Winning recognition: how to win an award

Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities, Featured

A little recognition goes a long way, and there’s no bigger boost than picking up an officially recognised gong for your hard work and achievements. But how do you make your entry leap out from the rest?

This month, 24housing launches our own Retrofit Best Practice Award for social landlords, and entries are also now open for the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) Awards 2010. Paul Amourdedieu at Acceleris Marketing Communications and NFA Award organiser, shares his tips for optimising your chances.

In it, to win it
The NFA Awards are among the most prestigious in the social housing sector. Every year, ALMO tenants, executives and employees gather to celebrate the dedication, innovation and hard work displayed on a day-to-day basis across the ALMO movement.

Entering any Awards programme is a great way of motivating staff and praising those who have done something particularly great or different. There are many housing award programmes open in the UK and deciding to enter is only the first step.

Every year, the NFA Awards receive hundreds of entries, but there can only be one winner in each category. So what makes an entry stand out? If you plan to enter, how can you increase the chances that your entry will be amongst the finalists on the night?

Natural selection
The first thing to do is choose your entry carefully. No matter how important a particular project is to your own organisation, if it has already been done elsewhere, you’ll need to ensure there are individual elements, and highlight them. The judges look for innovation and original thinking, so, where possible, choose the new, the unusual, the interesting.

Imitation - the highest form of flattery
Best practice is a key theme. Each year’s winners are held up as sources of inspiration to the rest of the social housing sector of how to make a real difference. So ask yourself: could your project be replicated by other ALMOs or housing associations?

The winner of the Most Effective Partnership category 2009 was a scheme in which vulnerable tenants were employed to provide refurbishments such as internal decorating and gardening to other elderly or vulnerable tenant’s homes. What a great way of giving training and work experience to those that need it most! This project could be replicated across any housing association.

First impressions count
As with most things in life, presentation is important. Make sure that you fill in the form correctly, don’t leave out any required information, and present your case in a clear and straightforward way. Both 24housing’s Retrofit Best Practice Award and The NFA Awards entry process have strict rules for the presentation of submissions, so be meticulous about ensuring these are adhered to.

The end game
When compiling the shortlist of finalists, another key consideration for the judges will be whether a particular project has tangible results. So ask yourself: what’s the bottom line? Does your favoured project have a solid and citeable end result? If it does not, perhaps because it is still ongoing, it may not be the best choice for entry.

The project that won the Best use of Communication category in the 2009 awards was one ALMOs’ use of A4 plastic magnifying glasses. These were distributed to elderly and visually impaired tenants to assist them to access ALMO communication documents. This was a simple project with obvious cost benefits as it removed the need to produce each piece of communication in different font sizes.

Mind your language
Finally avoid council and housing sector jargon. You may feel that your project is a ‘predictor of beaconicity’ and that ‘coterminous stakeholder engagement’ is an essential element, but remember, although the judges are senior members of housing organisations, jargon is unnecessary and suggests disengagement from the real world. Be clear, concise and to the point.

INFO:
The fourth annual NFA Awards will be held on July 15 as part of the Annual Conference at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Entry and details at www.almos.org.uk/awards.php

For more details on how to enter 24housing’s Retrofit Best Practice Award, go to http://www.24dash.com/campaigns