NOVA Awards

CONTENTS

Part I.  Competition Rules
1.  Purpose, Scope and Legal Basis
2.  Award Categories and Nominations
3.  Cycle Structure and Calendar
4.  Application Procedure
5.  Composition of the Application
6.  Participation Fees and Financial Separation
7.  Administrative and Eligibility Review
8.  Disqualification
9.  Finality of Decisions
Part II.  Participant Eligibility Criteria
10.  General Eligibility Standards
11.  Professional Standing
12.  Eligible Submissions
13.  Excluded Applicants
14.  Evidence Standards
Part III.  Evaluation and Scoring Criteria
15.  Multi-Stage Selection Model
16.  Evaluation Principles
17.  Core Evaluation Criteria
18.  Scoring Scale and Descriptors
19.  Calculation of the Final Score
20.  Formation of the Shortlist
21.  Award Levels
22.  Equal Scores and Withheld Awards
23.  Result Validation
Part IV.  Geography and Scale of Participation
24.  Geographic Coverage
25.  Volume of Participation
26.  Composition of the International Jury Panel
27.  Publication of Participation Statistics
Part V.  Final Provisions
28.  Relationship to the Regulation
29.  Amendments and Interpretation
Annex A.  Parameters Determined for Each Cycle

PART I

COMPETITION RULES

1. Purpose, Scope and Legal Basis
1.1. These Regulations consolidate, in a single instrument, the rules of the competition, the eligibility criteria applicable to participants, the criteria and methodology of evaluation, and the declared scope of participation of the NOVA Awards (the "Awards").
1.2. These Regulations are issued by the Organizing Committee (the "Organizer") pursuant to Sections 3.2 and 13 of the Regulation of the NOVA Awards (the "Regulation") and constitute an Annex to it.
1.3. These Regulations do not amend the Regulation. In the event of any inconsistency, the Regulation prevails.
1.4. The Awards are an international professional recognition program operating as an independent expert evaluation system based on professional assessment conducted by qualified industry specialists and international experts (Regulation, Section 1.1).
1.5. These Regulations bind all applicants, nominees, Jury members, and any third party participating in the nomination or evaluation process. Participation in the Awards constitutes full acceptance of the Regulation and of these Regulations (Regulation, Section 13).
1.6. These Regulations are of permanent application and contain no cycle-specific data. Parameters determined by the Organizer afresh for each cycle are listed in Annex A and published before the opening of applications, without amendment of this instrument.
1.7. In these Regulations:

• "Organizer" means the Organizing Committee of the Awards (Regulation, Section 1.1);
• "Secretariat" means the Technical Secretariat (Regulation, Section 3.1);
• "Jury" means the International Jury Panel (Regulation, Sections 3.1 and 7.1);
• "submission" means a single nomination entered in a single award category;
• "cycle" means one complete run of the Awards from the opening of applications to the announcement of results;
• "Final Score" means the value calculated under Section 19.

2. Award Categories and Nominations
2.1. The Awards are open to participants from multiple professional domains including, but not limited to, business and entrepreneurship; technology and digital innovation; research and academia; creative and cultural industries; corporate leadership; social impact initiatives; and public and non-profit projects (Regulation, Section 1.1).
2.2. The Awards comprise the following award categories:


2.3. Each category comprises a number of nominations. The Organizing Committee determines the award categories and the nominations within them (Regulation, Section 3.2). The list of nominations in force in each category is approved and published before the opening of applications for the cycle concerned and does not require amendment of these Regulations.
2.4. Categories and nominations may differ between cycles. A recognition conferred in an earlier cycle refers to the category or nomination in force at the time it was conferred, and remains valid notwithstanding any subsequent change to the list.
2.5. The Advisory Board may advise the Organizer on the categories, nominations, and evaluation frameworks, and on the sector-specific expertise required for the composition of the Jury (Regulation, Section 3.3).
2.6. An applicant may enter more than one nomination or category only where each submission is supported by a distinct evidentiary record. Duplicate submissions within a single nomination are not admitted.
2.7. Where the number of admitted submissions in a nomination or category is insufficient to permit meaningful comparative evaluation, the Organizer may withdraw it from the cycle.

3. Cycle Structure and Calendar
3.1. Each cycle proceeds through the following stages in the order stated:


3.2. The calendar of each cycle — the date on which each stage opens and closes — is approved by the Organizer and published before the opening of applications. The calendar does not form part of these Regulations.
3.3. All deadlines expire at 23:59 (UTC) on the date published. Applications received after the closing date are not admitted to evaluation.
3.4. The Organizer may extend the closing date once per cycle. Any extension is published on the official website and notified to registered applicants.
3.5. The order of stages set out in Clause 3.1 may not be varied, and no submission may enter a later stage without having passed each preceding one.

4. Application Procedure
4.1. All nominations are submitted through the official NOVA Awards application process (Regulation, Section 5.1). Materials transmitted by any other means are not registered.
4.2. The applicant is required to (Regulation, Section 5.1):

1. Select the appropriate award category.
2. Provide a detailed description of the nominated initiative, achievement, or project.
3. Submit supporting documentation demonstrating the scope and impact of the nomination.

4.3. All application materials are submitted in English (Regulation, Section 5.1). Supporting documents in another language shall be accompanied by a translation; the Organizer may require certification of the translation.
4.4. A nomination may be submitted by the candidate personally or by a third party with the candidate's documented written consent. Nomination without consent is not admitted.
4.5. Admission to evaluation does not constitute a finding on the merits and confers no entitlement to inclusion in the Shortlist or to any award level.
5. Composition of the Application
5.1. Supporting documentation may include, but is not limited to (Regulation, Section 5.1):

• project documentation;
• analytical or research materials;
• publications;
• presentations or recorded demonstrations;
• case studies;
• implementation evidence;
• professional references or media publications.

5.2. A complete application further comprises confirmation of the applicant's current position and organization, and a signed declaration as to the accuracy and completeness of the information submitted.
5.3. Evidence shall relate to the assessment period of five years preceding the closing date of applications, save where the achievement relied upon is of a durable nature and its continuing effect is demonstrated.
5.4. All submitted materials are treated as confidential (Regulation, Section 10). Personal data contained in an application is processed solely for the purposes of the evaluation, administration, and publication of the Awards.
5.5. The Organizer may request additional materials where necessary for proper evaluation (Regulation, Section 5.1). Failure to respond within ten business days of the request results in the application being treated as incomplete and excluded from further consideration.

6. Participation Fees and Financial Separation
6.1. Participation in the Awards is subject to a participation fee. The Organizer determines the fees applicable to each cycle and publishes them, together with the categories and nominations to which they apply, before the opening of applications.
6.2. No fee may be introduced, increased, or extended to a new stage after applications for the cycle concerned have opened.
6.3. Payment of the fee entitles the applicant to have the submission processed, verified, and evaluated in accordance with these Regulations. It does not entitle the applicant to inclusion in the Shortlist, to any award level, or to any other outcome, and confers no advantage whatsoever in the evaluation.
6.4. Fees cover administrative processing, verification, and documentation. They are non-refundable once a submission has been admitted to Jury evaluation, save where the Organizer withdraws a nomination or category under Clause 2.7, in which case the fee is refunded in full.
6.5. The Organizing Committee does not participate in the scoring or evaluation of submissions and does not influence Jury decisions (Regulation, Section 3.2). Jury members are not informed whether or in what amount a fee has been paid, and financial operations are structurally separated from Jury scoring, evaluation procedures, and the determination of results.
6.6. Participation as a judge is voluntary. Judges are not compensated and are not required to pay any fees associated with the judging process (Regulation, Section 7.3).
6.7. No sponsorship or commercial arrangement may be linked to a nomination, a Shortlist placement, or an award level.

7. Administrative and Eligibility Review
7.1. After submission, applications undergo an initial administrative review in which the Secretariat verifies (Regulation, Section 6.1):

• completeness of the submission;
• eligibility of the applicant;
• alignment with the selected category;
• authenticity and credibility of supporting materials;
• relevance to the objectives of the Awards.

7.2. Applications that do not meet formal requirements may be rejected at this stage (Regulation, Section 6.1).
7.3. Verification may include confirmation of the applicant's professional affiliation, reference to public registers and publicly available information, and contact with the referees named in the application (Regulation, Section 10).
7.4. The applicant is notified of a rejection; the underlying assessment materials remain confidential.

8. Disqualification
8.1. Immediate disqualification may occur where:

• the information submitted is false, materially incomplete, or misleading;
• the applicant does not hold rights to the submitted materials;
• the eligibility criteria of Part II are not met;
• a conflict of interest has not been disclosed;
• an attempt has been made to interfere with the evaluation, including approaches to Jury members or the offering of any incentive;
• submitted materials have been altered after the commencement of evaluation.

8.2. Disqualification may be applied at any stage, including after the formation of the Shortlist and, where the grounds are established subsequently, after the announcement of results. In the latter case the Organizer may revoke the recognition conferred and withdraw the right to reference the award in professional communications and marketing materials (Regulation, Section 12).

9. Finality of Decisions
9.1. Winners are determined exclusively by the Jury on the basis of final aggregated scores, and Jury decisions are final and not subject to appeal (Regulation, Section 6.5).

PART II

PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

10. General Eligibility Standards
10.1. Participation in the Awards is open to (Regulation, Section 4.1):

• senior-level professionals;
• founders and executives;
• organizations and institutions;
• research groups and academic teams;
• independent creators and industry experts.

10.2. Applicants must demonstrate substantial professional experience and measurable achievements within their industry (Regulation, Section 4.1). The two requirements are cumulative.
10.3. Participation is voluntary and subject to compliance with the Regulation (Regulation, Section 1.1). Equal access to participation applies regardless of geographic location.
10.4. There is no restriction on the basis of nationality, country of residence, gender, age, or organizational affiliation, save as provided in Section 13.

11. Professional Standing
11.1. Substantial professional experience under Clause 10.2 is assessed on the substance of the applicant's record. No single formal indicator, such as a specific number of years of experience, is applied mechanically; the Organizer evaluates achievements, roles, and recognition in their totality, applying the approach adopted in respect of the Jury under Clause 4.3 of the Jury Selection and Appointment Policy.
11.2. In assessing standing, the Organizer has regard to:


11.3. Where a submission is entered on behalf of an organization, a research group, or an academic team, the standing of the entity is assessed on the same indicators applied at organizational level, and the submission shall identify the person authorized to submit and that person's role.
11.4. An applicant whose record consists solely of study, training, or employment without demonstrable personal outcomes does not satisfy Clause 10.2.
11.5. Where a category is directed at a defined constituency or stage of professional career, the requirement of substantial professional experience under Clause 10.2 is assessed relative to that constituency or stage. The Regulation prescribes no minimum period of experience, and the assessment remains one of substance under Clause 11.1.
11.6. Accordingly, in the Emerging Talent Recognition category an applicant is assessed on the substance of an implemented result — a project, product, or contribution delivered and evidenced — together with the applicant's personal contribution to it, rather than on seniority of position. The requirement of measurable achievements under Clause 10.2 applies without modification.

12. Eligible Submissions
12.1. A submission may represent (Regulation, Section 4.1):

• completed initiatives;
• ongoing projects with demonstrated results;
• professional achievements or contributions.

12.2. Concepts, intentions, and plans not yet implemented are not admitted. An ongoing project is admitted where results achieved to date are documented and verifiable.
12.3. A submission shall fall within the thematic scope of the selected category and within one of the categories listed in Clause 2.2 and within the nomination selected.

13. Excluded Applicants
13.1. The following are not eligible:

• applicants who do not satisfy Section 4.1 of the Regulation, as elaborated in Sections 10 and 11;
• applicants whose professional record or claimed results cannot be verified;
• applicants subject to an active revocation of recognition under Clause 8.2;
• members of the Jury, of the Organizing Committee, of the Advisory Board, and of the Secretariat, together with their immediate family members, in respect of any cycle in which they serve, such participation being incompatible with the independence and conflict-of-interest requirements of the Regulation (Sections 7.2 and 7.5);
• applicants in respect of whom there exist circumstances incompatible with the ethical standards of the Awards.

14. Evidence Standards
14.1. The burden of substantiating every claim rests on the applicant. Unsupported assertions are disregarded in scoring, Supporting Evidence and Documentation being itself a core evaluation criterion under Clause 17.1.
14.2. Evidence is assessed on a hierarchy of reliability:


14.3. Deliberate submission of unreliable evidence constitutes grounds for disqualification under Section 8.

PART III

EVALUATION AND SCORING CRITERIA

15. Multi-Stage Selection Model
15.1. The Awards apply a multi-stage evaluation system designed to ensure professional integrity and objective recognition of outstanding achievements (Regulation, Section 6).


15.2. Only submissions meeting the standards of Stage II proceed to Jury evaluation (Regulation, Section 6.2).

16. Evaluation Principles
16.1. Qualified submissions are distributed among members of the Jury through a secure online evaluation system, and each nomination is reviewed independently (Regulation, Section 6.3).
16.2. Each Jury member is required to review the complete application, examine the supporting documentation, and provide a professional evaluation based solely on the submitted materials (Regulation, Section 6.3).
16.3. Each submission admitted to Jury evaluation is scored by not fewer than three Jury members. Assignment is made by the Organizer on the basis of subject-matter relevance and the absence of any declared conflict of interest.
16.4. The Organizing Committee does not participate in the scoring or evaluation of submissions and does not influence Jury decisions (Regulation, Section 3.2).
16.5. Where a conflict of interest is identified with respect to a specific submission, the Jury member abstains from its evaluation and the abstention is recorded (Jury Selection and Appointment Policy, Clause 8.2).

17. Core Evaluation Criteria
17.1. Submissions are assessed according to the six core criteria established by Section 8.2 of the Regulation. The criteria carry equal weight; none is treated as decisive in itself.


17.2. The criteria are applied to each submission by every Jury member individually and independently (Regulation, Section 8.3). No criterion may be omitted.

18. Scoring Scale and Descriptors
18.1. Each Jury member assigns a score using a standardized 1–10 scale (Regulation, Section 8.4). The scale has no zero; the lowest available value is 1.
18.2. Because the award level depends on fractions of a point, the following descriptors apply so that the same numerical value carries the same meaning across all Jury members:


18.3. A Jury member awarding 1, 9, or 10 on any criterion records a short written justification in the evaluation form. Justifications form part of the internal record and are not disclosed to the applicant.

19. Calculation of the Final Score
19.1. The score of a Jury member in respect of a submission is the arithmetic mean of that member's six criterion scores.
Final Score  =  average of all valid evaluations
19.2. Final results are calculated as the average score of all valid evaluations (Regulation, Section 8.4), expressed on a scale of 1 to 10 and rounded to two decimal places.
19.3. An evaluation is valid where it was submitted by a Jury member assigned to the submission, covers all six core criteria, and is not affected by an abstention recorded under Clause 16.5. Evaluations of an abstaining member are excluded from the calculation.

20. Formation of the Shortlist
20.1. Based on aggregated scoring results, the highest-ranked submissions form the official Shortlist, representing the most outstanding entries that successfully passed the previous evaluation stages (Regulation, Section 6.4). Jury members participate in the formation of the Shortlist (Jury Selection and Appointment Policy, Clause 2.2), and the Organizer records and publishes it.
20.2. Ranking is performed within each category. A submission with a Final Score below 5.00 is not included in the Shortlist, since it cannot qualify for an award under Section 21.
20.3. Only shortlisted entries proceed to Final Jury Deliberation (Regulation, Section 6.5).

21. Award Levels
21.1. Awards are granted according to the following scoring thresholds (Regulation, Section 9):


21.2. The thresholds are absolute and are not applied comparatively. Any number of submissions in a category may attain the same award level, and no submission displaces another.
21.3. The thresholds are not adjusted, in either direction, to produce a particular distribution of results in a category or cycle.

22. Equal Scores and Withheld Awards
22.1. Because award levels are absolute, equality of Final Scores requires no resolution: submissions with equal scores receive the same award level.
22.2. Where the Organizer confers a single distinction within a category and two or more submissions hold equal Final Scores, precedence is determined in the following order: the higher score in Measurable Impact; then in Enduring Value; then in Strategic Distinction. Any such determination is documented and archived.
22.3. A category in which no submission attains 5.00 is declared without an award for that cycle. The threshold is not lowered to produce a result.

23. Result Validation
23.1. The Jury reviews aggregated scoring data and verifies the integrity of evaluation results (Regulation, Section 6.5).
23.2. The Organizer performs mathematical verification of the aggregated scores and a procedural compliance check confirming that each submission was scored by the required number of Jury members, that all abstentions were recorded, and that no evaluation was submitted after the close of the evaluation stage.
23.3. After completion of the evaluation process, the Organizer confirms the final results, and winners are announced through the official communication channels of the Awards (Regulation, Section 11).
23.4. Each applicant is notified of the outcome. The scores of submissions that did not attain an award level remain confidential and are not disclosed, and the identity of such applicants is not published (Regulation, Section 10).

PART IV

GEOGRAPHY AND SCALE OF PARTICIPATION

24. Geographic Coverage
24.1. The Awards are international in scope, and equal access to participation applies regardless of geographic location (Regulation, Section 1.1), subject to applicable sanctions and export-control law binding upon the Organizer.
24.2. International representation is a principle of the formation of the Jury (Regulation, Section 7.2), and the exchange of knowledge and best practices between professionals across sectors and geographic regions is a strategic objective of the Awards (Regulation, Section 2.2).
24.3. Applications are received across the following regions:

• North America;
• Latin America;
• Europe;
• the Middle East and Africa;
• Asia-Pacific;
• the Commonwealth of Independent States and Central Asia.

24.4. No quota, reservation, or preference is applied by country or region. Geographic distribution is a consequence of the applications received and of merit-based evaluation, and is not a factor in scoring.
24.5. The number of countries represented in a cycle is established after its close and published under Section 27.

25. Volume of Participation
25.1. The number of applications received and admitted varies by cycle. Figures for a given cycle are established after its close and published under Section 27; they do not form part of these Regulations.
25.2. The following rules govern volume in every cycle:

• each category is evaluated independently, and a submission's standing in one category has no effect on any other;
• the number of submissions receiving a given award level is not capped, since the thresholds of Section 21 are absolute;
• an applicant may hold recognition in more than one category within a cycle, provided each submission is supported by a distinct evidentiary record;
• where the Organizer sets a cap on the number of submissions admitted to Jury evaluation in a category, admission is determined strictly by rank order of the preliminary expert screening, and no discretionary admission is permitted;
• no threshold is lowered, and no cap is raised, in order to produce a result.

26. Composition of the International Jury Panel
26.1. The Jury is the central professional body responsible for evaluating nominations and determining the recipients of the Awards (Regulation, Section 7.1). Membership is by appointment only; candidates are not admitted through open enrollment (Jury Selection and Appointment Policy, Clause 4.1).
26.2. The Jury is formed according to the principles of professional competence, industry diversity, independence, absence of conflicts of interest, and international representation (Regulation, Section 7.2).
26.3. Each appointee must demonstrate all of the criteria of Clause 4.2 of the Policy — significant professional experience, recognized achievements or leadership positions, expertise relevant to the categories to be evaluated, strong professional reputation, and commitment to ethical and impartial evaluation.
26.4. Appointment follows the four-step procedure of Clause 6.1 of the Policy — confirmation of professional credentials, assessment of relevant expertise, review of potential conflicts of interest, and formal approval by the Organizer.
26.5. The Organizer publishes the composition of the Jury and the professional profiles of its members (Regulation, Section 10).
26.6. The size of the Jury in a given cycle is determined by the number of categories and the volume of admitted submissions. It is not fixed by these Regulations, and the composition, obligations, and records of the Jury are governed by the Policy.

27. Publication of Participation Statistics
27.1. Following the close of each cycle, the Awards publish aggregate statistics comprising the number of applications received, the number admitted to evaluation, the number of countries represented, and the number of awards conferred by category and level.
27.2. Statistics are published in aggregate form only. No individual score and no identity of an applicant that did not attain an award level is disclosed (Regulation, Section 10).

PART V

FINAL PROVISIONS

28. Relationship to the Regulation
28.1. These Regulations consolidate and elaborate provisions of the Regulation, in particular Section 4 (Eligibility and Participation), Section 5 (Nomination and Application Process), Section 6 (Multi-Stage Selection and Evaluation Process), Section 8 (Evaluation Methodology), and Section 9 (Determination of Award Recipients).
28.2. These Regulations do not amend the Regulation. In the event of any inconsistency, the Regulation prevails.
28.3. The composition and governance of the Jury are governed by the Jury Selection and Appointment Policy, which forms a separate Annex to the Regulation.
29. Amendments and Interpretation
29.1. The Organizer reserves the right to amend the Regulation and these Regulations when necessary to ensure the continued development and integrity of the Awards (Regulation, Section 13).
29.2. No amendment affecting categories, the award thresholds, the scoring methodology, or participation fees takes effect in respect of a cycle in which applications have already opened.
29.3. Any amendment must preserve the independence of expert evaluation, the confidentiality of the evaluation process, the exclusion of the Organizing Committee from scoring, and the merit-based character of the Awards.
29.4. Any matters not explicitly addressed shall be resolved by the Organizer in accordance with the mission and principles of the Awards (Regulation, Section 13).
29.5. These Regulations enter into force on the date of their approval by the Organizing Committee and remain valid until replaced or amended.

ANNEX A

PARAMETERS DETERMINED FOR EACH CYCLE

A.1. These Regulations are of permanent application. The parameters listed below are determined by the Organizer for each cycle and published before the opening of applications. Their determination does not amend these Regulations.


A.2. The following parameters are fixed by these Regulations and apply in every cycle. They may be altered only by amendment under Section 29, and no alteration takes effect in respect of a cycle in which applications have already opened.