Submit an Entry

This page gives you details about entering and the entry form

How to Enter

Entering the 2026 DCR Excellence Awards is easy. Just follow these steps:

Step One: Choose your category (or categories)

Review the category descriptions here and decide where your project, product or initiative best fits. A single entry may be submitted into up to two categories, provided you can justify each one.

Step One: Choose your category (or categories)

Review the category descriptions here and decide where your project, product or initiative best fits. A single entry may be submitted into up to two categories, provided you can justify each one.

Step Two: Prepare your written entry

Each category has its own ‘Recommendations for Entries’ section. Use this as a checklist for what to cover. The entry form will also help guide you to ensure you don’t miss anything.

Step Three: Gather your supporting evidence

You can upload supporting material alongside your written entry. This might include:

Data tables or graphs
Diagrams, photos or design visuals
Case studies, dashboards or reports
Short testimonials or letters of support

Step Four: Submit via the online awards portal

All entries must be submitted via our official online awards portal below. Entries submitted by email will not be accepted.

Step Five: Confirmation

Once your entry has been submitted, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive confirmation within 24 hours, please contact [email protected].

Step Six: Shortlisting

After you have submitted your entry, it’ll be on its way to our judges. We ask that you remain patient while our judges score your entry. You will find out if you have made the shortlist on 7 May 2026. Winners will be announced at DCR Live on June 25, 2026.

Submission Guidelines

To keep judging fair and consistent, all entries should follow these basic rules:

Word limits

Written entries should be a maximum of 1,500 words per category (excluding supporting material).
Please keep individual sections concise and focused on the judging criteria.

Word limits

Written entries should be a maximum of 1,500 words per category (excluding supporting material).
Please keep individual sections concise and focused on the judging criteria.

Supporting material

You may upload up to 3 supporting files per entry.
Accepted formats: PDF, PowerPoint, Word, JPEG/PNG.
Maximum file size will be shown on the online awards portal.
You may also include one URL to a public or unlisted video (e.g. YouTube/Vimeo) of no more than 5 minutes in length.

Confidential information

If your entry includes commercially sensitive information, clearly mark it as ‘Confidential – not for publication’.
Judges will treat this information in confidence, and any published material will only use non-sensitive detail.

Joint entries

Joint submissions from multiple organisations involved in the same project are welcome. Please nominate one primary contact for communication.

Multiple entries

There is no limit to the number of different entries an organisation can submit, provided each entry relates to a distinct project, product or initiative

Anonymisation

Customer names may be anonymised where required, but judges will expect sufficient detail to understand the scale and impact of the work.
If you anonymise a customer, indicate sector and size (for example, “FTSE 250 financial services provider”).