Entry Guidelines & FAQ

Awards of Excellence Entry Guidelines

The Awards of Excellence recognize the work of public relations professionals from across Canada regardless of ressources. Each submission is evaluated in complete confidentiality by a seasoned professional who uses the RACE formula to assess the file submitted.

Before completing your application, please take note of the following information:
  • All entries and supporting materials must be submitted digitally online.
  • Each submission must have been planned, produced and completed within a period of two years prior to the entry deadline.  A project may have been started prior to the previous two years, however, the evaluation/completion of the project must have been within the last two years.
  • A communication project or program may be entered in a maximum of four categories, not including the Best in Show, Innovation and Sustainable Development Awards. 
  • Your Cover Page should include the name of the organization/client, name of the agency (if any), campaign title and award category.
  • A summary no longer than three pages must be uploaded with the cover page as a PDF.  Using the R-A-C-E formula as your outline, the summary must include a brief description of the following areas: research; analysis, planning and, strategy; communication, execution and production; and evaluation and measurement.  
  • Entrants will be instructed to upload supporting materialsas one PDF file (no more than 150 pages each with a maximum size of 25 MB) of any materials referenced in the research; analysis, planning and, strategy; communication, execution and production; and evaluation and measurement sections of your three-page summary.
  • By entering the Awards of Excellence, all submitters confirm that their programs and projects meet any standards set out in the CPRS Code of Professional Standards.  All entries become the property of CPRS.  

The decision of the judges are final. The jury reserves the right not to evaluate any application that contravenes its code of ethics.  

Good luck! 

 

Read our top ten tips to make your submission stand out.
 


Awards of Excellence FAQ

Awards of Excellence honours outstanding achievement public relations project or program.  The program or project should be identifiable as a complete entity, consisting of the elements of normal public relations practice include use of the R-A-C-E formula.
 
Submissions can be in English or French.
 
Yes, as long as the entry has not previously won an Awards of Excellence. All entry work must be planned, produced and completed within two years of the entry deadline.  If you entered your submission in a previous year and did not win an award, you may revise and re-enter your project so long as the above criterion is met. 
 

Sometimes there are indeed two or more different categories into which an entry might fit. In that case, entrants may choose to enter their program in up to four categories, provided their entry applies to the specific criteria stated within that category.
 

Judges may disqualify any entry that does not fit in the category entered.
 
In selecting your category, examine your communications plan. Who was the audience? What were the objectives? What were your tactics? These are the questions you are required to answer in the three-page summary.  The answers to these questions should help guide you in selecting the right category fit, after you’ve carefully read the category descriptions.
 
Judges are aware that submissions should be judged on content as a whole and not on a particular contribution element such as the budget.  However, budget should be included, as it is an integral part of any program or project.   We suggest you speak in broader terms on how the budget was applied to the program if you cannot give exact figures, give percentages or fractions. Exclusion of budget will not disqualify the entry but it will lose marks for not providing this important element.
 
The judges are CPRS members who are public relations and communications practitioners selected by their local jury coordinator to serve as a volunteer on a judging team. Each judging team includes a jury coordinator who assembles the team, organizes the judging process, acts as a host, facilitates discussion and consensus building, and prepares the team's report including feedback.  Judges provide the actual judging - although in a small team, the jury coordinator may also need to judge. To maintain the integrity of the program, judge's names are not released prior to the submission deadline.  The list of judges is always displayed in the event program at the Conference Gala and posted online at that time.

Judges evaluate all entries according to various criteria, including research and analysis, planning and implementation, results and evaluation, as well as the overall quality of the entry. For information on the various scoring criteria, please refer to the score sheets below. For the Best Research category, please refer to the specifically tailored judging score sheet. 

Score sheets
Communication Programs
Communication Projects (not including Best Research)
Best Research
Organizational Excellence - Agency Team of the Year

Yes, they do!  Entrants are allowed to upload an executive summary no longer than three pages plus a cover page.  The three-page summary should be typed using no smaller than a 10-point typeface and one-inch margins. The cover page should include the name of the organization/client, name of agency (if any), campaign title and award category.
 

Winners will be notified by email in April, and will be recognized at the CPRS Awards Gala dinner, during the CPRS national conference.