Special Act, On-the-Spot, Performance, On-the-Spot, Time Off, QSI, Referral, Suggestion & Invention.
- NIH Awards Handbook (.pdf)
- NIH Awards Nomination Form (Individual and Group Awards) (.doc)
- NIH Manual 2300-451-1 - NIH Employee Awards Program
NIH Director's Award:
The purpose of the NIH Director’s Award is to recognize employees who exhibited superior performance or special efforts significantly beyond their regular duty requirements, but directly related to fulfilling the NIH mission.
- Award Categories, Eligibility, and Criteria
- Awards Review Committee
- NIH Director's Award Nomination Form (.doc)
- NIH Award for Mentoring
- Mentoring Criteria (.pdf)
- Mentoring Nomination Form (.doc)
- Submit Nomination for NIH Director's Award (NIH Only - Powered by WiTS)
NIH Employee Referral Award Program:
HHS Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service:
This is an honor award granted by the Department and is conferred by the Secretary for service that significantly advanced the Department's mission and goals. It represents a display(s) of leadership, skill, ability, and customer service performed in such a manner that the team and/or the employee performed significantly above those with similar duties, and that the results of these efforts were distinctly beneficial to the Department. This award is an appropriately inscribed plaque.
- HHS Award Criteria
- HHS Awards Policy (.doc)
- HHS Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service Nomination Deadline: Usually January 5th each year, or the first regular workday following January 5th, if the 5th is a weekend or holiday
OPM Presidential Rank Awards:
Commissioned Officer Awards:
- Awards Information
- Nomination Forms
- Commissioned Officer Awards Nomination Deadline: May 8th and August 29th
Non-HHS Awards
Various organizations outside the Department sponsor awards for which HHS employees may be nominated. The eligibility and criteria requirements for each type of award are described in the OPM's annual Honor Awards Planning Guide.






