Education and Research Foundation (BMERF), at the strong urging of its membership, endeavored to develop a financial incentive program to reward and encourage excellence and productivity in research and teaching . As a multispecialty group, it was important to the group to treat all specialties fairly and equitably. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM/INTERVENTION: The chairs of each academic department (Emergency Medicine, Medicine, OB/Gyn, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery) nominated one member from each department to a Committee on Academic Excellence. Committee members identified a set of achievement criteria and then weighted them to form a quantitative measurement scale.