The Good Governance Award Entry Gateway
The award focuses on annual reports, examining how they demonstrate adherence to good governance. A panel of judges with appropriate experience and expertise has been established to adjudicate shortlisted entries and select the winners.
The awards will be judged on a desk based evaluation with a screening, shortlisting and judging process. It will be based on the information published in the annual reports & financial statements.
The Awards Categories
Supporting Documentation
Submission
To support your application, you may be asked to provide documentation that demonstrates your organisation’s governance arrangements and practices. These documents help the judging panel understand how governance is embedded across your organisation and provide evidence to support your submission.
Typical documents may include:
- Annual Report Risk Register
- Financial Statements Governance Policies
- Governing Document Board Structure or Committee Information
- Strategic Plan Other documents relevant to your submission
Not every document will be required for every category. Full guidance on supporting documentation is provided within the entry process.
A Rigorous and Independent
Judging Process
Every submission is evaluated through a structured, independent process designed to ensure fairness, consistency and credibility. Our experienced judging panel assesses each entry against published governance criteria, recognising organisations that demonstrate outstanding leadership, accountability and governance excellence.
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Organisations submit their application online before the closing date, providing responses to the judging criteria and any required supporting documentation.
Entries are checked for:
- Completed application form
- Valid organisation details
- Submission before the closing date
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Each submission is reviewed to ensure it meets the entry requirements and has been entered into the correct category. Entrants will receive a notification email following an entry.
Entries must meet:
- Registered charity or non-profit status
- Minimum twelve months of operation
- Up-to-date annual accounts
- Complete supporting documentation
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Every eligible entry is assessed independently by members of the judging panel using a consistent scoring framework.
Judges evaluate areas such as:
- Leadership and oversight
- Governance structures
- Accountability and transparency
- Risk management
- Strategic planning
- Financial stewardship
- Board effectiveness
- Organisational impact
- Innovation and continuous improvement
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Scores are reviewed and the highest-performing organisations in each category are shortlisted. Where appropriate, judges discuss submissions collectively to ensure consistency and fairness.
Shortlisting considers:
- Overall assessment score
- Consistency across judging criteria
- Strength of supporting evidence
- Balance across award categories
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The judging panel meets to review shortlisted organisations, validate scores and agree the winners in each category. This stage ensures that every winner represents genuine excellence in governance.
The panel reviews:
- Shortlisted applications in full
- Judges' individual scores and notes
- Any clarifications requested from entrants
- Final category rankings
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Finalists are invited to the Good Governance Awards ceremony, where category winners and overall award recipients are announced.
Finalists receive:
- An invitation to the awards ceremony
- Confirmation of their category
- Written feedback from the judging panel
Guiding Principles
Every submission is judged according to four principles:
- Independent — Judges act independently and declare any conflicts of interest.
- Consistent — All entries are assessed against the same published criteria.
- Confidential — Information provided by entrants remains confidential throughout the judging process.
- Transparent — The judging framework is clear, robust and designed to recognise genuine governance excellence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Good Governance Awards?
The Good Governance Awards recognise and celebrate organisations across Ireland that demonstrate excellence in governance, leadership, accountability and transparency. The awards aim to promote good governance as the foundation of effective, sustainable organisations.
Who organises the awards?
The Good Governance Awards are organised by Carmichael, Ireland’s leading support organisation for charities, community groups and voluntary organisations.
Why should my organisation enter?
Entering demonstrates your commitment to good governance, provides national recognition, allows you to benchmark your practices and celebrates the work of your board, leadership and staff.
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Submit Your Entry
Guidance for Entrants:
Please see the Entry and Assessment Process and Judging Criteria before submitting your entry.
NB: Nonprofits that produce separate annual reports and financial statements should submit both documents otherwise, they risk losing marks for areas not addressed in the single document. For Categories 3-7, these must be combined into a single document.