20 April, 2026
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By Chloe Kinch, Director of Client Success at Proinsight
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.
To help applicants understand what strong entries look like, we asked this year’s assessors to share a little about their backgrounds, along with some practical advice for anyone preparing a submission.
Assessor 1: Steve Bradley
Steve Bradley brings decades of leadership, assessment and quality assurance expertise to the judging process.
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.
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.
This combination of hands-on operational experience, customer insight and assessment expertise gives Steve a strong eye for detail and a clear understanding of what sets high-quality submissions apart.
Assessor 2: Michael George
Michael George brings a wealth of public sector, audit and quality control experience to the awards judging process.
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 expertise in assessing performance, standards and quality.
His work included evaluating people’s 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’s forensic eye for detail, as well as his ability to assess quality, standards, metrics and internal controls.
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.
Michael’s breadth of experience means he brings a rigorous, balanced and evidence-led approach to every application he reviews.
Top tips for applicants
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.
A strong application should make it immediately clear what sets you apart. Assessors are looking for entries that do more than describe good work — they want to understand what is distinctive, memorable and genuinely impactful about your organisation, project or initiative.
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 probably more work to do.
Applicants should focus on clearly explaining:
The most compelling submissions tend to grab the assessor’s attention early by presenting a clear and confident case for why they stand out.
One of the most common weaknesses in otherwise strong applications is a lack of detail about what comes next. Even when a submission gives a comprehensive and credible account of past achievements, it can lose impact if the ‘looking ahead’ section feels too broad, vague or underdeveloped.
Assessors want to see that future plans are not just aspirational, but well considered and purposeful. A strong application should show clear direction, realistic ambition and a good understanding of the impact the applicant wants to achieve over time.
This means setting out:
The strongest entries show both achievement and momentum. They demonstrate not only what has been done well so far, but also why the work has lasting value and how it will continue to develop.
Final advice from the assessors
In summary, the most effective applications are those that combine a strong story of achievement with a clear sense of purpose and direction. They are specific, evidence-based and confident in explaining both what makes the work distinctive now and how it will create impact in the future.
To submit your entry to the ukactive Awards, click here. This year’s awards take place on Thursday 8 October and entries close on Friday 15 May.
