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Each entry to the World Habitat Awards goes through a thorough process. We need each entry to demonstrate a number of different factors.
Impact
- What has your project achieved?
- To what extent has your project improved lives and met the right to adequate housing, particularly for people with few choices?
Innovation
- What makes your project different?
- Is it working in a particularly challenging context, or using a new or little-used approach to housing?
Environmental Sustainability
- Is your project compatible with Sustainable Development Goal 13 – action to combat climate change and its effects?
- Does it positively impact on the environment and the wider society?
- Is your organisation implementing measures to reduce its carbon footprint?
Viability and Transferability
- Is your project capable of continuing over the long-term? Or have its impacts sustained after completion?
- Can your idea or approach be used to solve similar challenges elsewhere?
- Was it inspired by another project or idea – which you have developed for your own specific situation?
Significance
- Are you tackling an issue which is particularly current, urgent or neglected?
The Selection Process
Shortlisting
The first part of the process involves establishing an initial shortlist of around 40 entries who best meet the criteria explained above. This may involve asking for more detail and information about your project.
These 40 entries are then put through further – and more detailed – research and discussion until there are a final group of a maximum of ten projects.
From these ten projects, a detailed project summary is compiled for insight for, and discussion by, our expert advisory group.
Each of the final projects is asked to provide two independent referees for us to approach who can confirm the details described in the entry.
Of these final ten, some projects will be awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold awards.
Advisory Group
The project summary and references prepared for each of the final ten projects is sent to our Advisory Group.
Advisory Group members are chosen for their breadth of housing experience across a range of contexts. The group scrutinise each project in detail, applying their knowledge, understanding and expertise.
The Advisory Group recommends a maximum of four projects to be further assessed through an evaluation visit – to decide on the Gold and Silver Award winners – and also confirms the Bronze Award winners.
Evaluation Visits
Staff and trustees of World Habitat, members of the Advisory Group or World Habitat consultants visit four projects to gain an actual and direct perspective of their work, approach and impact. The evaluation visit includes meeting residents, and other beneficiaries, partners and stakeholders.
After the evaluation visits and any follow-up enquiries, the Chief Executive of World Habitat discusses the visits with the evaluation teams before final recommendations of the Gold and Silver Award winners are made to external judges.
These are currently: Ms Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat and Ms Leilani Farha – Global Director of ‘The Shift’.
Full documentation is sent to the judges with World Habitat’s recommendations. The final decision on the winning projects is made by the external judges.
Feedback is available – on request – to all projects who enter the World Habitat Awards, regardless of the stage reached in the process.
What happens if your project is a Silver or Bronze winner?
- World Habitat will upload information about work and your award to our website. We will also communicate news and details about your project across our range of social media channels.
- The information about your project will be referenced on the map and database on World Habitat’s website
- A press release celebrating your work and achievements will be sent to relevant media.
What happens if your project is a Gold Award winner?
In addition to the benefits above, both Gold winners receive a trophy and a grant of £10,000.00 they can freely use to develop their project.
In the year after winning the awards, we invite Gold winners to attend an award ceremony (either in-person or online) and to participate in our World Habitat Awards exChange events.
Organised in partnership with UN-Habitat
