Awards of Success - FAQ

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Awards of Success: FAQ

Who will be recognized?

The CCDI’s Awards of Success will recognize one individual in each of the following five categories:

Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner of the Year:

This award is given to a person who is a full- or part-time diversity and inclusion or human rights and equity practitioner. They are a subject matter expert in D&I or human rights and equity and are responsible for crafting their organization’s D&I or human rights and equity strategy, as well as executing on initiatives.

Senior Executive of the Year:

Given to a C-Suite Executive (or the most senior person in an organization) for their outstanding contribution and commitment to diversity and inclusion within their organization. The C-Suite Executive of the Year takes ownership of the diversity agenda and is responsible for driving change in their workplace. They have diversity as part of their performance accountabilities and provide the necessary gravitas to ensure diversity and inclusion objectives are met.

Community Contributor of the Year:

This award is given to a person who goes above and beyond to affect change in Canadian society as it relates to diversity and inclusion or human rights and equity. This work can either be paid or volunteer, and may focus on any dimension of diversity.

Employee Resource Group of the Year:

While not about a one individual, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are often the unsung heroes of an organization’s diversity and inclusion efforts. This award will recognize the people behind an Employee Resource Group (aka Business Resource Group, Affinity Group, etc.) for a specific initiative put on by the resource group. The initiative must have occurred during the calendar year, and can have any focus (recruiting, mentoring, business development, etc.). The resource group must be able to show the impact of the initiative.

Employer Initiative of the Year:

New for 2018, CCDI’s Awards of Success will recognize an Employer for a specific initiative or promising practice that has had an impact on a diverse group. The initiative must have occurred during the previous calendar year, and can have any focus (recruiting, mentoring, advancement, community impact, etc.). The employer must be able to show the impact of the initiative.

Who is eligible?

• Nominations are open to any person that is a resident of Canada and must have been active in their role as of the close of nominations (4:00 p.m. ET, March 31, 2020).
• Elected officials are not eligible to be nominated.
• Independent diversity and inclusion or human rights and equity consultants are not eligible for either the Senior Executive of the Year or Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner of the Year awards.
• There are no other restrictions, outside of the criteria below. 

For the Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner of the Year:

• A nominee must work in diversity and inclusion or human rights and equity, either full- or part-time, within an organization.
• Responsibility for diversity and inclusion or human rights and equity must be part of their paid responsibilities.
• A nominee must have the success of diversity and inclusion or human rights and equity initiatives as part of the nominee’s annual performance goals.

For the Senior Executive of Year:

• A nominee must be the most senior person in their organization (based on authority and accountability), or report directly to the most senior person in the organization.
• A nominee must be considered to be part of the executive leadership of their organization, regardless of what their actual title is. This includes individuals working in the public and not-for-profit/charitable sectors, as well as the private sector. Titles may include (but are not limited to): CEO (or any other C-level title), President, General Manager, Managing Partner, Deputy Minister, Executive Director, etc.
• A nominee must have ultimate accountability for diversity and inclusion within their organization. That accountability must be part of the nominee’s annual performance goals.

For the Community Contributor of the Year:

• A nominee can be working in the area of diversity and inclusion or human rights and equity in the community, either in a paid or volunteer capacity.

For the Employee Resource Group of the Year:

• A nominee must be a resource group with an employer with operations in Canada.
• The resource group must be able to demonstrate the impact of their initiative.

For the Employer Initiative of the Year:

• A nominee must be an employer with operations in Canada.
• The employer must be able to demonstrate the impact of their initiative.

How do nominations work?

Nominees can nominate themselves or can be nominated by someone else. There are no restrictions on nominations. The nomination process is simple; the nominee or their nominator completes the brief nomination form. For those not self-nominated, nominees must agree to be nominated and complete their portion of the nomination form themselves. There is no nomination fee.

When will the awards be announced?

The winners of the CCDI’s Awards of Success will be announced in May 2020.

How will the awards be judged?

The awards will go through a three-step judging process, as follows:

• Step 1: CCDI will review all submissions for eligibility only. Nominees will be informed if their application has passed the first step, or if they are ineligible for any reason.
• Step 2: An external panel of judges will independently review the submissions in each category using a scoring rubric, and submit their scores to CCDI for compilation.
• Step 3: The judges will meet as a group and CCDI will present the top scoring nominees based on the aggregate score of the judges (either as a group or by category, based on the number of nominees). Judges will have the opportunity to discuss the top scoring nominees and come to a consensus on who the 2020 Awards of Success recipients should be.

Who are the judges?

The judges will be announced shortly, however they are made up of diversity and inclusion subject matter experts invited by CCDI. None of the CCDI’s staff or board of directors will be judges. There will be an equal balance between representatives from the award sponsors and diversity and inclusion subject matter experts, with the majority going to diversity and inclusion subject matter experts.

Can a person who is a nominee also be a judge?

No. If a person has been nominated for one of the five Awards of Success, they cannot be a judge for any of the awards.

Can’t the sponsors control the outcome?

No. Judging is done on the aggregate based on the input of at least 3 independent individuals. One person will not be able to control the outcome. For example if the judging representative from “Sponsor X” gives a score of 100 out 100 to a person from their own organization, yet the other 2 judges give scores of 10 out of 100, the nominee’s score would be 40 out of 100, and the nominee would likely not be shortlisted.

Can a person be nominated in more than one category?

In theory, yes. That said, we would encourage people to consider which category they or their potential nominee is best suited for before submitting. Submitting a nominee in more than one category will not necessarily increase chances of winning.

Do you have to be from Toronto or Calgary to win?

Absolutely not. CCDI encourages nominee applications from across Canada.

Do you have to work for a CCDI Employer Partner, or be a CCDI Individual Practitioner to win?

No. Anyone is eligible to win, based on the eligibility criteria above, regardless of their relationship with CCDI.

What is the timeline?

January 16, 2020 *	Nominations open
April 30, 2020 **	Nominations close
May 1 - 31, 2020	Nomination review by judges
June 2020	Winners notified

* Nominations open at 8:00 a.m. ET
** Nominations close at 4:00 p.m. ET

Should you have any questions regarding the Awards of Success, please contact us at [email protected].