Unboxed
Conference 2008

Entry for the awards is now closed. You can vote for the shortlisted entries here

Introduction

Unboxed and the Unboxed awards
Unboxed - www.unboxed.info - is a free access website that sets out guidance and approaches for working with young people to promote positive activity, produced by social researchers Lemos&Crane. Its focus is good and innovative professional practice - both commissioning and provision - with young people that encourages tolerance, supports participation, and develops leadership for positive social action.

Unboxed builds on the ideas and concepts set out in the report Different World - commissioned by City Parochial Foundation and other work with young people supported by City Bridge Trust and the British Council among others. Different World can be downloaded at www.cityparochial.org.uk/cpf/publications

The Awards recognise outstanding projects that:

• achieve ambitious objectives in their work with young people beyond diversion and tackling anti-social or offending behaviour; and
• make use of original and imaginative approaches in engaging and working with young people; and
• could be replicated and developed elsewhere.

The Judging Criteria is set out in detail below.

The Awards will give public recognition to recent achievement by projects that can clearly describe their objectives, ways of working and the difference their work has made.

The Prize Money of £4,000 in total (supported by the City Parochial Foundation) will also enable winners to build on their achievements by using their approaches, skills and knowledge to do more of the same thing with greater impact, or to take on new challenges that they have identified.

Timetable Sumary

• September 26: Deadline for receipt of awards entries
• October 10: Shortlist published based on choices of expert judging panel, and practitioners invited to vote online
• October 31: Deadline for online voting on shortlist
• November 11: Final winners agreed by judges
• November 25: Winners announced at the Unboxed conference in London.

How to enter

Projects will need to demonstrate how young people have been involved and engaged in the projects and to what effect. The online entry form is in 3 parts:

• 75-word summary of achievement (who's done what with whom, how, and what difference has been made) together with a photo or image that illustrates the ethos or achievement of the project
• 1,500-word profile of their project with detail on objectives, methodologies, achievements, evaluation, etc.
• 300-word proposal for how the current project or related activities could be developed or expanded with additional financial support.

Projects will also need to identify a young person - or group of young people - who can speak on behalf of the project and its achievements at the Unboxed conference, should they be chosen as finalists.

How awards will be decided

Independent judging panel

A panel of judges will decide on a ‘long’ shortlist after all entries have been received. The members of the expert panel are funders and practitioners who have been closely involved in Unboxed and related projects such as Different World:

• Sioned Churchill, City Parochial Foundation
• Sara Llewellin, City Bridge Trust
• Tina Murphy, British Council Global Xchange
• Victoria Hornby, Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
• Liam Black, 15 Foundation
• Hannah Eyres, Key Fund
• Ade Sofola, Citizenship Foundation
• Farhaan Husein, British Council's Global Xchange programme participant.

Judging Criteria

The Judging Panel will look for evidence of ways in which the project/organisation has worked with young people to promote positive activity for young people that has maximised participation, empowerment and potential, and in doing so has:

1. achieved ambitious objectives in working with young people that is beyond diversion and correcting anti-social or offending behaviour and has in particular, encouraged tolerance towards others and/or supported participation in decision-making structures, and/or developed leadership skills for citizenship, equality and creating a better society or environment.
2. made use of original and imaginative approaches in engaging and working with young people - for example, but not exclusively, use of new technologies (web, video, texting, blogs, etc), and/or creative arts and sports; and/or positive peer influence; and/or new marketing techniques (virals, guerrilla campaigns, events, stunts, etc).
3. demonstrated the possibility of being replicated and developed elsewhere.

The Awards will recognise recent achievement by projects that can clearly describe their objectives, ways of working and the impact of their work.

Prize Money of up to £4,000 in total will also be award to winners at the absolute discretion of the final judges to enable them to build on their achievements by using their approaches, skills and knowledge to do more of the same thing with greater impact, or to take on new challenges that they have identified.

Voting on the shortlist

The list of shortlisted organisations and a brief summary of their entry will then be published on the Unboxed website. Practitioners from the Unboxed website will be invited to vote online for the best entries.

Deciding on the winners

The final judges - Maggie Baxter, Chair of the City Parochial Foundation Grants Committee and Gerard Lemos from Lemos&Crane - who will decide on the winners and how the prize money will be allocated taking into account the votes and view of practitioners and the judging panel.

Presentation of awards and prizes

Winners will be announced and awards presented in London at the Unboxed Conference on 25 November 2008.

Entry rules

1. Entries must be completed using the online form at www.unboxed.info/awards2008booking.php
2. Receipt of all entries submitted online will be automatically acknowledged.
3. Entrants may be asked to provide further information.
4. The judges' decision is final. Awards will be made at the judges' discretion and no correspondence will be entered into concerning any decision. Not all the awards advertised may be awarded if the judges consider the criteria have not been met. Additional commendations may be made at the judges' discretion.

Enter online now