Awards Trust Mark – Outstanding

In order to achieve the highest standard of awards accreditation, The Awards Trust Mark – Outstanding, an award programme must have already launched and run for a year, as well as met the criteria for both the Standard Awards Trust Mark and Awards Trust Mark – Advanced as well:

Awards Trust Mark –  Accredited:

1. The awards programme is open and inclusive to all within the specified region and sectors stated on the website, with no unwritten filtering. The programme being restricted to clients or association members is acceptable only if clearly stated. Any filtering of applicants – based on personal or internal judgement – by brand name, company size, perceived reputation etc. is not allowed, unless they pose a reputational risk to your organisation or industry.
2. The Judging process must be stated on the website for both the shortlisting stage, and the final selection of a winners and must be followed accordingly. .
3. All judges must be independent and not employed by companies that have a commercial interest in ceremony ticket sales, advertising etc. or a conflict of interest with the nominees.If an award organiser/director or sponsor is part of the judging panel, there has to be a very clear rationale for this (e.g. they are an industry expert and/or have no commercial interest in the winning outcomes).
4. There must be no compulsion that finalists must attend the awarding event, without foregoing their position. (i.e. If a winner is not able to attend, the prize is not given to another entrant). (Only compulsory to attend if free tickets are given and it’s clear before not after entering)
5. A detailed entry process must be publicised on the website which must include entry, closing, judging/finalist and awarding dates as well as all rules, information on the stages of the entry process, what to expect next and other important information.
6. There is no charge for using the awards logo (or supplied winning roundels) or the promotion of a win.
7. Winners are provided quotes for press releases for free whenever requested.
8. Finalists and Winners are publicly declared (including on website) within 7 days of the awarding date.
9. There must be complete fee transparency on the website. This includes entry costs (available before entries open), ceremony/attendance fees (available before entries close) and other associated membership fees or optional costs like duplicate trophies.
10. The website must be clear and easy to navigate via the home page and none of the information below should be behind registration or pay-walls. This must include:
    • Entry and awarding dates (on the home page as dates not just countdown timers),
    • Entry process
    • Categories
    • Entry and attendance fees
    • Judging panel
    • Ts & Cs
    • Contact details (not just a form)
11. There is no ‘pay wall’ to access the application form questions before applying. If not on the website, they must be available on request.
12. An email for applicants must be provided and easy to find. Enquiry emails should receive responses within 24-48 hours – depending on what stage of the entry process they are at.

Awards Trust Mark – Advanced:

13. Judges feedback to entrants on why they didn’t win must be given, if asked. This must be specific feedback to that entry, not general or category specific. It can be just a score vs. benchmarks but sanitised judges’ comments as well as scores is preferable.
14. Non-disclosure agreements must be signed by every judge (digital acceptance through entry platforms is acceptable if legally binding). Returning judges must sign each year they take part.
15. Your programme must have a clear and fair scoring system that is used by all judges and removes any opportunity for bias and inconsistency. It must also be published on the website. If you claim ‘it’s strict and fair’, explain how.
16. All finalists and winners are scored and decided upon by at least two independent judges.

Awards Trust Mark – Outstanding:

17. Pay to enter awards: entrants must either receive automatic feedback and/or scores via an online portal. Alternatively, they must receive an email, within two weeks of the winners being announced, telling the entrant that feedback is available on request and how to request it.
    
    Free to enter awards: automatic feedback is not compulsory when there is not a fee to enter, but feedback and/or scores must be made available to entrants upon request, and a fee may be charged for written feedback, but not scores.
    In both instances, this must be specific feedback to that entry, not general or category specific.
18. Training or a detailed briefing must be given to all judges in the form of a briefing pack, webinar, or in-person briefing on judging day. This should include clear instructions on the scoring framework and guidelines, criteria they are scoring against (and weighted percentages), and should offer some guidance on being unbiased.
19. All finalists and winners are scored and decided upon by at least three independent judges. If only two, a third judge must be brought in to assess every entry shortlisted when a mutual decision can’t be made.

Optional Extra Criteria – Awards Trust Mark “Industry Leaders”:

20. Judging must be a minimum of a 2-stage process: either online scoring and a Judging Day or scoring and then in-person finalist interviews.
21. Your programme must have a clear and fair scoring system that is used by all judges, with published weighting percentages for entrants to see, adding more weight to more important criteria. Judges scores will be cross-referenced to ensure there are no possibilities of bias and inconsistency.
22. Judges do not automatically award a winner for a category, purely because they’re the highest scorer. ‘Gold’ or ‘Winner’ prizes must only be awarded if judges believe they are worthy and have met a predefined minimum standard.
23. Please explain the exact step-by-step judging process – from entry forms and how they align with the criteria and scoring, how many judges per category, how the decisions are made and what scoring system is used.

This level of accreditation requires verification by a member of the Independent Awards Standards Council. Please note that new awards in their first year are not eligible for Advanced or Outstanding Trust Marks as we cannot check references.

If you wish to apply for the ‘Awards Trust Mark – Outstanding’ accreditation for the first time please first complete the eligibility check below.