The Leadership in Collaboration Award is presented by Animal Health Canada. Recipients of this award must have demonstrated a commitment to farmed animal health and welfare through the promotion of public-private collaboration. Through their work in animal agriculture, in either in industry or government roles, recipients model collaboration, inclusive behaviour and mentorship. They strive to build relationships within both industry and Federal-Provincial/Territorial (FPT) governments to support the co-creation of animal health and welfare programs, policies, knowledge transfer or any other area that advances animal agriculture. 

• This award is open to individuals involved in both government and non-government organizations.
• Nominations may be made by individuals, governments or organizations and must be
• made before the deadline included in the call for nominations, and
• using the accompanying application form.

Criteria

Collaboration, inclusion and mentorship

Collaborative leadership is a practice where specific effort is made to effectively connect, engage and work with a diverse group of sectors, governments and stakeholder representatives to guide decision making. This can be demonstrated by:

• Encouraging the sharing of information within and between teams and exploring different perspectives on common issues to support discussion
• Proactively reaching out to impacted stakeholders on specific work areas to increase transparency, inclusion and the connection of ideas
• Demonstration of mentorship and future leader development 

Relationship Building

This key leadership skill is critical to move forward on One Health and One Welfare issues given the breadth of initiatives and stakeholders. Demonstration of this skill set is as follows:

• Models honesty, integrity and openness in relationships with others
• Demonstration of inclusive leadership behaviours such as building and leading diverse teams, identifying bias in decision-making or policies and practices, and actively supporting positive behaviours through effective communication and conflict resolution
• Meets the needs of teams and collaborators by offering constructive feedback, practicing active listening and leveraging the strength of the team to build trust and work toward consensus

Leadership

Leaders are motivational and have not just ideas but accomplishments. Leadership can be measured by impact, such as:

• Involvement in industry or professional boards and committees
• Active participation and leadership on industry and industry/government committees focused on animal health and welfare
• Demonstration of creating impact through influence
• Demonstration of innovative solutions in research, policy, program delivery or farming which enhance animal health and welfare