It was renowned American inventor Thomas A. Edison who did the math (so to speak) and produced the formula that tells us genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Edison's point was that great ideas don't pop out of some mystical nether realm and into the head of a noted inventor or innovator fully formed. A bright idea only bears fruit after being fertilized and nourished by a whole lot of hard work.

A variation of Edison's famous "genius" quote — "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." — includes the following precursory observation: "None of my inventions came by accident. I see a worthwhile need to be met and I make trial after trial until it comes." That's precisely the spirit behind the IT Certification Council's annual Innovation Award.

Certification benefits many different people in information technology already, but there are always ways of making it better — more useful, more impactful, more immune to the negative consequences of bad apples. The ITCC is looking for someone who, as Edison put it, saw a need and jumped in with both feet to address that need. That's the kind of solution-driven thinking that merits recognition and respect not just from the ITCC, but from all of us.

So if you've seen a bright idea tied to certification emerge at your workplace, or come together through the efforts a friend or colleague, then the IT Certification Council wants to know about. The ITCC will be accepting nominations for its annual Innovation Awards from now through Dec. 8. That gives you three weeks to look around, assess the possible nominees in your sphere, and take action.

Once you've identified the right innovation and the person or people behind it, then you need to dash off a brief document that addresses, in 1,000 or fewer words, the following qualifications:

• Provide a description of the innovation.
• Provide a description of how that innovation came together.
• Provide a description of the value or benefits from the innovation to the various stakeholders.
• Provide a description of the measureable results.
• Provide a description of What lessons were learned as a result of this innovation.

Then just send your recommendation to the IT Certification Council. Nothing to it, right? After all, the really hard work was done by the person or people who already brought the innovation to fruition. You're just helping to ensure that more people find out about it, and that the innovators get a little of the respect and admiration that is due them for their efforts.

The 2017 Innovation Award will be presented at a special ITCC event during the ATP Innovations in Testing Conference to be held March 5-8 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. Past Innovation Awards recipients include Larry Kaye of Microsoft Learning and Clyde Seepersad of the Linux Foundation.

Don't just wait to find out who the next winner will be — look around at the certification innovators in your neck of the woods and send a nomination in today!