By Chloe Kinch, Director of Client Success at Proinsight<\/b><\/p>\n
At Proinsight we are proud to support ukactive with the judging process for its awards programme. As part of Stage 1, every application is independently reviewed and scored by two external assessors, helping to ensure a fair, thorough and robust process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To help applicants understand what strong entries look like, we asked this year\u2019s assessors to share a little about their backgrounds, along with some practical advice for anyone preparing a submission.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Assessor 1: Steve Bradley<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Bradley brings decades of leadership,\u00a0assessment\u00a0and quality assurance\u00a0expertise\u00a0to the judging process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Steve worked for the same financial services company for 38 years, beginning his career at just 18, straight from school, and progressing through the organisation into leadership and senior leadership roles. More than 27 of those years were spent in leadership positions, with responsibility across Yorkshire and the North East, supporting more than 16,000 clients.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alongside his leadership career, Steve has built extensive experience in independent assessment and quality evaluation. For more than 23 years, he has carried out assessment work for organisations across the UK, Europe and the USA, providing detailed evaluations of customer experience and service standards. He has also spent more than 12 years editing and quality checking work for companies in the UK, Europe, the USA and Canada, a role he continues to undertake daily.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This combination of hands-on operational experience, customer insight and assessment\u00a0expertise\u00a0gives Steve a strong eye for detail and a clear understanding of what sets high-quality submissions apart.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Assessor 2: Michael George<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Michael George brings a wealth of public sector,\u00a0audit\u00a0and quality control experience to the awards judging process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Michael had a 36-year career with HMRC, starting in 1980 as a clerical assistant and leaving in 2015 as Deputy Head of Debt Management. Across that time, he held a wide variety of roles and responsibilities, developing significant\u00a0expertise\u00a0in assessing performance,\u00a0standards\u00a0and quality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n His work included evaluating people\u2019s abilities through performance management systems, assessing the probity and rigour of suspected fraud cases for potential prosecution within an Internal Audit function, and acting as both a decision maker and grievance champion in grievance cases. These roles developed Michael\u2019s forensic eye for detail, as well as his ability to assess quality, standards,\u00a0metrics\u00a0and internal controls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Since leaving HMRC, Michael has continued to work in assessment and quality-focused roles as a sole trader. His work has included serving as part of a quality control function, assessing students training to become opticians, and acting as Vice Chairman of the Governing Board at a local senior school, where he helps assess standards across school life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Michael\u2019s breadth of experience means he brings a rigorous,\u00a0balanced\u00a0and evidence-led approach to every application he reviews.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Top tips for applicants<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Drawing on their experience of reviewing a wide range of submissions, our assessors highlighted two areas that can make a real difference to the strength of an application.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A strong application should make it\u00a0immediately\u00a0clear what sets you apart. Assessors are looking for entries that do more than describe\u00a0good work\u00a0\u2014 they want to understand what is distinctive,\u00a0memorable\u00a0and genuinely impactful about your organisation,\u00a0project\u00a0or initiative.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is often where innovation becomes important. That does not always mean something completely new; it can also mean a fresh approach, a creative solution to a known challenge, or a particularly effective way of delivering results. The key is to avoid sounding generic. If your application could apply just as easily to another organisation, there is\u00a0probably more\u00a0work to do.<\/span><\/p>\n Applicants should focus on clearly explaining:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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