Some frequently asked questions that you may have about the awards have been answered below. Please read these before submitting your award to avoid some common errors. We also strongly advise that you read our guidance for applicants, which contains top tips on what makes a strong submission. If you have any queries, please contact us at awards@natspec.org.uk
Applying for an award
What makes a good application?
We have prepared some guidance for applicants based on the strongest applications from previous years. This includes some technical advice on preparing your application, as well as observations about what makes a good entry, and some tips on what to avoid. Critically, you must be able to provide a clear summary of your project, explain what makes it innovative and submit evidence. qualitative and / or quantitative, to demonstrate that it has had a positive impact on learners. We strongly advise that you read this guidance before and during your award submission and submit robust evidence (qualitative and / or quantitative).
What makes practice innovative?
To help you decide if your practice is innovative, we have created a simple innovation checklist containing six questions to consider as part of your application process. Please use this before preparing your submission. You can also check out ‘What is innovation?’, a blog in which 26 experts share their own definitions.
Who can enter for an award?
The awards are open to any specialist FE provider that is currently a member of Natspec. You can learn more about membership of Natspec on our website. The awards are not open to Natspec affiliates or general FE colleges.
Do I have to ask permission before applying for an award?
Your Principal or Chief Executive Officer must support your application.
How do I apply?
Application is via an online application form. No paper or email applications will be accepted. Applications for the 2027 awards will open in October 2026.
How much work is involved in applying for an award?
You will need to look carefully at the criteria for the category/ies you plan to apply for and make a persuasive case for your project against them, within the permitted word count. The application form will help you to structure your submission to align with the criteria.
You will also need to select and upload supplementary evidence of impact, again adhering to word count or file size limit.
What word / file size limits apply?
The criteria section of the application form is designed to help you tailor your entry to the specific award criteria. Each one of these individual criteria sections should contain evidence that is no longer than 200 words. If you are submitting additional evidence files, these should be no larger than 30mb each. If you are submitting a file that is larger than this (i.e. a video file), you will receive a warning that the upload cannot be accepted and you will need to submit this as an URL rather than a file upload. This can be done by uploading to YouTube or an online file sharing portal. Any video evidence submitted must not total more than 3 minutes. Any written evidence submitted must not total more than 500 words. If you go over these restrictions, any evidence over these limits will be discarded by the judges.
How many awards can I apply for?
Each college is eligible to apply for all eight awards. There is, however, a maximum of one application per category and you cannot enter the same project into more than one category. For example, you cannot enter a project involving work with employers into both the ‘Innovative partnership working’ and ‘Innovative routes into employment’ categories. Projects will quite often overlap more than one category, but you will need to choose the category which you think best fits your project. You should carefully review the criteria for each category to decide where your project is strongest and most aligned to the criteria.
How are submissions scored?
Each submission is given a score out of 24 but categories are weighted differently in their scoring. Criterion 1 (innovation) is marked out of 8. Criteria 2 and 3 (specific to each award) are marked out of 5. Criterion 4 (evidence) is marked out of 6. Please bear this in mind when submitting your entries. Focussing on the weightings when writing your application can significantly improve your chances or being shortlisted for winning an award.
What evidence will support your application?
When is the closing date for applications?
Applications for 2027 will open week commencing 12 October 2026 and the closing date for applications will be Wednesday 9 December 2026 at 4:00pm.
Natspec reserves the right to refuse any submissions received after this time. Please ensure you start your application well in advance of the deadline and contact awards@natspec.org.uk as soon as possible if you have any queries or issues with your submission.
Shortlisting and Awards winners
What happens after I have submitted the application?
Once an application is submitted you will receive an email confirming receipt. If you do not receive this, please check your spam before emailing awards@natspec.org.uk
After applications have closed, all entries will be assessed against the relevant category criteria and a shortlist for each category will be produced. Shortlisted applicants for 2027 will be informed individually and announced publicly in March 2027.
The winners will be announced at an online ceremony on 22 April 2027 from 1:30pm–2:30pm..
A panel of independent judges will select the winner of each category.
What will winners receive?
Award winners will receive:
- £300 CPD bursary
- use of the Natspec Award winners’ logo on their college headed paper, websites and other promotional materials
- a certificate and trophy, designed and made by learners, to keep.
Winners will also be considered for the overall Kathryn Rudd Award for Innovator of the Year.