Judging

How Nominations Are Evaluated

Our judges apply a transparent rubric focused on listening culture, action taken, and measurable community impact.

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35%

Listening Culture

Do systems, leadership, and processes demonstrate a sustained commitment to soliciting and valuing feedback?

  • Leadership alignment and buy-in
  • Accessibility of feedback channels
  • Inclusion of lived experience voices
  • Psychological safety for honest feedback
35%

Action & Closing the Loop

Does the organization act on feedback and report back to their community about changes made?

  • Evidence of decisions driven by feedback
  • Communications back to communities
  • Speed of response to input
  • Documentation of changes made
25%

Community Impact

Are there measurable improvements that can be traced to listening-based decisions?

  • Quantifiable outcomes and metrics
  • Community testimonials
  • Long-term sustained improvements
5%

Innovation & Reach

Creative approaches that amplify unheard voices and extend reach to underserved groups.

  • Novel feedback collection methods
  • Reaching marginalized populations
  • Scalable or replicable approaches

Scoring & Transparency

Judges score against sub-criteria and provide detailed comments. We believe in transparency — for requests, we can share anonymized scoring summaries to support learning across the sector and help organizations improve their listening practices.

Independent panel of expert judges
Detailed scoring rubrics available
Feedback provided to all nominees