This award recognizes excellence in the development and coordination of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs and conferences. It honours individuals or teams who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in designing educational experiences that engage learners, address practice needs, and achieve meaningful outcomes.
Nominees will have demonstrated excellence in program planning, learner engagement, educational design, evaluation, and impact. Successful programs reflect a commitment to improving professional practice and advancing lifelong learning for health professionals.
Named in honour of Dr. Colin Woolf, this is one of three awards that recognize his lasting contributions to CPD. An early advocate for interactive learning and learner engagement, Dr. Woolf championed high standards in CPD and helped shape the Faculty of Medicine’s approach to continuing education during his tenure as Associate Dean, Continuing Medical Education from 1985 to 1990.
One award is presented annually at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine Education Achievement Celebration.
Award Criteria
- Excellence in program or conference development demonstrated through rigorous needs assessments, outcome-focused instructional design, and comprehensive evaluation plan. Evidence may include but is not limited to:
- Needs assessment surveys, focus groups, gap analyses
- Documentation showing alignment with professional competencies, accreditation standards, or regulatory requirements
- Testimonials from stakeholders confirming the program addressed priority needs
- Environmental scans or benchmarking against similar programs
- Demonstrated excellence in learner engagement through instructional methods that are thoughtfully selected to enhance active learning, knowledge retention, and application (e.g. interactive, case-based, experiential learning), and/or use of innovative approaches (e.g. digital tools, novel formats) where appropriate to enhance access and effectiveness.
- Demonstrated fulfillment of program objectives through evidence of program outcomes and evaluation results.
- Integration of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations into needs assessments, learning objectives, subject/content, and/or intended audience.
- Evidence of effective evaluation strategy and outcomes measures.
- Demonstrated impact of program through evidence of changes in knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, or intentions to change practice.
Eligibility
- The program or conference must have included strong involvement from members of the University of Toronto community, including staff and faculty.
- An individual or a committee/group may be nominated for this award. Group nominations will need to identify a group representative (e.g. Conference Chair or Program Director) as well as provide the details for all members of the group.
- This award recognizes accredited programs that took place in the previous five years.
How to Submit a Nomination
- Nominations open in September 2026 and can be submitted until 11:59 pm on December 14, 2026.
- All nominations must be submitted through the online nomination form.
- Nominations can be completed by anyone within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine with knowledge of the nominee’s work.
Nomination Requirements
When completing the online form you will be asked for the following:
- Short statements on how the nominee meets each criterion (around 300 words per statement)
- Upload program/conference information dossier that includes:
- Copy of or live link to the program/conference agenda
- Needs assessment process and data on which the program/conference was developed
- Documentation of planning committee members
- Statement of program objectives
- Statement of learning outcomes if relevant (may be addressed in objectives)
- Data on learning outcomes (eg., data demonstrating changes in knowledge, behaviours, attitudes; feedback data stating proposed changes to practice by participants)
- Evaluation/outcome data
- Participant comments
Optional Submission Documents
- Links to descriptions of previous programs MAY be submitted to show evolution of the program/conference if it has gone through major development over time (no more than two years)
- Curriculum Vitae (for background reference only)
How to Submit a Nomination
- Nominations open in September 2026 and can be submitted until 11:59 pm on December 14, 2026.
- All nominations must be submitted through the online nomination form.
- Nominations can be completed by anyone within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine with knowledge of the nominee’s work.
