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The Neal Awards competition is open to editorial staff of Connectiv member companies.

Awards are given to editors, not to publications. Entries are scored on three criteria: editorial craftsmanship, journalistic enterprise and significance to the field served. Most award categories are based on gross revenue classifications (combined print and online) to ensure resource parity.

Judging of the Neal Awards is organized in three tiers.

Round 1: January 13 – 24, 2020	The Stage I Judging is composed of more than 150 experienced industry editors. The highest-scoring entries are passed to the Stage II Judges.
Round 2: February 3 – 7, 2020 (in-person Feb 7)	The Stage II Judging Panel submits the top four entries per category for final judging.
Round 3: February 12 – 14, 2020 (in-person Feb 13 & 14)	The Board of Judges, 15 to 18 professionals who are knowledgeable in all aspects of business journalism, makes the final decisions.

The award winner in each category/classification is chosen from four finalists, all of whom will be recognized for their finalist status. The Grand Neal Award, the pinnacle of B2B editorial achievement, honors the most outstanding entry from among the Neal winners in all categories.

Interested in Judging the Neal Awards?

First-round screening is an important part of the Neal Award judging, as this is the critical initial review process, it relies on a panel of your peers to serve as judges. It’s also an excellent way to learn what your industry colleagues are working on, and review really great content and ideas for your brands.

We are looking for senior-level editors, as well as art and design professionals to volunteer with Stage 1 judging. You are able to submit entries, as well as judge.

Treat yourself to lunch on us if you complete your Stage 1 judging assignments with a $15 GrubHub gift card!

Please review what to expect as a Neal Award Judge prior to signing up.

Why Become a Judge

A great opportunity for service to your profession
A great learning experience as you evaluate a diverse cross-section of B2B content outside your industry
A networking opportunity

Who is Eligible

Editorial Teams
Content Teams
Art and Design Teams

Responsibilities and Commitment

Round 1 judges can be expected to review up to 20 entries each (this number is subject to change depending on how many entries are submitted and how many judges sign up).
Please set aside 10 hours to judge entries, you are given 2 weeks to complete your scoring.
Judging can be done remotely and, on your schedule, but must be completed by Friday, January 24, 2020.
Judges are urged to refer to the rules and category descriptions here.
Throughout the process we’re standing by to handle any questions and concerns that may arise. Contact nealawards@siia.net with any questions, issues, or comments.
Recusals: If for any reason you feel you cannot judge an entry please contact nealawards@siia.net immediately so that we can reassign that entry to another judge.

Signing Up

Before signing up to be a judge, please make sure you understand the judging process so you know what to expect and what your responsibilities will be.

We will try our best to assign you categories you most want to judge. I encourage you to list as many categories as you feel comfortable judging. You will need to register as a judge then complete the questionnaire.

Once you sign up and complete your registration, you will receive a confirmation email that we received your application. Judges are accepted as they sign up, unless you hear from us otherwise. Currently, we only accept sign-up’s for Round 1 judging. Round 2 and 3 are by invite only, but if you are interested, please contact Allison Bostrom at nealawards@siia.net.

Entry Assignments

Entry assignments will be sent to judges on week of January 13, 2020. Please review your entry assignments in the judge portal as soon as you receive them and let the Awards Manager know of any conflicts of interest, or if you can no longer participate as one of our judges.

Entry Evaluations

As a judge, you may be expected to evaluate up to 20 entries, in various categories (this number is subject to change depending on how many entries are submitted and how many judges sign up). All Round 1 judging is conducted online within the judge portal. Entries are scored on three criteria: editorial craftsmanship, journalistic enterprise and significance to the field served, using a 0-10 point scale.

Please remember that you are comparing each entry to the criteria provided, and not against each other.

Questions or Comments? Please contact: NealAwards@siia.net.