The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) has opened nominations for the 2027 Sepp Heim Award, which recognises individuals or organisations that have made significant contributions to prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) services, training and care in less-resourced settings. Nominations close on 30 December 2026, and the award will be formally recognised at the ISPO 21st World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2027.
For India, where limb camps, government institutes and NGOs deliver much of the country’s prosthetic and orthotic care to people who cannot afford it, the award’s focus on service in less-resourced settings is closely relevant.
What is the Sepp Heim Award?
ISPO says the award is named in honour of Sepp Heim for his lifelong dedication and visionary leadership in the global P&O community, and celebrates those who embody excellence, service and impact. According to ISPO’s awards page, it was established in 2021, and past recipients are Carson Harte (2021), Sandra Sexton (2023) and Christian Schlierf (2025).
Who can be nominated, and by whom?
Both individuals and organisations are eligible. ISPO invites ISPO members and National Member Societies to make the nominations, so candidates are put forward by others rather than applying themselves. The announcement lists three areas of contribution.
The first is impactful service: an exceptional commitment to expanding access to affordable, quality mobility and rehabilitation care in less-resourced settings. The second is education and training: outstanding contributions to local capacity, workforce training or institutional development. The third is innovation and leadership: pioneering efforts that improve the quality of life of people with physical disabilities.
Key dates
The submission deadline is 30 December 2026, which leaves about seven weeks. The award will be recognised at the Bangkok congress in March 2027. Nominators should use the nomination route given in ISPO’s announcement.
What it means for India’s O&P sector
India has a long record of the kind of work the award describes. Large-scale free fitting, calliper distribution and limb camps, institutes that train prosthetists and orthotists, and decades-old low-cost technologies such as the Jaipur Foot all fit the themes of access, affordability and local capacity. The announcement does not suggest that any Indian candidate has been identified, and Bharat CPO is not proposing names. The point is that the criteria match the kind of work Indian organisations and individuals have done for years.
Because nominations must come from ISPO members and National Member Societies, the practical route for an Indian candidate runs through the national society or individual ISPO members. Organisations that want a colleague or programme considered should speak to ISPO members they know well before the end of December, and prepare a short summary of the candidate’s service, training and leadership contributions with figures where possible.
How Indian organisations can prepare
A strong nomination will likely rest on evidence of reach and durability: how many people have been served, how long the work has continued, and what local capacity it has left behind, for example trained technicians, new centres or institutions that now run without outside support. That is a general observation, not a statement of ISPO’s assessment process, so nominators should read the full criteria on ISPO’s pages.
Bharat CPO Perspective
Much of India’s P&O work is carried out by people who rarely seek recognition: district limb-fitting centre staff, camp organisers, trainers in government and NGO institutes, and clinicians who travel to remote communities. International awards are one way to make that work visible to funders, policymakers and the next generation of CPOs. They can also strengthen the case for the last-mile services that Indian practitioners have been calling for.
Related coverage on Bharat CPO includes Rajesh Das on moving from assistive-device schemes to last-mile services, the debate on free O&P distribution camps, the ALIMCO-HURL CSR partnership and O&P Business.
Suggested hyperlinks / sources
- ISPO awards page (background and past recipients)
- ISPO: eulogy for Sepp Heim
- Bharat CPO: last-mile services
- Bharat CPO: O&P Business