Applications
All nominees should read the Nomination Pack (DPA22A) and submit their nominations using the online submission form, which may be accessed below, and must include the following:
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An indication of the awards category for which the nomination is being made.
Please indicate the awards category for which the nomination is being made. The same nomination may be made to multiple categories if the criteria is fully met for each. Please note that Judges reserve the right to move nominations into the category they think fits best.
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A brief summary of the project of no more than 100 words. This wording will be used on publicity material and should be as concise and clear as possible.
The summary text should be written for a lay audience and as accessible as possible – imagine it being reproduced in a newspaper report of winning the award. This is likely to be included on the website and in other communications if you are selected as a finalist.
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A project description of no more than 1000 words, setting out the nature and purpose of the project, and why it is considered to be a potential Award-winner. The project should demonstrate leadership and advancement in the digital preservation arena.
This longer, more detailed text will be used by DPC members and the Judges to assess nominations in the members’ vote. It is in this description that nominations should be more expansive and assume more knowledge, bearing in mind the diversity of the Coalition and its partners. You may include images and diagrams, although these should be genuine visual aids that help clarify the concepts described in the text. An over-abundance of diagrams may be considered suggestive of a text that needs to be improved.
Diagrams are not included in the word count. You may also include hyperlinks, although please note that the Judges are instructed to assess nominations purely on the merits of the evidence presented to them in the nomination forms (and for finalists, in the subsequent interview). Therefore, you should not require Judges to follow a hyperlink or expect that they will.
Information included in Section four: Supporting Statements can and should be repeated in the Long Description as the two have different functions. The Judges will have access to the complete nomination form and therefore any text repeated between the two. However, finalists will be presented to a vote of the members of the DPC and voters will be given the long description as part of the ballot paper without the supporting statements from Section Four. Furthermore, it is our expectation that our designated contacts in DPC members will cascade the long descriptions through their own organizations so that the vote is cast as a corporate decision. Therefore, we recommend that the long description is written for a lay audience.
Bear in mind when writing both the Summary and Long Description that:
a) the DPC will receive a large number of applications and so good writing will help your application stand out; and
b) Judges come from a range of backgrounds including technology experts, business managers, archivists and academics. Whilst expert in their own fields they may not be expert in dealing with your concerns. It will therefore help the nomination if you are clear and concise with your language.
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A brief account of how the nomination meets each of the key criteria
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Up to three images good quality illustrating the project/team or individuals are requested. These may also be used for publicity at finalist stage.
Examples of good images to be included are: team photos, project logos, location shots, photos of any products associated with the nominations – particularly in use, process diagrams (without too much text). These should be provided as hi-res jpegs.
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The nomination should also be accompanied by a letter of support from a senior manager within the institution.
The reason we seek senior management approval is to allow for appropriate internal advocacy and, to a lesser extent, to ensure we do not receive competing nominations from the same institution or project. A senior manager may be anyone within your organization’s management team, in a position more senior than your own. The letter could be a scanned copy of referral or an email – as long as the senior manager in question is made aware of your work and is happy to support it. In the case of the 20th Anniversary Award, nominations should be supported at senior management level within the nominees’ institutions, demonstrated by letters of support where possible or by another relevant testimonial if not.
The Judges have been very clear in welcoming all kinds of applications, including personal contributions undertaken outside of an institutional framework. Therefore, the absence of a letter of support should not become a barrier to submission e.g., in the case that the project was undertaken in a personal capacity, with no institutional affiliation.
Please use the offline form DPA22B for a checklist of items you will need to enter the awards and come to the online submission form with all the information you need prepared, and to hand.
Submissions
The deadline for the submission of nominations is 0800 (UTC) on Monday 25th April 2022
General Provisions
The following provisions apply across all categories of the Awards:
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The judges’ decisions are final
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Any attempts to influence the judges will result in disqualification
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All nominations must be submitted on the relevant nomination form
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The judging criteria published for each award are for guidance: the conditions are not negotiable
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With the exception of the student award, institutions are welcome to make multiple nominations, even if these end up in competition with each other. The judges welcome the opportunity to judge between them.
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Where appropriate, a nomination can be submitted against multiple categories provided a convincing case is made.
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The judges may change the category of a nomination.
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Judges may not lead nominations. They must declare their interests at the start of each meeting and must leave the room during consideration of the relevant nominations.
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The staff of the DPC cannot apply, and contractors cannot nominate work which was initiated and funded directly by the DPC.
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Projects involving the DPC and DPC staff can be nominated but DPC activities must not be the reason for the nomination.
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The DPC will only name finalists. Nominations will remain confidential.
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All nominees will receive feedback.
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Details of finalists will be used only for the purposes of publicizing the Awards. By submitting a form, nominees signify their consent to such publicity.
The deadline for the submission of nominations is 0800 (UTC) on Monday 25th April 2022