Technology Effectiveness Award MRS/ASC Joint Award for Technology Effectiveness

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Past Winners and Finalists
Click on the Year to see details

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The aims of the award

This annual award is for outstanding innovation in the application of software or technology for market, opinion and social research, which has directly achieved a demonstrable improvement in the effectiveness of actual research delivered. Entry for nomination is open to anyone developing or using technology in any of these related areas of research.

More specifically, the award is open to any individual, group of individuals or companies that consider the technology he/she/they have developed meets the entry criteria described below. For the purpose of this award, technology will be considered as any computer software, hardware, equipment or device that has either been developed or adapted specifically for market, opinion and social research.

As the award is for technology effectiveness, it is important that the benefits of this technology can be demonstrated as having been attained in a real life research situation, in either market research, opinion research or social research, and that the technology is applicable to other situations which will provide a wider or more lasting benefit.

An experienced panel of judges, appointed by the ASC and approved by the MRS, will determine the winner and the runners up. Judging will take place in two stages. In the first stage, candidates will be invited to enter a written award submission to explain the technology, its application, and describe the benefits it has brought in such a way as to provide evidence of the technology’s overall effectiveness. In the second stage, judges will examine the technology and carry out enquiries among the beneficiaries of the technology.

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Award criteria

Entries for the award are judged according to the following criteria:

• Innovation in the application of technology to support any aspect of the practice of survey-based research, for market, opinion or social research. This innovation may be through the development of new technology, or improvements to existing technology, or similar development, or improvement of techniques or methodologies based on technology.
• Effectiveness, as experienced by substantial improvements being enjoyed by the beneficiaries of the technology. This may include improvements to the quality or usefulness of the research being delivered, the efficiency or reliability of the research process, or other improvements that provide measurable benefits or advantages to consumers of research.
• Applicability, so that others may benefit from this innovation. That aspects of the solution provided may be widely or universally applicable to research and available for others to implement or develop.
• Design quality, in that the technology and any user interfaces are designed to a high standard, consider fully the needs of those who will use the technology and offer an efficient, clear and reliable solution.

In reaching a decision, the judging panel also takes into consideration the following:

• an approach consistent with research best practice, professional standards and ethics;
• an approach consistent with technological best practice and industry standards;
• a commitment to open interfaces, open standards or open source software.

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Timetable and key events: 2009

For the latest information on the award, check here or or the MRS website.
For more information on the Research Awards, see the awards section of the MRS website.

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Conditions of entry

Applicants for the award must be able and willing to accept these conditions of the award. Entry will constitute a complete and binding acceptance of these conditions.

1. To make available for the judging panel, a demonstration of the technology at a time and place convenient to the judging panel in London or, at the judge’s discretion, a location close to London.
2. To provide any information requested by the judging panel for the purpose of assessing the application for the award and answer any questions accurately, truthfully and to the best of their ability.
3. To warrant that the referee(s) provided are independent of and derive no financial or other benefit from the award that may compromise their ability to provide objective information to the judging panel. For the avoidance of doubt, applicants should clearly state any relationship that could give rise to such a potential conflict of interest.
4. To cooperate in the preparation of a statement and citation for the award which describes the technology and its effectiveness which will be used in publicity surrounding the award.
5. To be able to attend in person or send a representative to receive the award at the Awards event on the date shown on the timetable, if your entry is among those short-listed for the nomination.
6. To accept that the decision of the judging panel is final.

The judging panel agree to respect the commercial confidentiality of the information provided on the application form and all other information requested of the application or any nominated referees.

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Information for applicants

If you wish to enter your technology for the award, we will need you to complete our entry form as fully as possible, paying particular attention to the instructions regarding the level and amount of information required.

Your completed entry form must be sent to the ASC Administrator no later than 15 August. We will notify all applicants, upon receipt of the entry form, to confirm that the information provided is complete. Although we will ask for referees for the judges to contact, we will only make contact if the application becomes one of the short-listed nominations to be announced at the ASC Conference. As noted above, the first round of selection, for the short list of nomination, will be based entirely upon the written submission. It is therefore important that you provide as much information as possible, and include a detailed endorsement from the users, clients or beneficiaries of the software. As the award is for technology effectiveness, this information is essential.

If you wish to provide any supporting documentation, such as screenshots or client testimonials, please ensure these are relevant to the information you provide on the form. Please do not forward any marketing materials, PowerPoint presentations, demonstration versions of your software or similar, as these will not be considered by the judges.

If you have any questions relating to entry procedures, conditions or the award criteria, please contact the ASC administrator, Christine Jenkins by email to admin {a} asc.org.uk.

Please send your completed entry form by email to the ASC at admin {a} asc.org.uk with the subject “Award Entry Form” to arrive no later than 14 August 2009.

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FAQ

Do we have to pay a fee to enter?

Entry is free of charge. The award is promoted and financed by the ASC and the Awards Dinner is managed by the MRS and financed through sponsorship and the sale of tickets.

Do we have to be members of the ASC or the MRS to enter?

No. We do not take this into consideration, though we encourage you to consider membership of either or both, because we are sure you will find membership to be of great benefit to you, if you have developed software in this field.

We entered in a previous year. Can we enter again?

Yes, though we expect to see a fresh submission and a different client reference. We have had several entries resubmitted, and one winner that was a finalist in a previous year.

We are on the other side of the World. Do we have to come to London for the demo?

ASC is an international association and we welcome entries from all countries. It is only if you are short listed as a finalist that we will ask you to provide a demo. We are willing to accept demonstrations by video- or web-conference if you are not able to make a presentation to the judges either in or reasonably close to London.

Do we have to provide your judges with the software for them to install?

We let you make that choice – it will depend on the nature of your application and how practical this is. What is important is that the judges are able to make a thorough assessment of the quality of your software, and this is often best achieved in the guided context of a demonstration.

How independent are the judges? I do not want to be giving away our best ideas to our competitors.

Judges are selected on the basis that they are knowledgeable about technology and are neutral. We do not select judges who work for technology providers. Judges tend either to work for research companies or are independent consultants. Furthermore, we strive to ensure that there is no conflict of interest by seeking declarations from all judges, and have substituted other judges on several occasions when a potential conflict was identified. Judges also undertake to observe the absolute confidentiality of any information provided. ASC never makes any comment on the winners or entrants beyond the published award citations.

Is the award only open to software companies and commercially available products?

No. We welcome entries from software creators who are not necessarily commercial software providers – this could be in-house developers within a research organisation, open source developers and collaborators, or those who have developed a custom application for one client, though we will want to see how the application could be beneficial to a wider user base.

Is the award only open to software specifically written for a survey or research application?

No. The application of the software you present meets the award criteria and is relevant to survey-based research, but it does not need to be an application created exclusively for research.

What if I miss the deadline?

We guarantee to consider all entries received by the deadline. If you have missed it by a very small number of days, you should contact us immediately to establish whether a late submission is still possible. We cannot guarantee this will be possible and strongly recommend early preparation.

What if I cannot provide a case study on the application of the software?

The award is for Technology Effectiveness, so having a good case study is vital in being considered for the award. We suggest waiting until next year, so you can submit when you do have a really good story to tell on the effectiveness of your software in the hands of your users.

How formal is the dinner?

It is a black tie dinner, so it is pretty formal. For gentlemen, that is a dinner jacket (Tuxedo or a ‘smoking’ jacket), and for ladies, elegant eveningwear or for both, national dress.

How many guests can I bring to the dinner?

If you are short listed, ASC will provide you with one ticket. You are welcome to bring guests, but you will need to purchase tickets for them from the MRS. If you let us know you are doing this, we will try to co-ordinate that your guests are accommodated on the same ASC table or one adjoining ours. The event tends to sell out each year, so we advise you book early for any guests.

What is the prize for the winner?

The winner receives a striking etched glass trophy to keep, a framed certificate and the entitlement to use the Award Winner logo on publicity. An official photographer attends the event, and the photographs of the moment the winner receives the award are available for purchase via the MRS.

What do the runners-up get?

Finalists are presented with framed certificates and are entitled to use the Award Finalist logo in their publicity.