Categories and entry guidelines
Category 1: Website
Your charity’s website is often the first place that people will go to find out information about your charity, what you do and what you stand for. Judges will look for:
- information for the public about the research you fund
what you fund, why you fund it, examples of the research you fund
- information for researchers
research strategy, application and decision making process, peer review, grants terms and conditions
- information about the impact of your research.
case studies, evaluation, outcomes
Category 2: Annual report or review
Presenting your accounts in an annual report is a legal requirement, but an annual report or review is also a great way to highlight to donors and supporters the impact of the research you fund and demonstrate how this links to your charitable objects. The judges will look for:
- descriptions of what your charity does and why
- how your research achievements fit into the big picture (scientifically, and in relation to your goals and strategy)
- how research you fund has made a difference
- what still needs to be done and the challenge this represents.
Category 3: Newsletter
In this category we recognise the best examples of writing for a lay audience in a magazine or newsletter, aimed at engaging supporters, donors and stakeholders with your research. The judges will look for good descriptions of research and the contribution that the research has made to overall knowledge and understanding in the field. They will consider how your charity communicates information about:
- the state of knowledge about research in the field
- the charity’s current research activities
- disease conditions and current treatments
- new areas of research
- how to get involved in clinical studies.
Category 4: Social media
We’ve introduced this category for this year’s awards to reflect how charities are increasingly using social media tools to connect with their audiences. If you are using social networks (Facebook, Twitter) video (YouTube), audio (podcasts), and blogs to talk about your research, tell us about it in this category. The judges will look at how your charity is using social media to:
- communicate about your charity’s research and the strategy behind it
- listen to and connect with the public in conversations about your research
- engage with your audience on research and health stories.
Category 5: Campaigning and public affairs
Tell us about how you have been using your voice in an awareness or public affairs campaign on a research issue. Campaigning can include:
- lobbying and public affairs activities aimed at influencing decision makers
- organised action taken by supporters, demonstrating concern
- awareness-raising activities.
Category 6: Patient involvement and public engagement
In 2009, AMRC published Natural ground, our report describing the experiences of a learning set of AMRC members in their approaches to patient and public involvement (PPI) in their research activities. Entries in this category should tell us about an engagement or involvement project, which could include:
- PPI in developing a research strategy
- PPI in making research funding decisions
- Providing information about research to patients and the public (lab tours, research events for supporters, providing lay summaries of research).
Judges will look at supporting materials such as training programmes, lay-friendly information about research and the research process. This category is not about involving patients as the subject of a form of research.
Category 7: Science in the media
Has your research featured on television, radio or in the press? Maybe you worked on an exclusive research story or ended up sitting on The One Show’s sofa commenting on a new area of research?
In this new category for AMRC’s awards we want to recognise our charities’ successes in responsibly promoting their research in the media. Tell us about a journalistic research story that you contributed to, describing your aims in communicating through the media, the extent of your involvement, whether it was part of a proactive campaign or providing expert reaction to a breaking story, and the impact on your organisation.
Special awards
The judges will award three special prizes to exceptional entries across the seven categories.
- Outstanding design
The entry with the best use of design across any of the seven categories
- Excellence from a smaller charity
The best example of any communication from a charity with a total annual charitable expenditure of less than £1million
- Overall winner
The overall winner will be chosen from the winners of each of the seven categories.
General guidelines
- All entries must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 26 November 2010. Late entries will not be accepted.
- All entries should relate to work primarily carried out between November 2008 and October 2010 (except for the website award).
- Links to online material must be active until March 2011.
- Charities may enter as many categories as they wish, but should only submit one entry per category, and should not submit the same entry in more than one category. To check eligibility in any category or for other enquires related to the awards, please contact Sara Ellis.
- Please note that we are moving office during the course of the competition, which may result in some delays in acknowledging your queries.
- Summaries from shortlisted entries may appear on the AMRC website and in publications for the awards dinner. Please keep to the word limit. There will be an opportunity to edit business-sensitive information from your summary prior to publication.
- Receipt of entries will be acknowledged by email.
- We are unable to return entries.
- Shortlisted entries will be asked to supply six additional copies of publications/supporting materials for the final round of judging.
- To check on the progress of the competition, please visit the AMRC website: www.amrc.org.uk.
All entries will be judged on
Presentation – quality of writing, readability and use of images
Content – whether the scientific component of the entry is accurate and understandable to a non-expert
Suitability – whether the entry fulfils the objectives and meets the needs of your target audience.
Category specific guidelines
Categories 1 to 3
- Please submit the link to your charity’s homepage or research webpages (category 1) or four copies of the publication (categories 2-3)
- Four copies of a summary document (350 words maximum) outlining the project in terms of: audience, needs, objectives, process, achievements and evaluation
Judging criteria for these categories:
- Presentation, scientific content and design of the website or publication (70%)
- The success of the entry against its initial objectives as set out in the summary document (30%)
Categories 4 to 7
- Please submit four copies of a summary (1000 words maximum) of the social media activity, campaign, initiative or media activity, outlining the strategy in terms of: audience, needs, objectives, process, achievements and evaluation
- You can add any supporting materials such as links to online material, brochures, pictures, clippings, other media
Judging criteria for these categories:
- The creativity and success of the campaign against its initial objectives as set out in the summary document (70%)
- Presentation, scientific content and design of the supporting materials (30%)
Special award – excellence from a smaller charity
Charities with a total charitable expenditure of under £1million in the most recently completed financial year have an additional chance to win under this award. Please indicate your eligibility on the entry form, this will be confirmed against AMRC member subscription data.
6 September 2010