MCA kicks off selection process for annual awards ceremony
The Management Consultancies Association has commenced the selection process for its annual awards ceremony. With the number of entries having increased by more than 40% from last year, the process will eventually lead to winners being announced at the organisation’s ceremony in November.
The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) has been the industry’s collective voice for more than six decades. For a third of that time, the MCA has hosted an annual awards ceremony to celebrate the work the industry does every day, in partnership with consultants and clients.
The 24th year of the MCA Awards has now commenced in earnest, with the organisation announcing that it has once again received a record number of entries for the 2021 ceremony. Overall, submissions are up 46% compared to the 2020 MCA Awards which itself was a record year. Participation in the awards spans across membership with entries coming from a wide range of firms, with large, small and medium sized firms all supporting the industry’s key awards event.
MCA CEO Tamzen Isacsson commented, “The MCA Awards are more popular than ever and we are delighted to have this support from across the industry as we use the platform of the Awards to promote the amazing talent in our sector and partner with clients to demonstrate the true value of using high quality consultancy firms… Our independent panel of judges have their work cut out for them and we are pleased to announce we have recruited new leaders across the public and private sector to join the judging team.”
One of the factors behind the spike in entrants may well be the increased focus on individuals of the awards, and the two new categories relating to the coronavirus response of the industry. As well as the 22 categories of last year, judges will now have two new award categories to weigh up, in recognition of the work done by the MCA’s members during the pandemic. The prize for exceptional support and delivery to a client during Covid-19 will recognise the response by a consultancy firm in mobilising support and delivering new client projects in the public or private sector, while an additional award will honour the contribution of an individual to consulting engagements addressing client challenges created by the pandemic.
“The standard of awards submissions are higher than ever,” Isacsson added, “and the huge efforts our industry is making to deliver positive benefits to both the public and private sector, is reflected in both the number and range of projects which have been submitted.”
Once submissions have been examined by the judges, the MCA will announce a shortlist of finalists in April, before the candidates are interviewed by a panel of judges in June. Chosen winners will then pick up their prizes at the MCA Awards Ceremony on November 1st 2021 – later than is traditional, as a result of the ongoing pandemic.