1. The closing date for making nominations is stated on the Awards website. Nominations registered after that date will not be considered. A confirmation email will be sent to the person making the nomination once it is submitted. TOPRA has no responsibility for nominations which are delayed.
2. All nominations must be made in English.
3. Incomplete nominations, or those which do not fulfil the category criteria, including the time criteria, will not be considered. However, TOPRA reserves the right to contact nominators to request additional information at its discretion.
4. While it is acceptable in most categories for companies to nominate their own employees, or colleagues to nominate those they work alongside, it is generally expected that nominations for the Support category will be client-led. A consultancy company should not submit a nomination for itself unless the nomination includes significant support material from clients.
5. Should companies wish to nominate their own teams or products, the judges reserve the right to disqualify any entries that are deemed purely promotional – that is, without substantial independent supporting evidence, such as user research or client testimonials.
6. Sponsoring companies may not submit entries for the categories they are sponsoring. The sponsoring of the Awards in any way or at any time will not influence the opinion of the independent judges, which is based purely on the material submitted.
7. Persons or organisations which are nominated but do not win may be re-entered for the same category in subsequent years. However subsequent nominations should contain new/additional information. Re-submission of an identical nomination is not permitted.
8. Individuals who are winners of their category may not be re-entered for the same category on the basis of the same material in future years. They may be entered in another category, however it is expected that the material used to support this subsequent nomination will be substantially different to the previous submission.
9. Individuals may not be entered for more than one category in a single calendar year unless the basis of the nomination and the supporting information are completely different. Such categories are most likely to be Contribution, Horizon, Inspiration and Lifetime Achievement.(Please note however that this does not apply to individuals who are also being nominated as part of a team in the same year.)
10. Should more than one nomination for the same individual or group be planned by different nominators, the Awards team will notify the persons concerned to suggest a combined nomination. Unless the nominators jointly decide otherwise the first nomination registered will take precedence.
11. The same nomination material may not be used to enter multiple categories. An organisation may enter more than one category at a time providing that the supporting material for each nomination is significantly different as assessed by the Awards team. If the material is considered to be insufficiently different, the nominator(s) will be advised accordingly.
12. Organisations or teams who are winners of a category may re-enter the same category in future years PROVIDED that the basis of the nomination is substantially different (e.g. based on a different project or client).
13. TOPRA reserves the right to suggest that a submission made for one category might be more suitable for another. Such a recommendation should not be construed as implying favour or a greater chance of success.
14. Material supplied in support of the nominations will not be returned. Hard copies will be archived in confidential storage for up to 24 months after the results are announced, then destroyed confidentially. Electronic versions will be stored in line with TOPRA’s data policy in force at the time and in compliance with the GDPR.
15. Nominators must ensure that to the best of their knowledge all information supplied in the nomination form is correct. By submitting the nomination, nominators are making this declaration.
16. In the event of no entries being received, or if none of those received is of a suitable standard in the opinion of the judges, no Award will be made.
17. The decision reached by the judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the final result, which will be announced at the ceremony.
18. Judges are required to declare any conflict of interest and will not be allowed to judge nominations in which they have such an interest.
19. TOPRA reserves the right to vary the length of the shortlist for each category as appropriate depending on the quantity and quality of the nominations received that year.
20. Finalists will be notified and their name and employing organisation will be used by TOPRA as part of the promotion of the Awards and its ceremony.
21. Nominees who are not shortlisted will not be contacted.
22. Attendance at the Awards ceremony is by ticket only and anyone without a ticket will be refused admission.
23. Finalists will be required to attend the Awards ceremony and will be provided with one complementary ticket. A representative of the nominee may be substituted by prior arrangement with TOPRA.
24. The detailed content of the nomination support material will be treated as confidential but the summary may be used as part of the promotion of Awards ceremony and/or in post-event publicity. It is the responsibility of the person making the nomination to ensure that no material is included that is commercially confidential.
25. There will be photography and other recordings made of the Awards ceremony which TOPRA reserves the right to use in its publications, social media channels and website.
26. TOPRA holds the copyright to the Awards logos and supporting material and these may not be used by a third party in any communications including internal company publications, without written permission.
27. Should a circumstance arise for which no rule exists, TOPRA reserves the right to make additional rulings on a case-by-case basis. The Rules will then be updated to reflect the advice received so that any subsequent nominations will be subject to the same decision.