Compact Awards 2015

• Why enter a nomination?
• How to enter a nomination
• Categories for the 2015 Awards

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The Compact Awards celebrate and showcase outstanding Compact working across England.

Award winners will be chosen from groups, individuals, organisations and activities that demonstrate the very best of cross-sector partnership working. 

Why enter a nomination?

• Recognition of your work and your commitment and dedication to the Compact way of working
• Raising awareness of your local Compact and the partners signed up to it
• Affirming your knowledge of the Compact and commitment to working in partnership
• Helping to demonstrate your impact and add to your credibility
• Winners often receive press coverage which can be a great way of raising the profile of your organisation
• Even if you do not win, entering a nomination allows you and your organisation or group to appreciate how much you've achieved in the past year. We also publish case studies on the work of many of the shortlisted entries, as well as winners.

Announcing the winners last year, Rob Wilson MP, Minister for Civil Society, said: "This year’s winners show the positive impact that working together in partnership can have on local communities. I’m delighted to see so many nominations celebrating national and local partnerships delivering real change. I’d like to congratulate the winners for leading the way and showing how successful these partnerships can be when the voluntary sector and government work together."

How to enter a nomination

You can nominate yourself, another individual, a local Compact group or an organisation (both voluntary and community organisations and statutory bodies are eligible to enter).

If you are interested in submitting a nomination, please select the appropriate category from the list below and download the corresponding nomination form.

Please note that judges may move your nomination into a different category if they think it is better placed there.

Your nomination must include specific examples of projects or working practices which clearly demonstrate commitment to Compact principles or examples of positive outcomes that were achieved as a result of working in partnership across sectors.

Shortlisted entries will be promoted via the Compact Voice website, social media, our e-newsletter and published in a booklet which is distributed at the Compact Awards ceremony.

Looking at last year’s successful nominations may help you to think about your submission. The 2014 booklet with all the short-listed entries can be downloaded here

Further information – please read before submitting your nomination:

• There is a word limit of 500 words. Any text over the limit will be disregarded.
• Shortlisted entries may be edited for publication on the Compact Voice website and use in post-awards publicity.
• Nomination forms should be sent via e-mail to [email protected]
• Please include all the requested contact details on the nomination form (don’t forget your Twitter address if you tweet) along with a photograph.

Categories for the 2015 Awards

• Compact Advancing Equality Award
• Compact Engagement Award
• Compact Impact Award
• Compact Innovation Award
• Compact Leadership Award
• Local Compact Partnership Award
• Chris Frost Award

Compact Advancing Equality Award

Awarded to Compact partnerships, groups or activities which demonstrate an outstanding commitment to equality, through promoting services, activities, or events which help advance equality of opportunity, or actively seek to tackle and challenge discrimination.

Examples of best practice might include:

• Activities designed and delivered in partnership which are specifically targeted towards equality issues, or those protected characteristics described in the Equalities Act 2010
• Demonstrable support for the principles on equality and fairness as described in Principle 5 of the national Compact
• Collaboration and partnership activity which help further local actions and activities on promoting inclusion, equality and fairness 

Download the Advancing Equality Award nomination form (.doc)

Compact Engagement Award

This Award will be given to excellent examples of partnership working and use of the Compact, which have resulted in services being based on a comprehensive understanding of community need.

This will be awarded to a group or specific engagement programme which demonstrates exceptional effort to improve understanding of the impact of potential or emerging policies and programmes.

• Consultation or engagement exercises which embed the spirit of the Compact in their design and delivery, taking into account Compact Voice’s guidance on meaningful engagement
• Demonstrable support for Principle 2 of the national Compact
• Demonstration of how input and engagement with consultation activities and exercises has resulted in improvements to proposed service or policy design and delivery
• Examples from communities and stakeholders affected or engaged with consultation processes who have benefited from outstanding engagement processes

Download the Engagement Award nomination form (.doc)

Compact Impact Award

This Award is for a group or individual who has worked in partnership, using the principles of the Compact, to bring about demonstrable improvements for their community.

This award will recognise where use of the Compact principles and partnership working has supported and led to improved outcomes, while maintaining and supporting strong partnerships.

Examples of best practice might include:

• Examples of cross-sector partnership working that have had a clear impact and have improved the lives of service users, beneficiaries or those in the local community
• Using the principles of the Compact to engage in constructive dialogue, challenge policies, programmes, or changes to financial arrangements which would otherwise have negatively affected either or both sectors
• Demonstrable examples of where the Compact has been specifically used to improve policies, programmes, services, or financial arrangements
• Instances where Compact principles around clear arrangements for managing changes to programmes and services have been effectively and demonstrably used
• Demonstrable support for Principles 2, 3 or 4 of the national Compact

Download the Impact Award nomination form (.doc)

Compact Innovation Award

Awarded to the group or project which has developed a new approach or creative solutions to a challenging situation through cross-sector partnership working and using Compact principles.

This could include using Compact principles and expertise to challenge and mitigate difficulties with engagement, funding or lack of resources, new forms of communication or engagement (including social media), or improving reach or influence through innovative means or engaging with new cross-sector partners.

Examples of best practice in this category are likely to include:

Awarded to a group or partnership that has shown continued and outstanding commitment to the Compact, with demonstrable outcomes and improvements delivered for their communities.
 

Examples of best practice might include:

This year we will once again be giving a discretionary prize, previously known as the Chair’s Award, which will recognise an outstanding contribution to strengthening, supporting and improving partnership working between the statutory and voluntary sectors.

The award is named in honour of Chris Frost, Compact Voice board member and Chief Executive of Merton Voluntary Service Council, who sadly passed away in November 2013.

Nominations will not be accepted for this award.

Don't forget…

• The deadline for receipt of nominations is Monday 14 September 2015
• Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on the evening of Wednesday 4 November at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in London
• Read about the nominations which were successful last year in our booklet of the shortlisted entries
• If you have any questions about the Compact Awards, email [email protected]