Guidance for people submitting Nominations

There are always fewer Awards than people who deserve them and because they are rare, they should be reserved for people with one or more of the following attributes:

who have changed things, especially by solid, practical achievement;
whose work has brought distinction to the UK Armed Forces Community, Armed Forces life or enhanced the reputation of their charity, group or organisation.
have used the skills acquired during service to add value to society as a whole, after leaving the Armed Forces.
who may not have served but whose work or significant achievements are in support of the Armed Forces Community.

If you think your nominee demonstrates any of these accomplishments and that their contribution makes them stand out from other people, then please consider nominating them.

What will I need to do?

You will need to write a detailed description explaining why you are nominating a person, group, or organisation . Read the guidance below on how best to do this.
You will have to provide the following details about your nominee:

Their full name, address and contact details
Details of their relevant work and/or volunteering
Details of any awards or other recognition they’ve received that might support your
nomination

You should also provide any other supporting evidence of recognition your nominee has received for their achievements.

Business Category Awards:

For the business category awards specifically, we will ask you for supporting documentation that includes business performance, financial and customer data, if you know it. If you are a customer, for example, and don’t have access to this information, we will contact the business directly.

How to write a nomination?

The most important thing is to provide evidence of what they’ve done and how they’ve made things better for others. Your nomination form doesn’t need to be perfect. There isn’t a right way or a wrong way to write a nomination and it doesn’t need to be particularly formal.

What is vital is that you provide us with enough information to enable the judges to make the necessary decisions. Every nomination is different, though the electronic entry form does contain some maximum word count limits, no more than 250 words for each of 4 headings. (So, not too much to write!)

Tell us why your nominee deserves to be recognised

Your nomination submission must tell the story of what your candidate has done. Give us some examples of how they have demonstrated outstanding quality. Below are some examples of the sort of thing that we need:

contributed in a distinctive way to improving the lot of those less able to help themselves;
devoted themselves to sustained and selfless service;
shown innovation or creativity in delivering lasting results.

Tell us what they have contributed and/or achieved?

A good nomination should also describe, as vividly and precisely as possible, the difference their contribution has made. Try to answer the following questions:

how were things before they began?
how are they now?
what makes your candidate different from others doing the same thing, or “just doing their job?”

Give us details to support these claims.

It is important that the information you give is accurate. Show how your candidate has:

earned the respect of their peers and become a role model in their field
produced, perhaps against the odds, sustained achievement which has required moral courage, vision, the ability to make tough choices or determined application and hard work.

Don’t be afraid of emphasising your nominee’s achievements and really stating how fantastic you think they are! Remember, that there will be a lot of competition from other nominees who have achieved great things, so make sure you tell us why ‘your guy – or gal’ is the best!

Provide the right evidence

Try to support any recommendations or assertions with hard evidence. Do not just say that an achievement has had a widespread effect: describe what that effect has been and show why it has been important.

For example: “There was no support locally for people who found themselves jobless, homeless or with addiction problems after leaving the Armed Forces. She worked tirelessly to improve things. Over many months she built up relationships with other charities and homeless support organisations to ensure that the people finding themselves in the situation were able to get the help and advice that they needed to turn their lives around.”

It is achievements and effects of this kind and scale that deserve an Award and that will convince the Independent Panel of Judges to support your recommendation.

How do I find the right words?

Effective nominations often include nouns such as:

respect, recognition
determination, zeal, commitment, drive
innovation, creativity, selflessness
impact, sustainability
performance

Or descriptive adjectives such as:

articulate
diligent, dedicated, tenacious, determined
trusted, conscientious, enthusiastic
resourceful, fair
wise
inspirational persuasive passionate exemplary
admired
unflappable
sympathetic, supportive
inclusive

and phrases such as:

role model
overcoming challenges and barriers
head and shoulders above the rest
making a difference

But remember – the judges can only base their consideration of a nominee’s merits on the information provided to them.

A good nomination is a foundation for that!

Only the strongest nominations will result in an Award.

Your citation should describe what is special about your nominee’s achievements and show memorably and persuasively how and where they have made a difference.

Please involve your nominee.

We know it’s tempting not to tell your nominee in advance that they are being nominated but regulations regarding Data Protection (GDPR) mean that we have to have their permission, not just yours, to hold their personal data.

It is also vitally important that the information included in the nomination is accurate. We would ask, therefore, that you engage with your nominee to ensure that the information given is factually correct.

Failure to do so, or more importantly, telling us that the nominee is aware of the nomination and its contents when they aren’t, may result in the nomination being rejected.