iCAN Connect: How to Write Award Submissions that Stand Out
Every year, brilliant individuals, teams, employee resource groups and organisations across insurance miss out on the recognition they deserve, not because the work isn't good enough, but because it isn't communicated in a way that lands with judges.
That was the starting point for the latest iCAN Connect session, which brought together DEI, HR, Talent, Communications and Network leaders from across the sector to work out how to close that gap.
The session focused squarely on one practical question: how do you take genuinely strong work and turn it into an award entry that is well written, well presented and, crucially, well evidenced?
Why Enter a D&I Award
It's easy to see award entries as an optional extra on top of an already full workload, but they earn their place for a few concrete reasons. An entry is one of the few opportunities to put months or years of D&I work in front of an industry audience that otherwise wouldn't see it. There's also a benefit before you ever reach the ceremony. Chris described award entries as a tool for continuous improvement: putting your work under an external microscope forces you to prove whether it has actually delivered what you intended. In research conducted by Boost, continuous improvement was the biggest benefit organisations reported from entering awards, with being shortlisted second.
There's also a quieter benefit: the process of writing an entry forces a level of reflection that day-to-day delivery rarely allows. Pulling together the evidence for a submission often surfaces what's working and what isn't, in a way that's useful whether the entry gets shortlisted or not.
Key Takeaways
A few principles came through clearly in the session, echoing what we've seen work well across the D&I in Insurance Awards, the Insurance Times Diversity & Inclusion Excellence Awards and similar programmes:
Plan before you write. Decide why the story deserves to win and identify its strongest angle before opening the entry form.
Answer the question you're actually being asked. Understand the judging criteria and scoring system, then structure the submission so judges can clearly see where you've addressed each requirement.
Make your objectives and outcomes match. If you start with a problem or make a bold claim, the evidence at the end needs to demonstrate "mission accomplished".
Combine quantitative and qualitative evidence. Numbers make an entry credible; testimonials, anecdotes and lived experiences make the impact memorable.
Write the story first, then layer in the evidence. Focus detail on what was extraordinary: the challenge, innovation, difficulty or result, rather than documenting every step.
Make the entry easy to judge. Headings, bullets and well-used supporting material are much stronger than a wall of text.
The Expert View: Chris Robinson, Boost Awards
Leading the session was Chris Robinson, Founder and Director of Boost Awards, the world's first and largest award entry consultancy. For more than twenty years, Chris and his team have helped organisations across multiple sectors identify, write and submit award-winning entries, working with businesses of every size to turn what they've achieved into submissions that get noticed. That experience, sitting on both sides of the process, writing entries and judging them, gave the session a perspective that's hard to get anywhere else: a genuine sense of what separates a shortlisted entry from one that never gets a second look.
What the Session Covered
The discussion spanned six areas; each aimed at a different stage of the submission process.
Why awards matter
For individuals, teams and organisations alike, an award entry does more than win a trophy. It's a rare chance to put months or years of work in front of an industry audience, to attract people who are actively looking for inclusive employers to work for, and to give a D&I team the kind of recognition that keeps momentum going internally.
Chris highlighted that entering awards can create value beyond the result itself. The process encourages teams to reflect on what has worked, gather evidence of impact and recognise achievements that can otherwise get lost in day-to-day delivery.
He also stressed the importance of being selective and thoughtful about which awards to pursue, rather than entering simply because a deadline appears.
What judges are really looking for
Understanding the judge's side of the process changes how you write. Judges read a high volume of entries in a short space of time, so the ones that stand out tend to do the work of persuading quickly rather than assuming the reader will dig for the detail.
One message came through clearly: make the judge’s job easy. Strong entries answer the question directly, are clearly structured and give judges enough evidence to understand why the work matters and what changed as a result.
The anatomy of a strong submission
A strong entry needs more than a good piece of work behind it. Chris spoke about the importance of finding a clear story, communicating what makes it distinctive and presenting it in a way that feels credible, human and easy to follow.
Using AI without losing your voice
AI can be useful for processing information, generating ideas, tightening arguments and proofreading, but Chris cautioned against allowing it to become the voice of the submission. Boost's research with awards judges found that AI-written entries can feel overly polished, sterile and lacking in nuance, which can reduce a judge's trust and willingness to engage with the story.
The message wasn't "don't use AI"; it was to use it as a tool while protecting the human voice, judgement and authenticity that make an entry memorable.
How to demonstrate impact effectively
Evidence was a recurring theme throughout the session. Numbers help establish credibility, while testimonials, examples and lived experiences help bring the impact to life. The strongest submissions use both, rather than relying heavily on one or the other.
Common mistakes that hold submissions back
Some of the most common mistakes are surprisingly simple: unclear answers, too much generic language, unsupported claims and submissions that make judges work too hard to find the important points.
As Chris put it, judges don’t need “fluffy text”; they need a compelling story backed by facts.
Practical tips for strengthening future entries
Chris encouraged attendees to give themselves more time, plan before they write, gather evidence early and review entries through the eyes of the judge rather than the person who delivered the work.
His final takeaway summed it up neatly: “Planning, planning, planning” and “evidence, evidence, evidence.”
Turning This into Your Next Submission
If you’re thinking about entering awards over the next 12 months, start by looking broadly at what’s available rather than defaulting to the same programmes every year.
There are awards covering everything from diversity and inclusion, employee networks and social mobility to leadership, culture, wellbeing, talent and wider workplace initiatives. Industry publications, professional bodies and specialist awards platforms are all useful places to search.
Chris also highlighted Awards List, a free searchable database from Boost Awards that allows organisations to explore credible awards by sector, location and category.
Once you have a shortlist, focus on the awards and categories that genuinely match the work you’ve delivered. A smaller number of well-chosen submissions will usually give you a much better chance of telling a clear, evidence-led story than trying to enter every opportunity available.
The key is to give yourself enough time to plan, gather the right evidence and decide which achievements are genuinely worth putting forward.
About iCAN Connect
iCAN Connect was launched in July 2020 as a safe, collaborative space for D&I network leaders, Heads of DEI, HR and Talent professionals from across the insurance industry.
The forum exists for open discussion of the real challenges around inclusion, for sharing what works, and for learning from other organisations' experience rather than starting from scratch. Since its launch, it has grown to nearly 300 members drawn from across the market, all sharing the belief that honest dialogue and shared learning do more to build inclusive businesses than any amount of polished messaging.
About iCAN
The Insurance Cultural Awareness Network (iCAN) is a leading organisation committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the insurance sector. Established in 2017, iCAN has been instrumental in spotlighting cultural awareness, fostering talent, and championing diversity within the industry.