Writing a winning nomination for the Analysis in Government (AiG) Awards

This year’s Analysis in Government Awards celebrates those inspirational people and teams doing phenomenal work in every government department across the Analysis Function. 

Tips for writing a great nomination

Competition is fierce and we’d like to see as many great entries as possible, so we’ve put together these tips for writing an outstanding nomination: 

• remember that the judges may not be familiar with your topic, so use Plain English by writing in short, clear sentences and using everyday words without acronyms and unnecessary jargon
• use the STAR method by explaining the Situation, Task, Action and Result of your work
• in particular, judges want you to showcase the impact of the nominee’s work
• be clear on the criteria and address each point of the award you are nominating for – you can find these on the nomination form
• include any appropriate links to your work to demonstrate any outputs you may want to showcase 
• keep within the word count of 1,000 words 

Visit our fourth Analysis in Government Awards page for more detail on each category and what would make a winning entry.

The nomination form…

Before you complete the Analysis in Government Awards nomination form, we understand that you might want to put in some planning and prepare your statement. To help you along, here is a short guide on what you’ll need to provide: 

• your name, job title, department, contact details and profession so that we can get in touch with you about your nomination
• title of the work being nominated, along with the name, department and list of contact details for those you are nominating
• a brief description of the award you are nominating for (max 100 words) 
• considering the award criteria, describe how the nominee achieves excellence in one of the six award categories. Please also supply any web links to the work to support your entry (max 1,000 words) 

If you’d like to practice before you complete the online form you can download a Word version of the nomination form too. 

Any questions? 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 have delivered above and beyond – those influential team players, enthusiastic and engaged colleagues who can always be relied upon to produce the highest calibre work when needed and now is the time to celebrate them.

How it feels to be nominated 

It’s easy to see why being nominated for an Analysis in Government award can instil a feeling of pride as Catherine Hutchinson told us after winning the Professor Sir Ian Diamond Award for Excellence in 2022 “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.”

For Helen Heard and her team, winning the Innovative Methods Award in 2022 for ‘Kitchen Life 2’ was just the start and has led to recognition within their department and wider, even getting an invite to present at Civil Service Live and other cross-government events. Helen told us “Nominating yourself, or your colleagues, for an award gives your work recognition, helps you to celebrate and feel proud of the work you deliver.” 

Helen and the team felt “so proud to win… Accepting our award and giving a speech at the celebration event was a special moment in my career.”

You can read about previous winners and find inspiration in our article about the third Analysis in Government Awards. 

The importance of saying Thank You 

These highly esteemed awards recognise the best of the best, giving individuals and teams exposure at the highest level and is the ultimate thank you for their contributions over the last year. 

Professor Sir Ian Diamond (Head of the Analysis Function and National Statistician) takes a close interest in the AiG Awards and will be giving a new award in his name, the Professor Sir Ian Diamond Rising Star Award.