What are the ‘Channel S Awards’?
Channel S Awards are one of the most credible and influential awards schemes for promoting the Bangladeshi community in Britain and for corporate responsibility.

They are robust, rigorous and peer-assessed which mean that they highlight practical examples of talents and programmes that make a real difference.


Who are the Awards for?
In general, every category of the Awards for excellence is open to all talented and successful members of the British Bangladeshi Community.

Awards go to exemplary contributors to the community and will be made to individuals and an organisation that bring most benefit to the British-Bangladeshi community. Entries are welcome from successful individuals and organisations.

There are certain exceptions to this general rule - details of which can be found in the specific conditions of entry included in the application packs for each category.

What do the Awards recognise?
They recognise individuals and organisation(s) with significant achievements and contribution to the society and who/that have shown innovation, creativity and sustained commitment to corporate responsibility.

How do nominees enter?
To enter the awards you need to complete a written application explaining your achievement and how you are managing your programme/activity and what benefits it is having on your effort and in the community more widely.

Entry packs are downloaded and uploaded from the Channel S website. The Awards are launched in October at our AGM and closed for entries before March.

Full details of the timeline for this year are available on our website in the Awards section.

What categories do the Awards for Excellence cover?
Our categories cover three themes alongside five flagship awards that look at the encouraging excellence of individuals and the totality of an organisation’s contribution to the society: Contribution to the Community (regional based), Achievement in Education, Best Community Organisation; Contribution to the Culture, Business Personality of the Year, Investor of the Year in Bangladesh, Friend of Bangladeshis and Lifetime Achievement Awards.

We do not guarantee which categories will be offered each year until they are formally launched at our AGM (in December) as the decisions around which categories are offered is partly dependent on sponsorship as well as on our campaign focus for the coming year.

When will the 2012 categories be launched?
The formal launch of our 2012 categories was in October. However, if you want to find out more about what categories we are running this year then contact our awards team on 0208 5236135 or email on awards@chsuk.tv

If we are successful what do we get?
The four main kinds of awards that we give out are Regional Excellence for Contribution to the Community, Academic Excellence Awards, Organisational Excellence Awards and Flagship Awards for Outstanding Examples of Excellence. Along with these is an award for contribution to or excellence in sports.

	Contribution to the Community in the UK– 1x 3 Awards
	Contribution to the Community in Europe– 1 Award
	GCSE, A-Levels, Graduate, Academic Excellence (Research/Teaching) – 1 x 4 Awards
	Best Community Organisation – 1 Award
	'Shah Abdul Karim' Award – for the Contribution to the Arts and Culture
	Contribution to Sports – 1 Award
	Business Personality of the Year - 1 Award
	Friend of Bangladeshis - 1 Award
	Lifetime Achievement Award - 1 Award
	Posthumous Award for the Contribution to the Community. -1 Award (Nomination not taken)

What is a Primary Selection?
The first level of awards processing is our Primary Selection – these are awarded to all entries in a category that achieve a specific standard, which is set by our assessors each year.

 The Primary Selection is an acknowledgement of an individual’s/organisation’s activity/programme of work that indicates that the entry demonstrated significant achievements and contributions and that it has reached the standard that year.

Approximately 35-40% of entries each year are awarded a Primary Selection.

What is the Shortlist?
In each category the best Primary Selections are put forward for consideration for the title of Example of Excellence – i.e., our overall winner for the category. The shortlisted entries are asked to answer a questionnaire to a panel of judges – this happens in February.

What is the Example of Excellence?
The shortlisted entries present to a panel of judges about their work and the judges deliberate before deciding on the overall winner for that year. The winner is called our Example of Excellence. The judges also have the power to award a Highly Commended (e.g., Shah Karim) if they think an entry is worthy of this title.

How is the Primary Selection standard decided?
Each year the assessment process looks at the standard of entries that year, and aims to set a benchmark for success that continues to keep standards high and challenges our award entrants to strive to be better.

How do we get on to the shortlist?
In each category all the individuals and organisations whose entries are determined to be above the benchmark set by the assessors are awarded a Primary Selection – this is an award that acknowledges that the individual/organisation has provided significant achievement(s) and contribution(s) and has reached the standard that year.

How do we get onto the Example of Excellence?
In each category the shortlisted nominees are sent forward to be assessed for judging to become the overall winner – our Example of Excellence. In categories with a small number of entries and a small number shortlisted nominees, this may mean that every shortlisted entry goes forward for judging. In categories with lots of entries, only the top few go forward. On average between 4 and 6 entries are sent through to the judging phase.

What is the Assessor's role?
All our assessors are trained and supported by the Panel of Judges and category experts. They then are tasked with reading and scoring the entries in the category they are assessing before deciding which companies and programmes can evidence their impact and deserve to be in the shortlist.
Without our assessors we couldn’t run the Awards for excellence.

What is the role of our judges?
In each of our award categories the very best of the shortlisted nominees in each category are selected to go forward to judging to determine the overall winner, our 2011 Example of Excellence.

To get to the shortlist for judging the entry has already been through the rigorous assessment process and has been looked at in detail by the expert assessors to ensure there is detailed evidence of positive impact.

The judges take over at this point and assess, select and finalise the top list for awards.

Who are our judges?
The judges in our Awards for Excellence are representatives from the House of Lords, leading organisations and other key stakeholders. They are viewed as the leaders in their field of knowledge. In 2011 our judges were Baroness, Chairs and Columnists and Barristers.

The Awards Timeline 2011 - what's happening and when
Entering the Channel S Awards 2012 is not complicated, as this step-by-step guide to the Awards process shows.

Pre-entry

	The website is available since October 2010. Go to the Home page to navigate. This enables you to find out more about how to enter the awards, which category is most suitable for you and how to write a successful entry.
	Decide which category(s) you would like to enter.

Application Stage

	October 2011 – Awards for Excellence are formally launched – and the application process goes live on our website.
	Go to the Home page and download the application pack(s).
	Write your entry. Use the guidance notes and headings in the application pack to help you complete your entry – remember to keep within the word limit. Also, read through the terms and conditions to make sure you understand them, and complete the checklist on the application form to make sure you have included everything you need to tell us about.
	Between 1 November 2012 and the closing date 21 February 2012 make use of the support available at Channel S Television and contact the awards team, (e-mail option)  and the award category experts for support.

Closing Date

	Send your completed entry, application and CV by 21 February 2012. Entries submitted after midnight on 21 February 2012 (except for those categories with a later deadline) will not be accepted. When you’ve successfully uploaded your entry, you’ll receive email confirmation and a reference number.
	Submit two reference letters by 21 February 2012.

 Assessment Stage

	Your entry will be assessed by an independent panel of judges in March, who will decide if you have reached the standard to be awarded.
	Each year we work primarily with more than 15 independent assessors

Judging

	Shortlisted individuals and organisations will be finally judged in March to decide the overall winner.
	Each year we work with more than 5 judges, our judging panels are made up of a parliamentarian, senior representatives of leading organisations and other key stakeholders.

Awards Ceremony
Awards event – announcing Channel S Awards for Excellence:

The overall winners – Channel S Awards for Excellence will be announced and presented at the Awards giving ceremony on 3 April 2012.