JUDGING

To protect the integrity of the Saskatchewan Awards for Communications Excellence, all entries are judged by communication professionals who reside outside Saskatchewan.

Entries are comprised of the work plan and work sample. Entries are judged against international standards set by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) based on technical excellence, creativity and innovation, effectiveness in identifying the responding to an organization’s or community’s needs, the delivery of measurable outcomes, and the overall success of the project.

Winning entries must demonstrate that they clearly met stated objectives, show originality and show proof of results based on measured outcomes. Judges consider how well a program was conceived and executed, how appropriate the chosen strategy and objectives were for the desired results, and how the outcomes were measured and achieved.

Scoring Breakdown

Division Work Plan Work Sample
Communication Management 50 per cent 50 per cent
Communication Skills 40 per cent 60 per cent
Communication Creative 25 per cent 75 per cent
Student    
- Social Media/Technology 50 per cent 50 per cent
- Publications 40 per cent 60 per cent
- Writing 40 per cent 60 per cent
- Communication Campaigns 50 per cent 50 per cent
- Communication Creative 25 per cent 75 per cent

Judges evaluate entries on a 7-point scale with zero being the lowest score and 7 being the highest.

Entries scoring at least 5.25 will receive an Award of Merit. Entries scoring 5.75 or higher receive an Award of Excellence. ACE judging forms are modeled after the ones used for the IABC Gold Quill Awards.

Winners of both Awards of Merit and Excellence will be honoured at the Saskatchewan ACE Gala.

There is no limit on the number of awards granted in any category.

Entries will be disqualified if:

  • They are received after January 6, 2012.
  • Payment is not included with the entry or is insufficient for the total number of entries.
  • They include mainly syndicated, borrowed, reprinted or stock material.
  • They are the work of another person not named as an Entrant.
  • An Entrant submits an entry on behalf of others but has not included written permission with the entry.
  • The work plan exceeds the stated page limit.
  • The entry form is incomplete or inaccurate.
  • The work plan, entry form or sample is not provided in the stated format. (See Entering.)
  • The work plan was not completed with the time period specified. (See Entering.)