Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) today announced a three-phase evaluation mechanism for each of the nine categories of the Sharjah Government Communication Award  2015. The winners will be honoured at a gala awards ceremony that will be held in early 2015 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al  Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairman of the Sharjah Executive Council.

The judging process will include preliminary sorting, shortlisting and final selection. The first phase will end two weeks following the closing of submissions on  October 31, 2014. In this phase, a selected team from Sharjah Media Centre will examine all submissions to ensure their compliance with the award submission criteria. Entries that make the grade will then be submitted to the selection panel (committee).

In the second phase, three to five entries will be shortlisted in each category. The selected entries will be forwarded to the judging panel for further assessment and final selection of winners.

Each category will be graded on a 100 point  grading system,  based on three key criteria. The distribution of points varies in each of the nine categories.

For Best Government Communication Practice - Sharjah, 40 points have been earmarked for planning, while 30 points will be given for vision and 30 for effectiveness. For Best Official Spokesperson - Sharjah, 40 points will be awarded for accuracy, 35 for communication skills and 25 for effectiveness. This category mandates the submission of five samples that highlight the spokesperson’s achievements (in writing , audio or video format). One of the five samples must focus on the area of crisis handling.

For Best Government Website - Sharjah, 40 points will be assigned for content, 35 for communication and 25 for the design. In the category of Best Media Crisis Management - UAE, 25 points are assigned for planning and strategy, 40 for interactivity and performance, and 35 for effectiveness.

For the category of Best Government Communication Strategy - UAE, 45 points are allocated to planning, 25 for effectiveness, 15 for innovation and 15 for leadership. For Best Government Social Media Practice - UAE, 40 points are allocated for content, 40 for  communication and 20 to design.

For Best Graduation Project on Government Communication - UAE, the novelty and objectivity criterion  will allocate 40 points, innovation 35 points and leadership 25 points. For the category of Best Inter-Communication Campaign - UAE, 40 points are allocated to innovation and 30 points each for planning and execution. Finally, for Best Government Communication Campaign – UAE category, 40 points are allocated for planning, 35 for execution and 25 for grade of innovation.

Ibrahim Al-Abed, Head of the Judging Panel and Director General of the National Media Council - UAE, said: “Sharjah Media Centre’s initiative to announce the evaluation mechanism reflects its commitment to endorsing best practices and transparency. The stringent judging process will ensure only the best entries make the final list. We aim to achieve fairness in panel decisions through abiding by set criteria, and applying due diligence and objectivity in the selection process.

“Our panelists include seasoned media and communication professionals from diverse backgrounds. Every submitted entry will be put under the scanner and examined across parameters. Through such attention to detail, we wish to consolidate the position of the Sharjah Government Communication Award as a benchmark of excellence in government communication in the UAE and the wider Gulf region.” 

Osama Samra, Director of Sharjah Media Centre, said: “The Sharjah Government Communication Award website has received thousands of visits in the last three months, a clear indication of the high level of interest from government communications departments in the Award and its categories. We expect a significant increase in the quality and quantity of the entries compared to last year.”

Samra noted the website www.communicationaward.ae offers an overview of the judging panel and its members. He added Sharjah Media Centre has launched the hashtag #GCA14 as the Twitter handle for communication with institutions and the public on news related to the award.

The Sharjah Government Communication Award recognises the achievements of outstanding media and communications professionals across government institutions in the UAE. The award incentivises government communication professionals to implement best practices in their daily operations, and proactively contribute with ideas for the improvement of their departments that in turn develops efficient communication with Sharjah’s residents. 

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