The International Orienteering Federation sponsors a prize for the ‘Best scientific publication relating to Sustainability and Orienteering’.
Aim
The prize is intended to reward the best research paper on Sustainability and Orienteering. The research should consider the relationship between Orienteering and any or all of the core elements of Sustainability according to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations: economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection.
Deadlines
The prize will be awarded biannually. The first submission deadline is 31 December 2025 (submission to [email protected]), and the jury must decide by 31 March 2026.
Requirements for accepting applications
- Works must correspond to articles published or accepted for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals during the two years preceding the deadline (for the first deadline, only articles published or accepted for publication between January 2024 and December 2025 are accepted).
- The competition is open to candidates who are the article’s first Author or corresponding Author.
- Each candidate can only submit one article to the call.
- Original research papers and Reviews may be submitted and are equally eligible.
Prize
- The value of the prize will be announced on the IOF website early 2025 and it will be made available by bank transfer within one month of its announcement.
- The jury’s decisions will be e-mailed to the candidates.
Jury
- Articles submitted to the competition will be evaluated by an independent panel. The evaluation will be based on the journal’s Impact Factor and on the paper’s actual relevance to the sport of orienteering.
- The IOF website will provide information regarding the jury’s constitution.
- The jury is sovereign, deciding in total autonomy on all matters, from its internal organization to the article’s absolute and relative merit.
- The jury may decide not to award the Prize.
- The jury’s decisions will be final.
Criteria of evaluation
- Impact Factor (based on the database Scopus)
For the calculation of the publication value, the following equation will be applied:
PIFi = IFNi/IFNmax = Score based on the Impact Factor for the i.th publication
IFNi = IFi/IFsubject median = Normalised Impact Factor for the i.th publication
IFi = Impact Factor of the Journal where the i.th paper was published
IFsubject median = Median Impact Factor of the Journals belonging to the subject group (sector) of the publication
IFNmax = Highest normalised Impact Factor among the competing papers
If a paper comprises more than one subject group, the more favorable is adopted.
- Relevance for orienteering
To evaluate the relevance of the research relevance for the sport of orienteering, the following criteria will be considered:
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- Clarity of Research Question: Assess whether the publication addresses a clear and relevant research question or objective.
- Originality: The article must present novelties and significant contributions to the field of study.
- Contribution to Knowledge: Determine the extent to which the scientific publication advances knowledge in the field, including novelty, significance, and potential impact.
The jury will resolve all omitted or unanticipated situations in these regulations that may affect the running of this competition.