Top Ten Tips:
- Tailor your entry to the specific criteria for your category
- Communicate what is different about your project
- Make sure your slides are engaging (be creative with colour and graphics!) and that they tell a story
- Write in clear, concise style that an outsider could understand, making sure your slides are legible. Use plain English and avoid jargon
- Include specific details as far as possible*
- Make sure your visuals illustrate your points, and that charts have axes that are clearly labelled/not misleading and reference the source data
- Incorporate feedback or comments from key stakeholders - make sure they are attributed to an individual, or a clear job title or role, if the individual can’t be named
- Check for spelling and grammar – errors create a poor impression
- Don’t include loads of data – focus on the interpretation
- Ask a colleague not involved in the project to critique your entry
* It’s understandable that you don’t want to give away a differential advantage but if you hold back vital information it may make the project less compelling. Remember that only a small group of judges will be reviewing your entry, they will treat it in the strictest confidence, and you can specify any companies (both pharma and agencies) that should not see your entry.
You may like to use a typical STARS format to structure your presentation:
Situation
- What was the problem / issue you were trying to resolve?
- What outcomes were sought?
Task
- What was the project brief?
Actions
- What methodology did you employ?
- How did you analyse the results?
- Include details of any innovative approaches or novel methodologies if applicable.
Results
- What were the outcomes?
- Include supporting evidence, charts, data etc.
So what?
- What happened as a result of the project?
- What did you or the client do differently?
- How did this impact business / patients / the NHS?
Definition of 'Impact'
For Best Business Impact you must show impact on the UK pharma/healthcare company's business, but for other categories impact on patients and/or the NHS is also valid.
If you are demonstrating impact on the business, this could be shown in a number of ways; you do not necessarily have to show an increase in sales/share. Examples might be: a change in brand or field force strategy, an improvement in organisational or commercial effectiveness, contribution to a market access strategy, a change in attitudes/practices within an organisation or even a decision not to do something. Actual impact will carry more weight than implied impact or expectation of future impact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Work can be up to three years old as of 31st December in the year prior to the entry deadline. It may be easier to demonstrate business impact with older projects, and it could also be easier to get sign off from senior management.
You will need to decide which category to enter based on a combination of which category you would most like to win and which category you believe you have the best chance of success in. We can provide advice here, so please do contact the BHBIA (admin@bhbia.org.uk) and a member of the BOBI Committee will be in touch. A given programme/project can only be entered in one category.
No. A given programme/project may only be entered in one category
Yes. Impact will be assessed relative to expectations – so a small UK-only project with modest objectives can compete fairly with a far-reaching global programme. Please don’t be put off by the need to show impact – it’s just one element of the assessment and there are many ways to demonstrate it – see next question.
For Best Business Impact you must show impact on the UK pharma/healthcare company's business, but for other categories impact on patients and/or the NHS is also valid.
If you are demonstrating impact on the business, this could be shown in a number of ways; you do not necessarily have to show an increase in sales/share. Examples might be: a change in brand or field force strategy, an improvement in organisational or commercial effectiveness, contribution to a market access strategy, a change in attitudes/practices within an organisation or even a decision not to do something. Actual impact will carry more weight than implied impact or expectation of future impact.
It doesn’t matter where the office or people who conducted the work are based, as long as the work they did impacted on the UK and it is possible to enter a multi-country project, as long there is evidence that some of the impact is in the UK.
Yes. We recognise that sponsors are likely to choose to sponsor a category that aligns with their own areas of expertise, so it’s not surprising that they may have projects that could form the basis of a strong entry in that category. It is very important that the judging process is impartial and the way we manage this is to ensure that sponsors are completely excluded from any part of the judging process – so there is no conflict of interest.
You may submit programmes/projects that were entered for previous BOBI Awards (and did not win!) if new supporting evidence has become available. This can be either the same category entered previously, or a different category. Perhaps new evidence of impact has come to light, or you may have completed an additional phase of the research project or some supplementary analysis that makes it more compelling. (But remember work must have been completed in the last 3 years, as of 31st December).
Yes. You should not discount a project just because you think it is too 'ordinary'. The BOBIs are about celebrating and rewarding excellence in business intelligence and judges are looking for excellent execution, clear findings and tangible evidence that it made a difference. Of course, demonstration of innovation is important if you are entering the 'Best Use of Innovation' category!
No, there is no limit to the number of entries any individual or company may submit - as long as each entry relates to a different programme/project. However, the judges reserve the right to limit the number of highly commended entries from the same organisation, in the event of that organisation submitting multiple high-quality entries in a given category (though in practice this is very unlikely to arise). The judges also reserve the right to commend an entry in a different category from the one entered and/or to disqualify entries that do not meet the stipulated format.
It’s a fact that some people and some teams are regularly successful and once you have the knack of writing a winning entry, you have a formula to call on for the future. But encouraging new people to enter is a key objective for the BOBI committee. Everyone had to start somewhere - so why not take that first step? There are lots of resources on the website to help you. Remember, the biggest factor determining your likelihood to win is whether or not you enter! We ensure that the judging process is scrupulously fair by careful selection of the judges for each category, and each judging panel operates independently – their task is to pick the best entry, not to consider what other awards those entrants might have won.
Judging panels for each category are carefully selected to avoid any conflicts of interest. All judges will have signed a confidentiality undertaking and are bound by this undertaking not to use or discuss any information contained in the entries outside of the process. Judges will not see the names of individuals who have entered – i.e. they won’t have access to the personal details on the entry form, they will only review the PowerPoint submission. You also have an opportunity (on the entry form) to specify any organisations whose employees you do not wish to view your entry, and judges from those companies will be excluded from your category. Judging panels are drawn from across the BHBIA membership. Please try not to exclude companies unless it's essential, as this can make it difficult for us to appoint a balanced panel.
No, we do not require you to involve a client in the submission, though generally there will be an end client and it’s likely you’d need their permission if you are going to submit an entry that refers to work they commissioned. In cases where work was done for a client company the judges look for evidence of successful teamwork/collaboration - so joint entries, where the agency and client have worked together on the submission, are likely to be favoured. Entrants are also encouraged to involve sub-contractors – e.g. the fieldwork/data collection agency – in the submission and the credits.
Yes, this is fine. We welcome submissions involving any client company manufacturing or marketing pharmaceuticals or other products in the field of healthcare. Submissions with NHS or charity partners are also welcome. The key thing is that there should be a demonstrable positive impact on the UK business, patients or the NHS, as a result of the business intelligence programme or project that has been conducted.
The phrase ‘research project or analytical approach’ is intended to be very broad – essentially we wanted to capture the fact that a wide range of business intelligence projects/programmes are welcome, but without making the award descriptions too wordy.
Entries simply need to be based on EITHER a market research project OR an analytical approach to some data; you don't have to include both (though it's not a problem if you entry does happen to span both areas).
Yes. Please stick to the specifications. We need texts to be within this limit for inclusion in publicity of the highly commended entries/winners. If your executive summary is longer, we will cut it down for publication and important content could be lost.
All or part of the executive summary may be reproduced if your entry is highly commended or wins (for example in publications connected with the event), so you need to ensure you are happy for the content of this section to be made public. If you wish you can choose not to name the product and/or disease area in the executive summary, but this is entirely up to you. Historically, we have found that most entrants do name the product/disease area (if applicable) in the executive summary.
Yes, this is acceptable. The main reason for having the product/therapy area field on the form is to help us quickly identify any conflicts of interest amongst the judging panel that may not have already been mentioned by the entrant. In this case that’s not an issue as the therapy area will be blinded. So you can generalise the information for this field - i.e. simply give a broad idea of the type of therapy area without being specific. However, if you can convince your client to agree to the therapy area being shared it will help you to make the entry more specific, and therefore potentially more compelling, so that would always be our recommendation, if it's possible.
Not if you have clearly made an effort to stick to the overall format, however there may be penalty points (see Submission Guidelines – How are Entries Judged? Section) We are keen to make it straightforward to enter and the specified framework is intended to help, not hinder this.
No, all the information needs to be in your PowerPoint submission (and in the main body of the slides, not the notes). Entrants are assessed on their ability to get across the key messages in a concise way and this also ensures that submissions are manageable for the judges to review. The only exception to this is that you may include video, as long as the total running time for any video links / animations does not exceed 5 minutes (you must include the LINK to the video on one of your slides - don't sent it separately or it may get missed).
No, there is a strict cut-off point of 5pm on the day of the deadline. (Note: in previous years we have accepted entries later in the evening, but this causes problems if people have technical difficulties submitting their entries as there are no office staff available to help. Therefore we are now closing entries at 5pm). If you have not managed to obtain final sign-off, you may submit your entry by the deadline and have the option to withdraw it within 2 business days - if approval is not obtained, by notifying us at: admin@bhbia.org.uk. However, you cannot make any changes to your entry once it has been submitted.
You will receive an automated notification email when you submit your entry form (if not, or if you have any concerns over whether your entry has been uploaded, please contact us immediately – please do not wait until the deadline has passed).
Yes. All Entrants will get constructive feedback. If your entry is not selected as highly-commended you will receive feedback by the end of April. Feedback on highly commended entries (including winners) will be provided in May, once the winners have been announced.
Please email us: admin@bhbia.org.uk and the admin team will either answer your query directly, or refer you to someone who can help.