LCS Impact Awards | Recognising excellence in continuous improvement

Introduction

The LCS Impact Awards recognise excellence in the application of continuous improvement at an organisational, team and individual level.

They are awarded to organisations, teams and individuals who have demonstrated that a CI programme, project or initiative created real impact in terms of clear benefits that improved quality, cost or delivery performance and helped to achieve collective or individual purpose.

Application

The Impact Awards are open to any organisation, team or individual that are applying continuous improvement.
Organisations, teams or individuals can be nominated by a member of their community or can apply directly.
An online application form is completed, which captures information on the “what, why, when, how, where and who” of the activity.
The precise nature of the impact is detailed in the form, along with stakeholder endorsement and sustainability aspects. Supporting files and documents can be appended to the application.
An application or nomination can be made at any time – there is no specific call or time slot.
Once an application is received it is evaluated by LCS and a decision report issued to the applicant.
The activity should have been concluded in the previous 12 months of the application date.
An organisation can apply once in each award category in any 12 month period.

What is Impact?

Impact occurs when a CI activity (such as a programme, project or initiative) has “a marked effect or influence” (ref OED) on something and produces positive business results.

The impact could be “hard”, such as financially related cost savings or income generation, or product innovation and customer value adding. The impact could also be “soft”, relating to behaviour, communication or culture.

Impact can be business, organisational, environment, technological or socially related. It is likely that the impact will not have occurred if the CI activity had not taken place and, ideally, it will be sustainable. The impact could be transformative or relate to more routine matters. Importantly, the impact will have been recognised and appreciated by the community in which it occurred.

LCS Impact Award Features

No runners up

In the spirit of Akio Toyoda’s words, there is no competition to receive an LCS Impact award. This differs from most conventional award schemes, where one entry is judged ‘best’, with other entrants runners up. The decision to confer an LCS Impact Award is based entirely on the value and impact created by the activity and that it has resulted in a ‘improved state’.

Demand led

The awards are demand led, which means that an application can be submitted at any time and therefore, if successful, can be celebrated at the peak of its saliency and relevance to its community.

Individual & collective

Impact can be created at different scales and contexts, so there are three categories of awards, for 1) organisations, 2) teams and 3) individuals. The category is specified in the application form.

Self classification

Applicants can define the specific classification of their award in their application. For example, this could relate to sustainability, cost savings, capacity release, income generation, employee engagement or knowledge transfer.

Tokens of recognition

Winners receive an award certificate and digital badge. The award is summarised in the LCS Impact Awards Showcase, which can be viewed by the public. The showcase is a permanent record of awards and describes each in detail. The digital badge can be used in promotional media and a special version can be displayed in an LCS member’s profile page.

Application & Cost

Those seeking an award can apply directly or they could be nominated to apply by someone else – for example, a manager, colleague, advisor, customer or supplier. There is no fee for making a nomination or application.

The LCS Impact Awards

Recognising excellence in continuous improvement