FAQ's
What are the awards?
What do you get?
Who is the programme for?
Are you eligible?
How do you apply?
When can you apply?
Who are we looking for?
What kind of campaigns do we support and not support?
When will you hear from us?
Do you get funding?
What are the 2009 categories and which is best for you?
How many applications can you make?
How do we assess your application?
Why will we turn down an application?
What happens if your application is accepted?
Complaints
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What are the awards?
We believe that campaigning is an important part of a healthy democracy - but the right type of advice and support on how to tackle the challenges of trying to bring about change is not always available to everyone. The Sheila McKechnie Awards were created to help those fighting for social, economic and environmental change to develop their campaigning skills.
Our awards programme offers bespoke training and development opportunities over six months to help you take your campaign to the next level. Whether you need advice on how to get media coverage, fresh ideas to boost your profile, or tips on how to influence politicians, a Sheila McKechnie Award can provide you with a support package to meet your needs.
We are particularly looking for people at the early stages of working on or running a campaign, who, with advice and support, could achieve much more.
Many campaigners are humble and are put off by the word 'awards'. An SMK Award is a development opportunity to fast track you to the next level of campaigning success, rather than an award that congratulates you on your past. If you win one of our awards, you receive a programme put together just for you, and the costs are covered by the award sponsor. There is no cost to you except for your commitment and time, which can be anywhere from 5-10 days over six months, depending on the programme we agree with you. An average time commitment is equivalent to about one day per month for six months.
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What do you get?
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The SMK Award support package runs over 6 months, which for the 2009 awards will be October . We work with you to develop your specific programme to suit your needs and your timing commitments. This can consist of:
A Briefing day to introduce you to the programme
An assessment of your campaign
Coaching sessions with an expert in your field
1:1 advice sessions and shadowing opportunities with senior decision makers
A weekend residential with fellow programme participants
With the right advice and support, this programme fast-tracks campaigns to the next
level and helps to develop your skills, knowledge and networks.
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Who is the programme for?
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The programme is open to both paid campaigners from established organisations and those campaigning on a voluntary basis. The emphasis however is on under resourced and novice campaigners. We want to attract people working in a campaigning capacity right across the spectrum, including those who perhaps do not label themselves campaigners but are working to effect change in their community in some way.
The Awards support individuals who are relatively new to the field of campaigning or
who have limited resources to be able to develop their skills. We do not support any
given cause over another, but rather look for passionate, focused and visionary
individuals who are committed to campaigning for positive social change.
Your campaign can have a local, regional, national or international focus, but you
must be based in the UK to be eligible.
We award individuals, not groups, although you are still eligible to apply if you
campaign on behalf of a group or organisation. You can be a paid employee in a campaigning organisation, volunteer, Trustee, or be starting up a campaign on your own.
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Are you eligible?
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If you answer yes to the following questions then you are eligible to apply for a place
on the programme, although please check the criteria for each award category:
Are you a UK resident? (this doesn't apply to the International awards)
Do you work on a campaign based in the UK (but the focus can be global, national or local)?
Have you been campaigning for less than 5 years? This will differ from person to person, but if you have been running campaigns full time for over 5 years then you may be too experienced. If you have been working on a voluntary or part-time basis your experience will be different too.
You're over the age of 18.
If you are applying for the Global Action award, you're aged between 18 and 24
If you are applying for the Young Activist award, you're aged between 16 and 24.
The Women Creating Change award is for women only.
If you're applying for the Shout Out! Award, you're aged between 15 and 18.
You're involved with a campaign that fits in with one of our 12 categories (please contact us if you need help deciding which category you should apply under).
If employed, you have permission from your employer to be released to participate in the support programme when required.
You're campaigning on an issue that affects the wider community, not just one
individual.
You're not involved in a campaign that is offensive or discriminatory.
Within our charitable objectives, SMK makes awards to a range of organisations and individuals to conduct legal and effective campaigns. It is not necessary to be part of a registered charity to apply for an SMK award. However, awards can only support campaigns which further charitable objectives as defined in the 2006 Charity Act. There are 13 charitable purposes defined by the Act and they are quite broad. A list is below, and on the SMK website, click here to read. Full details are available on the Charity Commission (England and Wales) website. If having read this information carefully you are still unsure if it is appropriate to apply, please ring us and a member of staff will be happy to discuss this with you. In these circumstances, please make sure you ring us well before the deadline for applications.
The charitable purposes defined by the 2006 Act are as follows:
The prevention or relief of poverty.
The advancement of education.
The advancement of religion.
The advancement of health or the saving of lives.
The advancement of citizenship or community development.
The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science.
The advancement of amateur sports.
The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity.
The advancement of environmental protection or improvement.
The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.
The advancement of animal welfare.
The promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the crown, or of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services.
Other purposes currently recognised as charitable and any new charitable purposes which are similar to another charitable purpose.
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How do you apply?
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To apply for a place on the programme you need to complete an application form and email it to awards@smk.org.uk by Tuesday 30th June 2009.
Before completing the form, make sure you read the main application guidelines, these can be downloaded from the Foundation's website or on request from the Foundation by calling 020 7700 8231 or emailing awards@smk.org.uk. If you have any questions that
are not addressed by these guidelines or our FAQs do not hesitate to get in touch, we
are always happy to talk through applications. Please note that several awards have different guidelines and application forms - e.g. Shout Out!, International Campaigner, International Young Campaigner, and Young Activist. These are also available on our website.
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When can you apply?
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The Foundation will be accepting applications between Wednesday 1st April and Tuesday 30th June 2009.
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Who are we looking for?
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We are looking for committed individuals who are campaigning for sustainable solutions to social, economic and/or environmental problems. We are particularly looking for people at the early stages of working on or running a campaign, who, with advice and support, could achieve much more. The application form is an opportunity for applicants to say who they are, what kind of change they want to bring about, why it is important to them, and how an SMK award will help them achieve their goals.
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What kind of campaigns do we support and not support?
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We support individuals working on campaigns that promote positive change and justice. We do not favour one campaign issue over another, but take into account the following factors:
The context of the campaign - assessing the barriers and support for a campaign
Potential impact - assessing the longevity and the future impact that receiving additional resources and training would have on the campaign
Quality of future plans - what are your next steps
Existing resources - differentiating between campaigners attached to well established networks and those working alone
We do not make awards to campaigns that are offensive or discriminatory.
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When will you hear from us?
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We aim to confirm the receipt of your application within 1-3 days by email if you supply an email address, or within 3-5 days by post if you do not have one. Applications will be shortlisted in early July. We aim to let you know whether you have been shortlisted for an interview by 6th July 2009.
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Do you get funding?
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The Awards Programme does not provide financial grants.
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What are the 2009 award categories and which is best for you?
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There are 12 Award categories in 2009. The table below provides a 'quick overview' of these awards and the main criteria for each one. For more criteria and information please look at the individual page on the website www.sheilamckechnie.org.uk for each award that you are interested in.
Click here for the table.
You will see from the types of campaigns awarded in previous years, that each category covers a broad range of issues to be as inclusive as possible. Your campaign should fit in somewhere, but if you're unsure then give us a call to talk it through. If we feel that your application would be better suited to another category then we will move it for you.
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How many applications can you make?
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You can only make one application a year. If you have applied in previous years you can still apply for future programmes so long as you still meet the criteria, and you have not been shortlisted for one of our awards.
People who have won a Sheila McKechnie Foundation Award cannot apply again.
People who have been short-listed and were finalists, but not winners, in previous years, may apply in certain circumstances:
They must still meet the criteria for the awards scheme overall and for any award category they are applying for
They cannot have been a finalist in an award category where they received personalised support from SMK. This excludes 2008 finalists for the London Social Justice award from applying again. If you are in doubt about this please give us a ring to discuss.
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How do we assess your application?
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Once submitted your applications go through a detailed two-stage process. First, it is assessed by Foundation staff to make sure it is complete, you are eligible, and check it against the criteria set out above. Secondly, an external panel of judges choose 3-4 applicants to interview in person or over the phone.
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Why will we turn down an application?
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Applications are turned down for a number of reasons. If you do not complete all the required sections, or answer the questions set out, then your application will be discounted. Our key criteria are laid out briefly above in the 'What are we looking for?' and in more detail in the guidelines for each award. It is worth checking that you have addressed these in your application form, as this is what we will use to determine the shortlisted candidates. Spending the time and making sure you prepare a strong application that gives a sense of who you are, what you want to do, and why you why to do it can really improve your chance of being shortlisted.
We will be in contact with you by the end of July if you have not been successful in being shortlisted. If you would like feedback on your application then this can be arranged through Ruby Coote.
All applications of a discriminatory or offensive nature will automatically be rejected.
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What happens if your application is accepted?
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If your application is short-listed, you will be asked to come to the Foundation's
offices for an interview with a judging panel in July - or we will arrange for a telephone interview if you can't get to us easily. We aim to give you at least 7 days to prepare for the interview.
The judging panel for each category is different as it is made up of a sponsor representative, an expert in the field i.e a journalist or policy expert and a representative from the Foundation (usually senior staff or a Trustee). Interviews are approximately 45 minutes long and our aim is for it to be a relatively informal process.
Results of the interviews with shortlisted applicants will not be disclosed until the Awards ceremony in September 2009.
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Complaints
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If you feel you have not received a high level of service from Foundation staff, please contact a member of the team to talk through your concerns in the first instance.
