Guidelines & Eligibility

Guidelines & Eligibility

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ELIGIBILITY FOR THE 2024 DWC LEADING LIGHT BUSINESSS EXCELLENCE AWARDS

• Any sole proprietor, partnership, incorporated society, limited liability company, trading in the West Coast region within the boundaries administered by the three District Councils (Buller District, Grey District and Westland Districts) is eligible to enter the awards.
• An organisation that is part of a larger national or international organisation must be able to demonstrate that it operates as a separate business unit.
• As the relationship between the sponsors and the judging panel is separate, and to avoid any conflict, no organisation may enter a category where that same organisation is also a sponsor of the category. That organisation can however enter another category which it is not a sponsor of.
• All entrants must provide true and accurate information and disclose any liabilities such as business and/or tax related and/or current pending litigation which would compromise the judges’ analysis of the business, and/or adversely affect the integrity and reputation of the Development West Coast Leading Light Business Excellence Awards.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

• All guidelines, criteria and timelines for all areas of the entry process must be adhered to.
• Electronic Copies of all entry information will be deleted at the end of the Award year.
• All finalists agree to a possible visit by judges.
• All category winners will be considered for the overall Supreme Leading Light Award.
• All entrants agree to co-operate with the respective Category Sponsor and/or Promotional Partners of the Development West Coast Leading Light Business Excellence Awards for publicity purposes.
• All entrants must ensure the official branding of the Development West Coast Leading Light Business Excellence Awards is used for any publicity purposes.
• All entrants, including family members, employees, etc. agree that no adverse public statements will be made in relation to the event or the final results.
• Entries close 4pm on Wednesday 31 July 2024. No late entries will be accepted.

CONDITIONS OF JUDGING

• All documentation and information is submitted in strictest confidence to the judging panel. Only the event manager at DWC (Project Coordinator) will have access to the Entries for the purposes of distribution to the judges.
• All entries are strictly confidential and all judges of the 2024 panel will sign a confidentiality agreement.
• The judges, who are independent from Development West Coast, will review all entries, and decide which entrants will become Finalists and eventually Category Winners.
• Judges will not judge any entries where a conflict of interest exists.
• Upon reviewing an application, the judges may suggest an entrant change the category entered.
• Judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

It will be noted by the judges that some sections may not be as relevant to some organisations as they are to others. A two-person business is probably not going to be able to write as much as a large construction firm in the ‘People Management’ section. However, all sections are relevant to some degree in any organisation.