DIAMOND AWARDS

East Central Florida
Diamond Awards

Named in honor of the ECFRPC’s 60th anniversary, the East Central Florida Diamond Awards showcase the region’s best urban planning projects and efforts.

The ECF Diamond Awards help inform decision-makers and other professionals about the best practices across the region.

The Diamond Awards showcase the region’s best projects and conservation efforts that elevate, promote, or strengthen the quality of life and future of the region. The Diamond Awards celebrate innovative approaches to planning that inform decision-makers and other professionals about best practices from across the region.

The ECFRPC is a non-profit organization that has been serving the region for over 60 years. The ECFRPC’s mission is to create a healthy, sustainable, thriving, and resilient region. From cruise ships to rocket ships, villages and celebrations, over the past six decades, the ECFRPC has seen the region become one of the fastest-growing, home to the world's most attended tourist attractions, and a leader in cutting-edge off-world technology. While the region faces many challenges, the ECF Diamond Awards help highlight the positive impacts planners and leaders are having on our rapidly evolving region.

The inaugural ECF Diamond Awards cohort celebrated noteworthy projects from across the region including a land bank in Osceola, a resiliency hub and community center in Cape Canaveral, an urban farm in downtown Orlando, a downtown redevelopment plan in one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation, and an industrial park plan aimed at bringing high-paying careers to an economically disadvantaged community.

This year's award class will include the addition of a brand-new Technology and Big Data award and the revamped Honorable Mention, now known as the Executive Award of Regional Significance. This award is hand-selected by the ECFRPC's Executive Director from among all applicants to call out a specific project that highlights the community-driven growth vision that guides all work at the ECFRPC.

2024 Award Categories

To be eligible, submissions must align with the criteria for the category in which it is submitted. Up to two categories may be selected per submission. Submissions are evaluated on how closely they align with goals for the categories submitted. Any project, program, or plan started, completed, or worked on between October 2018 and September 2023 is eligible.

The Brilliance Award is the highest honor award. It is presented to an individual, program, or organization that exemplifies the spirit of regional cooperation, dedication to their community, and notable achievement in realizing the six guiding principles. This award is designed to highlight sustained, long-term, servant leadership with a focus on how the entity, program, or person has improved the region and our communities, as witnessed through both quantitative and qualitative findings.	The Regional Prosperity Award focuses on economic development, cross-generational wealth building, and community reinvigoration.	The Conservation & Countryside Award highlights projects, programs, or plans that further environmental preservation, agriculture food systems, and ensure positive impacts on rural communities.
The Innovative Places award recognizes noteworthy projects, programs, or plans that improve the region through placemaking, community planning, and improvements to the built environment.	The Excellence in Big Data & Technology Award highlights novel uses of technology and data that provide actionable insights	The Health & Equity award showcases work in the realms of equity, demographics, health, and cross-generational lifestyle improvements.

In addition to the awards listed above, an additional award will be honored. This Executive Award of Regional Significance celebrates a submission of exceptional impact on the region as a whole. This award is hand-picked by the Executive Director based on the positive impact of the project or program. All submissions across all other categories are eligible and considered for the Executive Award.

For more information on the 2024 ECF Diamond Awards, please review this PDF informational packet.