GIA Awards for Excellence
The 2025 GIA Awards for Excellence Competition will open on August 1, 2024, and close on October 15, 2024.
All entries, including the narrative and supporting entry materials, must be uploaded into the online system. Do not mail any documents to the AAMC.
Your entry must contain the following components:
Narrative
Each entry must be accompanied by a written narrative that contains a goal, a strategy statement, and objectives stating how the submitted project addressed a need or helped solve a problem. This narrative must clearly outline the rationale for the project and measurable outcomes obtained.
The narrative is your opportunity to tell the judges your story; help them understand the situation you and your institution faced. The narrative is as important as the supporting materials because it provides the foundation of your submission.
With the exception of the Robert G. Fenley Writing Award entries*, all narratives should be double-spaced; Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri 12-point font; no more than four (4) pages in length; and include the following components:
- Entry Number: This number is provided during the time of online entry form submission.
- Summary: A short account of the project, program, or publication. Provide a concise description of the overall idea.
- Goals: Outline the need or opportunity that the project addresses. Questions to keep in mind include: What were you trying to accomplish? What results did you hope to achieve? Was the project used to solve a problem? Where did the problem start? What are its effects? What need were you looking to fill?
- Solution/Strategy: Explain and outline your strategy: Describe the steps you took, the options you had, and the decisions you made. Give us an account of the thought process that went into your decisions; how did you decide to pursue one option over another?
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Diversity, equity, and inclusion are strategic imperatives, and there is demonstrated commitment to DEI.
- Measurements: Describe the results of your project, both within your organization and in your targeted audience. Provide metrics/analytics wherever possible. Provide an evaluation of how well the solution targeted the problem or need, using specific and measurable outcomes (if a survey tool was used, submit a copy). If you took an existing idea and reimagined it for your own institution, let the judges know how it is different. How did it add value to your organization?
- Innovation: Overall creativity and innovation of the entry. Does the entry have the potential to be adapted and used by other institutions?
*Robert G. Fenley Writing Award Entry narratives should be double-spaced; use Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri 12-point font; be no more than four (4) pages in length; and include the following components:
- Entry Number: This number is provided during the time of online entry form submission.
- Summary: Provide context for the piece and describe the intended audience.
- Goals: Outline the need or opportunity that the piece addresses. Questions to keep in mind include: What was the writer trying to accomplish? Was the piece used to solve or address a problem? What results did the writer hope to obtain?
- Strategy: Explain and outline the writer’s strategy: Describe the steps the writer took, the options they had, and the decisions they made. Give us an account of the thought process that went into the writer’s decisions.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Diversity, equity, and inclusion are strategic imperatives, and there is demonstrated commitment to DEI. For example, the lens the writer chose or who the writer interviewed.
- Measurements: Describe the results of the piece, both within the organization and the targeted audience. Provide metrics/analytics wherever possible.
- Originality: Does the entry have a strong, unique, and compelling narrative voice and story structure?
- Innovation: Overall creativity and innovation of the entry. Is a fresh angle taken on the topic?
Supporting Entry Materials
Each entry must include supporting materials highlighting your entry. This may include, but is not limited to, magazines, articles, analytics, photos, video/audio files (included with the entry in the portal, via a weblink, and/or an online drive link), promotional materials from an event or campaign, screenshots of websites and/or apps, and more. If you have multiple links to share please put them in a word document to submit to the entry site. All supporting materials must be submitted to the online portal and NOT mailed to AAMC.