Here is how the INSPIRE Awards Recipients are selected.

Nominations are submitted by the public using online forms hosted on the INSPIRE Awards Web site. They are reviewed by the Awards Nominations & Procedures Committee to confirm that nominees meet the appropriate criteria for the category for which they’ve been nominated. A short list, with a maximum of 5 nominees in each category, is then compiled from all the qualified nominations received.

The Lifetime Achievement AwardLUX Award for the Arts, Charles Roy Award for Activism in HIV/AIDS, and Accenture Innovator of the Year are voted on with a secret ballot by the Board of Directors under the supervision of the co-chairs of the Nominations & Procedures Committee.

The other four categories, Person, Youth, Positive Business, and Inspiring Community of the Year, are voted on by a Jury Panel. The Jury Panel is assembled from the following groups:

  • Seven members of the INSPIRE Awards Board of Directors,
  • Eight (varies) representatives of INSPIRE Awards Community Partners organizations,
  • Seven to nine members of the public selected randomly or through a form on the INSPIRE Awards website. Interested community members are welcome to identify their interest in volunteering as a Jury Panel member by completing the appropriate form on our Web site.

This protocol produces a Jury Panel with approximately of 25 participants.

The categories are voted on with a secret ballot a few days before the Awards Gala, under the supervision of the entire Nominations & Procedures Committee team. The co-chairs of that committee then count the votes and the confidential results are tabulated and secured in a locked briefcase. That briefcase remains locked until the night of the Awards Gala, at which time the President of the INSPIRE Awards opens the briefcase on stage to reveal the outcome of this process.

The INSPIRE Awards is committed to honouring and celebrating all the Nominees each year, acknowledging them from the stage at the annual Awards Gala.