Project/Provision awards
Nominate a winning project or provision
The Adult Learners’ Week Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding learning achievements of individuals, projects, tutors and employers across England.
This year we are looking for innovative learning projects or provision that will be inspirational to others who hear about them.
We want to hear the very best stories about adults of every background, age and stage who, through learning, have transformed their own lives and the lives of their families, the communities they live in and the places they work.
The project/provision may have helped the learners to:
- learn new skills for personal or professional development
- achieve something they never thought was possible
- completely transform their lives and the lives of those around them
Your nomination will give the project or provision recognition, celebrate the positive impact of the project and its leaders, increase engagement with new participants, and boost the self-confidence of the learners.
Winners of this category will demonstrate that the learning undertaken as part of the project/provision has resulted in a positive difference to learners’ lives. The learning is the crucial part of all of our winners’ stories and it is the outcome from this learning that makes the project/provision eligible for an award.
Making a nomination
Equality and empowerment is at the heart of everything that NIACE does. Our aim is for as many people as possible to be involved in and inspired by Adult Learners’ Week.
We want everyone to have access to Adult Learners' Week from the nomination form(s) through to the awards ceremonies. The nomination forms should be compatible with most frequently used screen readers and other assistive technology. If you require accessibility support please let us know and we’ll do everything we can to help: email [email protected]; tel 0116 285 9656 or text 07810 770399.
These notes are to support the nomination of a project or provision only. Please read these notes before completing a nomination form.
Project eligibility
- Awards are open to projects/provision based in England only that have been established for a minimum of nine months as of 17 December 2014.
- The project/provision must provide learning opportunities for adults who are aged 18 or over on 17 December 2014.
- A learner’s statement must be included in the nomination of the project/provision.
- There is no limit to the number of nominations that one nominator can make. However, nominations for one nominee from multiple nominators are not accepted.
- Nominations for projects/provision that have been nominated in previous years, or projects/provision that have won awards as part of other award initiatives, will be accepted.
- Projects/provision from the British Armed Forces can be nominated, but please provide information about there it is based in England.
- Prison or probation-related projects/provision can be nominated. However authorisation must be gained from the relevant authorities, i.e. the National Offender Management Service or Probation Service before a nomination can be made.
Publicity
Adult Learners’ Week Award winners attract significant press and media interest. The information supplied in nomination forms could be used publicly as inspirational stories. A private information box is included in the nomination form to be used for information that you do not want to be made public. See Part 4 of the nomination form for further information.
European Social Fund (ESF) Award criteria
The ESF award category is for projects that have benefited from ESF-funded learning opportunities:
- ESF Inspiring Learning Project of the Year Award
To be eligible for an ESF award, the project must comply with the main eligibility criteria above in addition to receiving funding from the ESF.
Next steps
All nominations are shortlisted against a set criteria. Those shortlisted are sent to a selection panel of judges who represent the diversity of adult learning provision. All winners are selected by the panel which assess each entry based only on the information provided on the nomination form.
Final decisions will be made by the end of April 2015. All winners and their nominators will be contacted by May 2015. If you haven’t heard from us by this time, please assume that your project has not been chosen as an award winner on this occasion. Everyone nominated for an Adult Learners’ Week Award will receive a Certificate of Achievement in June 2015.
Award winners will be invited to regional or national Awards Ceremonies where each of them will receive a learning voucher, valued between £200 and £1,000, and an Awards Certificate.
Nominate now by downloading a Word version of the nomination form and returning it to [email protected] by the deadline, 5pm Wednesday 17 December 2014, or nominate online.
