The letter of support should be submitted by a person with first-hand knowledge of the nominee or team of nominees or nominated organization/institution, although preferably not in their direct reporting line, who can endorse/validate the candidate(s) contribution or supply additional information. 

Please describe in your letter why the candidate(s) should receive the award. The letter should describe the candidate(s) work and how it is aligned with the purpose, eligibility, and criteria of the award, specify its impact on the discipline, and convey the significance (scientific or other) of this effort, as well as the benefits it brings to society. Please evaluate the suggested candidate(s) academic qualifications and their international reputation in their field of research, if applicable, as well as the quality and originality of their achievement(s), and indicate your final recommendation. 

Please note:

To reduce the burden on the scientific community, we will request letters of support only for candidates identified as particularly promising during the selection process. The requests are expected to be sent out in early September, and there will be an approximate processing time of four weeks. 
 

The following questions may help you draft your letter of support: 

1. Please begin by providing a brief resume of your (own) career. This should be no longer than three (3) sentences. 
2. Briefly describe your scientific and/or professional relationship to the candidate(s). Are you working or have been working: in the same field, institution, collaborating team, in or with the organization or institution? Please indicate all activities within the past five years and the near future. 
3. Please indicate any potential conflict of interest that may arise from writing this letter of support. Please acknowledge all financial support you may have received from or together with the candidate(s) and any other personal connections. Please indicate all relevant activities within the past five years and the near future. 
4. Do you feel able and in the position to write this letter of support? Please describe briefly why or why not. 
5. Are the candidate(s) achievements aligned with the purpose of the award? If so, why and to which of the award objectives (link objectives) did the candidate/team of candidates or organization/institution contribute in particular? Please include significant achievements that they have made within the last five years. 
6. Describe the impact the candidate/team of candidates/institution/organization has had. One of the easiest ways to think about impact is to consider insights or findings that wouldn’t have been produced without their input. 
7. What makes their achievement(s) particularly unique and worthy of recognition? 
8. Is the nominee or the team of nominees solely responsible for the cited accomplishment(s), or are there other people involved with whom the candidate/team of candidates should share this award? 

Letters of support by trainees should briefly outline the professional relationship to the candidate and demonstrate the candidate’s mentorship and impact on the trainee’s career. Please also use the set of questions above as guidance, where applicable.