IRMS Awards

Each year the IRMS recognises excellence in the field of information management with our prestigious Industry Awards. These highly sought-after awards are presented at a glittering ceremony following our Gala Dinner, the centrepiece of our annual Conference.

We therefore invite IRMS members to cast their nominations for who should be our next award winners. 

• Professional of the Year 
• New Professional of the Year
  
• Team of the Year 
  
• Supplier of the Year 
  
• Innovation of the Year 
• Lifetime Achievement
• Digital Decarbonisation in Action

It's not only the winners who are rewarded, though - we highlight and celebrate all the nominees.

Please note, the New Professionals Award does not work through nominations but instead through a self-submitted paper on an information and records management topic of your choosing. For more details, take a look at the New Professionals Award page. 

Criteria

Each award is different and requires different things to be considered 'best practice' or indeed excellent. We are looking for a contribution either to the community or your organisation that has either been motivational, above and beyond, innovative, industry leading or thought provoking. Or indeed, all of the above!

Ultimately if you feel this person or organisation has genuinely made a difference then please do consider nominating them. As information professionals we are often on the front line for when things go wrong so these awards, in part, are there to celebrate the successes we have as a profession. 

Nominations should be made for those who have performed to the highest level, especially over the past year, or over a number of years leading to particular achievements or milestones over the past 12 months. This can be in project work or it can be related to 'business as usual' development and delivery. 

For full details, take a read through the criteria for each category and see if anyone springs to mind, and also take a look at our previous winners and nominees.

The Awards Panel

The IRMS awards are overseen by a panel of 5 members of the IRMS leadership team. These 5 volunteers, led by the Society's Vice-Chair (Internal Governance), oversee the Awards process and criteria. Where an award is decided by an awards panel they will act as that panel and where there is a tie in a public vote they will have the casting vote. 

You can find details of the current members, their declared interests and it's terms of reference via www.irms.org.uk/AwardsPanel.

How nominations work

While all in the profession are eligible for nomination, you must be an IRMS member to nominate someone for an award. Nominations must be submitted via email. 

Nominating someone couldn't be easier if you follow these steps:
 
Step 1. Make sure the person / body you are nominating is happy to be nominated. Some people don't like the attention and that is absolutely fine, but please ensure you have spoken to them before you start this work. You also need to find someone to support your nomination (a seconder), who also must be an IRMS member. If you can't find a seconder who is a member, you can ask for a member of the IRMS Executive to support the nomination.

Step 2. Write your nomination statement and ensure it is between 600 and 800 words long, ideally in a word document and with enough evidence to support your nomination. Also include a seconder statement.

Step 3. Send a covering email containing the below to awards@irms.org.uk before the deadline. Do not send to members of the Executive. Only nominations made to awards@irms.org.uk will be considered.

• the name of the person or organisation you are nominating (and ideally contact details for them)
• the role/s and organisation (if applicable) of the nominee/s
• which award you are nominating them for
• the email contact details of the nominee/s
• your name and membership number
• your nomination statement (see Step 2)
• a statement of 40 to 50 words from the seconder
  

Step 4. Wait to hear from the Awards Panel after the closing date for nominations. They may also be in touch to ask for some more information or any clarifications.

Remember - you can find guidance on the awards criteria page and see the lists of past winners.

What happens next

Once the deadline for nominations has passed, the Awards Panel will ensure that each nomination is valid, then a shortlist for most of the awards will be put to a vote by IRMS members. The Lifetime Achievement and New Professional awards are decided by the Awards Panel. All finalists are invited to attend our Awards Gala Dinner at the IRMS Conference in May. 

Please note: if any form of cheating, bribery or harassment of the awards panel members or fraudulent statements on a nomination is found on the application or as part of the public vote the Awards Panel reserves the right to void any such nomination and refer the matter to the IRMS Executive where further action may be taken. The IRMS is committed to fairness and transparency so any such behaviour will not be tolerated. 

Other awards

The IRMS also confers Fellowships and Honorary Life Memberships to individuals deemed deserving of these honours. 

Honorary Life Membership
This is the Society’s Highest honour. It is conferred by the Executive and it is awarded to members deemed to have made an exceptional contribution to the information profession. It is not necessarily awarded annually although it may be awarded to more than one individual in any year. If you believe a member is deserving of this honour, please email the Chair to discuss.

Fellowship
In addition its various awards, the Society has a College of Fellows. Fellows of the Society are individuals who have, in the estimation of the Society, satisfied certain criteria of seniority and/or achievement within the Information professions. Non-members can also be inducted into the College. Such individuals are created Honorary Fellows.

For more information on IRMS Fellowship, see our Fellowship page.

For more information on IRMS Awards, please email the Awards Panel.