The Reach Out awards comply with the BBC's Code of Conduct and its new guidelines on competitions, voting and awards.
Here are the full terms and conditions which apply to Reach Out Awards 2008.
- Nominations open on Monday 14 July 2008 and close at 17.00 on Friday 19 September 2008.
- Entries are invited for individuals who live, work or perform community work in BBC Radio Nottingham's editorial area.
- There are ten categories, each nomination will be entered into the one which the judging panel feel most reflects the entry.
- Nominations will only be accepted on the official nomination forms available from the award partners or via the bbc.co.uk/nottingham and thisisnottinghamshire.co.uk websites.
- Each nominee will receive varying degrees of editorial coverage from purely a mention to features on both the radio and in the newspaper. The amount of coverage will be based on independent editorial considerations and will have no bearing on the judging of entries.
- Each entrant will be scored against a fixed set of criteria by the judging panel (comprising of representatives from BBC Radio Nottingham and the Nottingham Evening Post only). The top three in each category will form a short list which will be re-scored against the same criteria, but relative to each other to decide one overall winner per category.
- The Coroner's Good Neighbour Award will be the only exception from the above selection process. The winners will be chosen by Dr Nigel Chapman, the Nottinghamshire Coroner, (individually), using the above scoring process from a short list provided by the judging panel.
- Each winner will be notified at least one week before the awards ceremony and will be asked to attend to receive their award at a ceremony in Nottingham on Thursday 9 October 2008.
- The awards ceremony will be broadcast on BBC Radio Nottingham and reported in the Nottingham Evening Post.
- Reach Out is a partnership between BBC Radio Nottingham and the Nottingham Evening Post. It is also supported by Nottingham County Council.
- Members of the judging panel will be expected to declare any conflicts of interest with any nomination and will be then replaced on the judging panel for the scoring of that entry by another person of similar standing in their organisation. Up to the point of choosing the final winner, if a conflict becomes apparent after initial scoring, it will be re-scored by a replacement short listing panellist. The panel which chooses the final winner will be expected to confirm in writing that there a conflicts to the other partners, before choosing a winner.
- Repeat nominations from last year will be allowed. However, they will only be prominently featured editorially again on the radio and in the newspaper if that person has achieved a significant amount since last year's nomination.
- Members and staff of the partner organisations are permitted to make nominations, but they will not personally be involved in or influence the selection or short listing of winners.
- These rules will be available in full throughout the nomination period at bbc.co.uk/nottingham
- All entries will be scored (from 1 to 4) against the following list of criteria in the category that best fits the nomination. The top three scores in each category will then be re-judged and re-scored relative to the other shortlisted entries.
- The criteria are: Level of commitment, duration of activity or time involved (higher score for large commitment); Impact of activity, what difference has it made to those being helped) (higher score for large impact); Could this activity be sourced at no cost elsewhere (higher score for no); How well the entry meets the criteria for each category; What proportion of this activity was initiated by the nominee ( 100% would score 4); Did their contribution make a real difference.
- Each Reach Out winner will receive a trophy, a certificate and a bottle of champagne (apart from the Young Achiever).
How can I nominate?
Entries can be made by filling in the online form below. Nominations close at 17.00 on Friday 19 September 2008.
