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CATEGORY SPONSOR:
2020 Application pack
Investing in your Community AwardFor the organisation that best demonstrates a positive impact on communities through going beyond its core business to invest time, resources and expertise to tackle disadvantage
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Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Important information about making an entry
1. Entries must be submitted via email only to [email protected] by 17:00 Friday 28 February 2020.
2. A separate application form is required for each entry.
3. The finished application must not exceed 10MB in size. Our server can receive a document of this size, but please check that your server can send a document of this size.
4. The application form must not be converted into any other type of document – only MS Word documents will be accepted.
5. If including images, you will find it easier to keep within the size limit if you, or your IT department, optimise images for screen viewing (72 pixels per inch).
6. Please DO NOT submit supplementary printed or recorded materials, as these WILL NOT be considered. Only the information included in the application form itself will be assessed
during shortlisting. If you reach the judging stage, there will be an opportunity to personally expand upon the information in your application during a meeting with a panel of judges.
7. Eligibility – this award is open to private or public sector organisations of any size based in Northern Ireland whether members of Business in the Community or not. Please note applications will not be considered for this category if the entry is based on your core business or what your organisation is funded to deliver.
8. Total word count is 2,500 words for the whole of section 2 (the section of the form that is marked, not including 500 for the unmarked summary).
9. Guidance on what to include in each section is included within the form – please follow the guidance to increase your chances of scoring well.
Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland 2020. Send completed form to [email protected] by 17:00 Friday 28 February 2020.
Please remember that there are an additional 5 marks available for Innovation and Transferability.
Top tips on completing an entry
Explain the obvious – assume the judges know nothing about your organisation or the programme in question.
Emphasise the business benefits and benefits to employees, the community and other stakeholders, where applicable.
Judges are looking for clear examples of responsible business practice that go above and beyond your core business activity in terms of demonstrating commitment to pro-active social, economic and environmental sustainability by both management and the whole organisation, acting as a role model for other organisations and helping to set and exceed standards for responsible business practice.
DO NOT restrict your entry to initiatives where you are involved with Business in the Community. We are particularly interested
in other initiatives and projects that companies have initiated outside of their Business in the Community relationship. The focus must be on activity within a Northern Ireland context.
When describing an established project, try to demonstrate how it is sustainable and replicable in other organisations. Pilot schemes may be used if you can demonstrate how these have related to the broader community engagement context within the organisation and if they have solid measured analysis.
Clearly demonstrate the impact of any work/programme referred to and how it was measured
Stick to the word limit – entries which are more than 10% over the total 2,500 total will be asked to re-submit after editing
The Judging ProcessBusiness in the Community personnel participate only in the initial shortlisting of entries and not in the judging of the final results. All applications will be read, scored and shortlisted by Business in the Community in March. In each category, the top shortlisted entries will be invited to meet with the judging panel for that category in April to answer questions and further explain the details of their entry. The application will count for 60% of the final marks given, with the remaining 40% decided on the day of the meeting with the judges.The winners in each category will be announced at the Gala Awards Dinner at the ICC Belfast on 28 May 2020. Judging will take place at Girdwood Community Hub on 21 & 22 April 2020.
Every attempt will be made to provide shortlisted companies with 7-10 working days’ notice prior to the date of their meeting with the judges.The judging panel for each category will normally consist of three people, including the category sponsor and a recognised ‘expert’ in the subject in question. A representative from Business in the Community will be available to assist the judges with additional information, but will not take part in the judging.
Judges will be looking for evidence of the following in completed entries:
Clearly defined vision and goals Strongly developed business case
Senior level commitment Evaluation and impact of the work
Further help or advice
If you have any further questions regarding the Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland or your entry, please contact Clare Mercer on (028) 9046 0606 or email [email protected]
ABOUT OUR CATEGORY SPONSOR
Arthur Cox is one of Ireland's largest law firms. It is an ‘all-island’ law firm with offices in Dublin and Belfast. The firm also has offices in London, New York and Silicon Valley. The practice encompasses all aspects of corporate and business law.
For almost 100 years, it has been at the forefront of developments in the legal profession in Ireland. It strives to deliver superior levels of service, building relationships that grow over time and developing specialist industry knowledge to help its clients achieve their goals.
Heavily committed to responsible business, find out more about Arthur Cox by visiting: http://www.arthurcox.com/who-we-are/corporate-social-responsibility/
Application form: Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland
PLEASE RETURN THIS SECTION ONLY
Application form for the Investing in your Community Award 2020For the organisation that best demonstrates a positive impact on communities through
going beyond its core business to invest time, resources and expertise to tackle disadvantage
Section 1: Applicant detailsPlease complete all sections below
Contact name
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Organisation name
Telephone
Name of Award Entry
BITC member status Member [ ] Non-Member [ ]
Industry sector
No. of employees
Brief description of the organisation (100 words max)
Section 2: Entry details (max 2,500 words in total)In the remaining sections, you should provide all the detail the judges will need to assess and score the submission.
Describe how the organisation manages its approach to delivering a positive impact on local communities including achievements and key success points.
In particular, describe the importance of investing in your community to the organisation and emphasise any aspects you consider to be particularly innovative or compelling. PLEASE NOTE the activities you include in this section should demonstrate how your organisation goes beyond its core business to tackle disadvantage
NOTE ON SCORINGPlease note, an additional 5 marks are available for Innovation and Transferability in all entries. There is no separate section for this, but it will be gleaned from the information you provide, so if you wish to directly address it in your entry, that may help. You may address these within any section you choose.
Transferability in this context relates to how easy it would be for another company to replicate some or all or what you have done and to use your programme/initiative/activities as a model for their own development of corporate responsibility.We are also keen to see how your organisation is taking the Global Goals into consideration in the development and implementation of this project or initiative.
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Background/Entry summary Max 500 words (not marked)
Provide an overview and background summary of your entry – set the context and explain briefly what the initiative(s)/project(s) involve. Although it is not marked, this section is important, as should your entry be shortlisted, it will form the basis of a written case study.
The Five Principles of Community Investment (worth 25 marks, split equally across each sub-section)
Business in the Community has identified the following five principles you should follow to be a good investor in the community. This section allows you to tell us how you have applied these principles and is worth 25 of the total 55 marks available.
Identifying Key Social Issues (5 marks)The first priority in developing a community investment strategy is to identify the key social issues most relevant to your business and most pressing to the communities you work with. In this section we want you to tell us the following:
What are your Community Investment core objectives? Who is your Community and how have you identified the social issues you are working to address?
How is your Community Investment strategy supported by senior managers? How have you involved your internal and external stakeholders in shaping your community investment
programme? Explain your process. Tell us who your stakeholders are.
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Working in Partnership (5 marks)Establishing strategic partnerships is pivotal to delivering the objectives of your community investment strategy. Please describe your approach to working in partnership as follows:
Outline your reasons for working in partnership What are the specific objectives of the partnership?
Show how you went about identifying and selecting your partners Show how you have been working with your partners
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Plan and Manage (5 marks)Businesses should ensure that they plan and manage their community investment, using the most appropriate resources to deliver against specific objectives and targets. Please outline the following:
What types of community activities are included in your Community strategy (can include, charitable giving, sponsorships, cause-related marketing, employee volunteering, pro-bono, gifts in kind, etc)
What resources have been allocated to deliver your Community strategy? Explain the process used to agree and sign off on resources
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Inspire and Engage your employees, customers and suppliers (5 marks)It is important to recognise that your business is part of a wider network which you can encourage to support your programmes. Where relevant please demonstrate the following:
How have you inspired and engaged employees, at all levels, in the delivery of your Community strategy?
How have you engaged your customers and suppliers? How are leaders involved?
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Measure and Evaluate (5 marks) How do you set targets in relation to community investment and what are those targets? How do you evaluate progress against those targets, measure impact and ensure continuous
improvement? (It will be helpful to demonstrate how those targets link back to the organisation’s strategy and values)
How do you report both internally and externally on your community investment? Examples can include but are not limited to website, newsletter, social media and printed reports.
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Impact (worth 30 marks, split equally between both sub-sections)
In this section, worth 30 of the 55 marks available, we want to know about the positive impact your approach has had on the organisation and on local communities.Evidence of positive impact on stakeholders, particularly employees, customers, suppliers and community partners, will help your submission. Provide appropriate evidence to show how objectives have been achieved.
Business Benefits (15 marks)How has the organisation derived benefits as a result of investing in community activities/initiatives, including as appropriate, financial benefits, market share, people development, company learning, product and process innovation, license to operate, creativity, employee involvement, and motivation and any additional benefits?
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Community/Society Benefits (15 marks)How has the organisation positively impacted on communities and wider society? This may include, for example, via profile and public awareness benefits, learning and personal development, impacts on a specific issue or cause and any additional benefits.Explain how you have consulted with partners and other stakeholders in the development of your initiatives over time to ensure they are impactful and adding value.
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
What happens next?Email your entry to [email protected] before the deadline. You will receive an email message to confirm receipt of your entry.
Key Dates
Investing in your Community Award Application pack 2020
Closing date for receipt of entries to these awards is 17:00, Friday 28 February 2020.
Shortlisting of entries will take place in March and you will be notified during w/c 23 March 2020 if you will be progressing to the judging stage.
Judging of entries will take place on 21 & 22 April 2020. You will be asked to attend a morning or afternoon panel session.
Winners will be announced at the 2020 Gala Awards Dinner at ICC Belfast on 28 May 2020.
PLEASE REMEMBER: This application MUST be submitted in Word format, not PDF.Note: When you enter the Responsible Business Awards in Northern Ireland, you acknowledge that Business in the Community may construct case studies of your programme from the information contained in your entry form. This is to enable us to share good practice and inspire other companies.If you DO NOT consent to this, please tick the following box [ ]GDPR: The information submitted in this application will be added to our internal database system. We will only use this information in relation to your awards application. If you have any concerns, please contact us on (028) 9046 0606.
