Guidance

Last updated: October 2010

 

This guidance note should be considered in conjunction with the following Editorial Guidelines:

 

• Code of Conduct on Competitions

See Editorial Guidelines Appendix 2: Code of Conduct for Competitions and Voting

 

• External Relationships & Funding

See Editorial Guidelines Section 16 External Relationships & Funding: Public Value Partnerships

 

• Interacting with our audiences

See Editorial Guidelines Section 17 Interacting with our Audiences

 

• Politics, Public Policy & Polls

See Editorial Guidelines Section 10 Politics, Public Policy and Polls: Opinion Polls, Surveys & Votes

 

• The Interactive Technical Advice and Contracts Unit (ITACU) exists to provide advice on al technical aspects of running a competition, vote or award. They should be consulted at an early stage of any proposal.

 

• All competitions, votes and awards must comply with the Code of Conduct (see Appendix).

 

• Competitions should always have a clear editorial purpose and offer a genuine test of skill, knowledge or judgement.

 

• Winners of competitions should always be genuine. No member of the production team or anyone else should pose as a contestant or winner.

 

• Competitions involving Premium Rate Telephony must be referred to a senior manager in your division and then referred to Editorial Policy and ITACU.

 

• Any proposal to set up an award must be referred to Editorial Policy and a Senior Manager at the planning stages.

 

• An award should have clear, published rules, agreed with Programme Legal Advice.

 

• Criteria for judging or nominations must be transparent, clear, fair and consistent.

 

• Winners and runners-up of awards must have clear written guidance on their conduct once the result has been published.

 

• When an award is being decided entirely or partly via a public vote then the voting mechanism used should be robust.

 

• Special considerations apply when an award is run in partnership with an outside organisation.

 

• Votes must not be set up to make a profit, except when authorised for a BBC charitable cause; any proposal for a vote should be referred to the relevant Controller or Senior Manager in the division for sign off.

 

• Votes involving Premium Rate Telephony must be referred to a senior manager in your division and then referred to Editorial Policy and ITACU.

 

• Under no circumstances can the result of a BBC vote be faked.