Award Categories & Criteria

PLEASE NOTE that the submission methodology and criteria is updated to allow for both an insightful and inclusive process. If you have submitted nominations in the past, be sure to read the instructions below as the process has been changed.

NEW AWARDS SUBMISSION CRITERIA

EG Award Submission Criteria

GPC has revamped both the awards criteria and the nomination process to make it much easier and practical to submit a nomination.

Please note that past EGA Winners from the previous year will be subject to a 1-year cool-off period in their respective winning category. Past award winners are still permitted and encouraged to submit (up to a maximum of three nominations) in all other categories.

  • If organizations are applying for multiple awards, they should complete a separate application in each category. An annex for how to complete the submission is attached below.
  • Submissions should tell the story about an innovation or continuous improvement in one nomination area, that has been implemented within the last 18 months.
  • Each Nominee MUST answer the following questions to a maximum of 250 words per question. Each answer should provide details about the practice or an innovation they wish to submit in the nomination category, as well as highlight the role that the Governance Professional played in enhancing the organization’s process or effectiveness.
  • Supporting documents are also permitted but should be limited to 2 pages and can include a program/project overview, a timeline of implementation, current progress and success factors if any.
  • Applications open from April 2st to May 5th, Shortlisted organizations will be announced via press release June,  2024. 

 

Nomination Areas

Nominations may be made for any innovative practice or process that falls within any of the nomination areas set out below. Within each of the areas are several examples of possible specific areas on which organizations may wish to focus their nomination. The examples are not exhaustive and nominees are encouraged to submit any practice or innovation they feel enhances the governance of their organization. Please check all that apply to the submission and if not in the list, please add under ‘Other’.

Award Submission Process

To allow for fair competition, award winners who were selected in the previous year will be subject to a 1-year cool-off period in their respective winning category. Award winners are still able and encouraged to submit maximum of three nominations in all other categories, combined.

Each nominee MUST submit an executive summary which details a practice or an innovation in one of the nomination areas and highlights the role of the Governance Professional in enhancing the organization’s processes or effectiveness through the innovation.

Submissions should be limited to innovation or continuous improvement in one nomination area that has been implemented within the last 18 months. Each organization may submit a maximum of three nominations in all categories, combined.

The judging panel requires a clear and consistent explanation of what differentiates the nominee from its peers. The summary should include why the organization / individual / program is unique and what makes it “the best.” This should include a narrative of not only what was done, but also “how” and “why.”

Your submission should address the following questions (250 words limit for each question).

  1. What new or innovative programs/projects did your organization complete during the last 18 months.
  2. What was the objective of the project, what issues was this project created to address? 
  3. Why was this important to the organization?
  4. What were the achieved results and impact on the organization?
  5. How did the organization’s approach to implementing these changes support value creation for the organization and its stakeholders?
  6. How was the board involved in the process?
  7. How did the board oversee the project’s performance?
  8. What was the role that the Governance Professional played in coordinating/managing these processes and how were they empowered, resourced and supported to add the most value?  

If you an submitting a nomination for Governance Professional of the Year or Peter Dey Achievement Award, your submission must include 750-words Executive Summary instead of the above sets of questions. 

Attachments should be used sparingly, if at all. If used, they should be provided as an example of the practice, process or innovation, not as a description of it.

When including supporting materials to support the nomination from other documents, please provide extracts only of the relevant page or pages, as well as highlight the specific areas that are being submitted as supporting information. NO MORE than up to 7 pages of supporting materials can be provided in a single file for any one submission.

Executive summaries that refer to a “see attached” within their narrative to describe their innovation will be returned for a rewrite. They must summarize each element within the summary.

1. Engagement

  • Shareholder engagement
  • Shareholder activism
  • Rightsholder engagement
  • Innovative mediums for communication
  • Interactive communications
  • Public disclosure
  • Board role in oversight of stakeholder relations
  • Board role in communicating with, and engaging, stakeholders/rightsholders
  • Reporting on stakeholder value creation
  • Stakeholder representatives on the board
  • Corporate activism; board role in corporate position statements
  • Board’s role addressing stakeholder conflicts and trade-offs
  • Other

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2. ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) / Sustainability / Purpose

*Note ESG and Sustainability are used interchangeably.
  • Board Sustainability / ESG oversight practices
  • Board adoption and oversight of corporate purpose
  • ESG auditing and reporting
  • Committee ESG / purpose roles
  • ESG / purpose in executive incentive plans and performance objectives
  • ESG / purpose in succession planning and recruitment
  • ESG / purpose in corporate strategy
  • ESG / purpose in risk management
  • Board ESG / purpose education, competencies, assessments, and recruitment
  • ESG / purpose in governance manuals and procedures

3. Board / Director Effectiveness

  • Agenda development
  • Individual director requirements
  • Director skills and talents
  • Director recruitment
  • Director evaluation
  • Director Onboarding
  • Board succession
  • Board duties and division of responsibilities with committees
  • Board evaluation
  • Board orientation
  • Board education
  • Board materials and presentations
  • Board member terms
  • Time management for meetings
  • Removing directors from the board

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4. Strategy / Risk Management

  • Strategic oversight by board
  • Strategic planning processes or practices
  • How strategy is integrated into regular meetings
  • Strategic planning session (format or content)
  • Value creation by the board
  • Purpose-ESG-Strategy connection
  • Strategy-risk connection
  • Strategy – compensation connection
  • Defining critical success factors
  • Succession planning strategies
  • Compensation Risk
  • ESG (environmental, social, governance) Risk
  • Climate Change Risk
  • Oversight of enterprise risk management
  • Enterprise Risk Management Systems
  • Cyber Risk Governance
  • Reporting risk to the Board and Committees
  • Crisis management

5. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

  • Board diversity
  • Board oversight of DEI
  • Defining diversity
  • Measuring diversity
  • Inclusion in the boardroom
  • Setting and communicating goals
  • Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • Addressing equity and inclusion
  • Workforce diversity, equity and/or inclusion
  • Board renewal in light of DEI
  • Other

6. Organizational Governance

  • Developing by-laws
  • Mandates
  • Terms of reference
  • Position descriptions
  • Roadmaps
  • Calendars
  • Constitution review
  • Corporate governance practices
  • Defining members (in member-based organizations)
  • Integrated governance systems
  • Insider trading policies, procedures and practices
  • Ethics policies and programs
  • Whistleblower protections
  • Clawback policies
  • Subsidiary governance practices
  • Delegations of authority
  • Records management
  • Internal policy development, ownership and approvals
  • Teamwork between Governance Office and other departments
  • Defining roles and compensation in the Governance Office
  • Other

7. Governance Professional of the Year

This award category is open to individuals who currently work or formerly worked in the role of governance professional (corporate secretary, assistant corporate secretary, de facto corporate secretary or member of the governance office or corporate secretariat team, etc.) who have shown outstanding leadership and/or innovation in one or more aspects of governance.

This award recognizes outstanding and ongoing achievement in the realm of corporate governance practice within and beyond their organization. Nominations for this award should provide details on the achievements of the individual in governance matters and also demonstrate the innovations and leadership which make him or her stand apart and deserve this unique recognition. Special consideration will be given to individuals who have contributed to the improvement of their own organization’s governance on a continuous basis, who have provided mentorship to those they impact within their own organization and/or in the profession as a whole, and who have shown leadership in carving out or pursuing new and innovative processes in governance.

This award is meant to recognize the outstanding contributions by an individual to the role of the governance professional and the practice of corporate governance in Canada.

Please follow the guidelines on length of submission and use of attachments set out in the nomination process for the Excellence in Governance awards.

8. Peter Dey Governance Achievement Award

Considered to be the “Godfather of Canadian governance,” Peter Dey was an inspiration for the inception of GPC. It formed around the time that the 1994 Dey Report was issued, in order to respond to a growing demand from governance professionals for a forum of like-minded individuals. 
This award recognizes outstanding and widely impactful achievement in the realm of corporate governance. This person need not be a GPC member or a corporate secretary; rather, it is someone who has, over their career, significantly impacted the way organizations are governed, or are regulated, or how they communicate with stakeholders and the wider community. This award is meant to recognize the outstanding contribution(s) by an individual to corporate governance in Canada.

Please follow the guidelines on length of submission and use of attachments set out in the nomination process for the Excellence in Governance awards.

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