Writing a winning AiG Award nomination
Nominations for the 7th annual Analysis in Government (AiG) Awards will open in September 2026.
The Analysis in Government (AiG) Awards celebrates the inspirational individuals and outstanding teams doing excellent work in every government department and all the analysis professions across the Civil Service. Competition is always tough, so how do you go about writing a winning nomination? Take a look at our top tips!
Tips for writing a great nomination
When writing your nomination:
- remember that the judges may not be familiar with your topic, so use Plain English — this means writing in short, clear sentences and using everyday words without unnecessary jargon
- spell out any acronyms and abbreviations in full the first time you use them
- explain the Situation, Task, Action and Result of your work — this is also known as the STAR method
- be clear on the award criteria and address each point in your nomination
- include any appropriate links to your work to demonstrate outputs you may want to showcase
- use the summary section to give a brief and engaging overview into your work — this text will be used to describe your work on the Analysis Function website and other channels if you are shortlisted or win an award
- ask someone who is less familiar with the work to have a look at the nomination — they may be able to see where you can explain the work more clearly
- keep within the word count of 750 words when writing the detailed description of what was accomplished
Remember that your nomination summary will be published on the Analysis Function website, which is public-facing.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) to write your AiG Award nomination
You can use generative AI to help you write your AiG Award nomination. Using AI can help you:
- complete your nomination form faster
- ensure your nomination aligns with the most appropriate AiG Award category
- sharpen the focus of your nomination and meet the word count
Suggested prompts
We have created a prompt to help you complete your nomination form from scratch.
You can also use AI to help you adapt a nomination you may have submitted for a different award entirely. We have created a prompt to help you repurpose an existing nomination for the AiG Awards.
These prompts are Beta products. If you choose to use them, we would be grateful for your feedback. You can share your thoughts and any suggestions for improvement by emailing the team at Analysis.Function@ons.gov.uk.
Using AI Responsibly
AI can be a powerful tool, but it should never replace human judgement. You can use it to:
- analyse, restructure and improve existing content
- identify the most suitable AiG Award category
- help align evidence with the published award criteria
- reduce repetitive drafting and editing tasks
However, you should always:
- review the final output yourself
- check the accuracy of all facts, figures and claims in the output – remember that AI can be prone to exaggeration, so you may need to remove any hyperbole
- ensure impacts and benefits are properly evidenced
- make sure the final nomination details the work as it actually happened
- confirm that any sensitive or protected information has been handled appropriately
It is critical that humans remain firmly in the loop when using AI. You should think of AI as your drafting partner, not the author. The nominator will remain responsible for the final submission.
Ensure you have thoroughly checked your nomination form before you submit it.
The nomination form
The nomination form for the 7th annual Analysis in Government (AiG) Awards will be made available when the nomination period begins in September 2026. A downloadable version of the form will also be available to enable you to draft your responses before submitting your entry online.
You will need to provide the following on your nomination form:
- your name, job title, department, contact details and profession so that we can contact you about your nomination
- the title of the work being nominated, along with the name, department and list of contact details for any colleagues you are nominating
- a brief description of the award you are nominating for — this should be a maximum of 150 words
- a description that demonstrates how the nominee achieves excellence in one of the six award categories, considering the award criteria — this should be no longer than 1000 words and should include links to any online evidence of the work to support your entry
If you have any questions about the nomination form you can email the team at Analysis.Function@ons.gov.uk.
Make sure your fantastic colleagues get the recognition they deserve
Who do you think of when you consider the stand-out achievements of the last year? We all know people who go above and beyond with their work. It’s time to celebrate those influential team players, and enthusiastic and engaged colleagues who can always be relied upon to produce the highest calibre work.
We recommend telling colleagues if you plan to nominate them. This is not compulsory, but it is usually best to let them know so they are not caught off-guard if they are shortlisted. It’s also an opportunity to let them know that fantastic work they have done! All information will be processed according to our privacy notice.
Example of a winning nomination
Last year, the hotly contested Collaboration Award was won by a cross-government team led by Cabinet Office for their work on the “Crisis Data Liaison Officer (DLO) Network”. Read the winning nomination that was submitted by the team that led to their success.
How it feels to be nominated
“Nominating yourself, or your colleagues, for an award gives your work recognition, helps you to celebrate and feel proud of the work you produce…we were so proud to win…Accepting our award and giving a speech at the celebration event was a special moment in my career” — Helen Heard and her team, Food Standards Agency
“I smile every time I see my certificate!” — Esther Roughsedge, Head of Population and Migration Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Scottish Government
“It was a really special moment to win, you feel nervous as you know you’ve been nominated, and you see all the amazing other people across government that are in your category. The feeling when you win is amazing, as it’s such a lovely affirming surprise” — Catherine Hutchinson, Evaluation Task Force
Read about previous winners and find more inspiration in our AiG Awards Hall of Fame.
The importance of saying “thank you”
These highly esteemed awards recognise the best of the best. They give colleagues and teams exposure at the highest level and provide the ultimate way to give thanks for their contributions over the last year. Even just being nominated can make a huge positive difference to our colleagues, and make them feel recognised by their peers and managers.