The BCI Research Awards were founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage the best BCI research projects each year. We also produce books through Springer Publishing with more details about the projects that were nominated for that year. The most recent book was the tenth book in this series. The BCI Award Foundation was established in 2017 to organize the award; before then, there was no official entity devoted to activities like jury and award selection.
The BCI Society was founded in 2015 to foster BCI research. The Early Career Awards began in 2021 to recognize the top people in BCI research.
Beyond these examples specific to BCIs, we are inspired by much older and larger entities and awards devoted to sci fi. Consider the impact from magazines like Galaxy Magazine, Weird Tales and Amazing Stories, or awards like the Hugo or Nebula Awards.