The awards process is a competitive, comparative process where the most significant, most impressive and most innovative projects all vie for the judges’ recognition. For reasons of fairness, judges can only rely on the information provided in the award application, so it’s essential you do justice to your project in your submission.
Many organisations, including QMCA, have streamlined their application process to reduce the effort and cost for applicants, particularly by reducing the emphasis on the bells and whistles of the physical submission.
But if you’re aspiring to win an award, don’t underestimate the importance of a clear, comprehensive and compelling submission. The vision you share, the story you tell, and the evidence you provide are crucial to distinguish your project from all the others. Here’s how to submit an application that shines a spotlight on your project for all the right reasons.
1) Do the simple stuff well
We’re talking here about the little big things, like making sure you answer the question. It’s surprisingly easy to wander off track when you have so much you want to say about your project. Read and re-read the question. Understand what’s being asked, and then focus on your answer.
Follow the order of the submission. The description of each QMCA Awards criterion comprises a set of questions: signpost these in your response to make it easy for the judges to follow where you’re at.
And always stick to the word limit or response weighting. QMCA has given a weighting to the criteria for this year’s awards. Use that as a guide to how much time to spend addressing each criterion. Know when to be concise and when to be expansive. The judges will thank you for it.
2) Tell a good story
All the blood, sweat and tears that went into your project are the nuts and bolts of a riveting story.
Your application should go beyond just the hard facts and figures – although these are obviously important. Good stories need a problem that must be solved, a set of obstacles, a community that needs reassurance, a clever solution, a demanding client, a project team working its collective butt off to deliver on time and within budget.
All projects have most, if not all, of these elements. Gather them up, sort through them, keep the best bits, and then use them to tell a good story that will spark the imagination of the judges.
3) Now prove it
Judges aren’t going to just take your word for it when you tell them your project innovation led to a 10 per cent reduction in waste or that there were no lost-time injuries during construction. You need to prove your claims with the most appropriate data.
Present the data in a format that either directly addresses the question or that best illustrates your story: don’t just retrofit existing tables or graphs used elsewhere. Choose your best photos and caption them meaningfully.
And don’t forget qualitative data like testimonials, survey results, research and case studies. They bring the human angle to your project which gives it life and makes your story more interesting for the judges.
And there you have it. Three tips to writing award submissions that get noticed.
If you need assistance with your 2021 QMCA award submissions, QMCA’s associate member Aurora Marketing is available to help. Contact their award submissions team on 1300 976 312 or email them at info@auroramarketing.com.au.
Aurora Marketing | Submission Specialists | Awards | Bids | Proposals | Grants
Learn more about the awards: https://qmca.com.au/qmca-awards-2020/
Download the submission criteria: https://qmca.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/QMCA-Award-Criteria-2020.pdf
