01 · Policies
Sponsorships
• Sponsorships: The platform may enter into sponsorship agreements with government or private entities, institutions or brands to support the award and its events and programmes. • Sponsorship tiers: Different levels or tiers of sponsorship may be offered, in accordance with the commercial, media and organisational benefits specified for each level. • Sponsorship benefits: Sponsorship benefits may include media exposure, presence at events, placement of brand identity on approved sites and materials, and other benefits specified in the sponsorship agreement. • Sponsoring a specific category: Sponsorship of a particular sector, category or award may be permitted, provided that the sponsor has no authority over the evaluation of participants or the selection of winners. • Naming of awards: A sponsor's name may be associated with an award or event where this has been approved, while maintaining clarity as to the nature of the award, its criteria and the independence of the judging process. • Sponsorship of the awards ceremony: Sponsors may be accepted for the annual awards ceremony and offered visibility, attendance, hospitality and media benefits in accordance with the sponsorship agreements.
02 · Policies
Independence of Evaluation
• Independence of evaluation: Sponsorship does not confer any right to interfere in the evaluation, judging, ranking of participants or selection of winners. • No preferential treatment: A sponsor, partner or any establishment affiliated with it shall not receive additional points or any advantage in the evaluation by reason of the commercial relationship or sponsorship. • Separation of sponsorship and judging: Commercial activities relating to sponsorship and advertising must be kept separate from the evaluation, judging and results-approval processes. • Benefits not linked to results: Sponsorship benefits may not include any guarantee of receiving an award, position, nomination or favourable evaluation. • No sale of positions: The sale of positions, awards, badges or any evaluation result in return for sponsorship, advertising or any financial consideration is prohibited.
03 · Policies
Conflicts of Interest
• Participation by sponsors: Where a sponsor or one of its affiliated companies is a participant in a category, the appropriate conflict-of-interest procedures shall be applied to ensure the independence of the evaluation. • Conflict of interest: Any commercial relationship that may give rise to an actual or potential conflict of interest between a sponsor or partner and members of the evaluation or judging committees must be disclosed. • Exclusion of conflicted members: Any member may be excluded from evaluating a particular case if they have a direct relationship with the sponsor, the partner or the establishment under evaluation.
04 · Policies
Partnerships
• Strategic partners: Cooperation may be established with strategic entities to support the platform's objectives and the development of the related sectors, standards, events and initiatives. • Knowledge partners: Universities, research centres, advisory bodies or specialist experts may be engaged to contribute to the development of standards, studies and methodologies. • Technology partners: Cooperation may be established with technology service providers to develop and operate the platform and its evaluation, voting, data analysis and cybersecurity systems. • Media partners: Cooperation may be established with media outlets and media platforms to cover the award and its events and to announce participants and winners in accordance with the approved policies. • Official bodies: Cooperation may be established with the relevant government and official bodies to obtain data, information or institutional support, or to take part in committees and events, in accordance with the approved agreements and approvals. • Partnership is not endorsement: No partnership or cooperation with a government or official body may be presented as a government endorsement or guarantee of the results unless there is an explicit official authorisation to that effect. • Use of partner logos: The use of partners' names, logos and identities is subject to their approval and to their visual identity guidelines.
05 · Policies
Advertising
• Advertising: The platform may sell advertising space or services to establishments and other entities in accordance with the approved commercial policy. • Participation by advertisers: An advertising establishment may participate in the ranking or the awards; advertising does not give it any advantage in the evaluation. • Clearly identified advertising: Advertising content must be clearly distinguished from editorial content and from evaluation and ranking results. • Paid content: Where paid promotional content is published, it may be labelled so as to make its commercial nature clear, in accordance with the approved policy. • Responsibility for advertising content: The advertiser bears responsibility for the accuracy and legality of the materials, information and offers it submits for publication. • Declining advertisements: The management has the right to decline any advertisement, campaign or partnership that does not comply with the law, values or standards of the platform, or that may affect its reputation or independence. • Suspension of advertisements: Any advertisement may be suspended or removed if it later transpires that it contains misleading, non-compliant or unlawful information.
06 · Policies
Paid Commercial Services
• Paid establishment profiles: Additional paid features or benefits may be offered for establishments' business profiles on the platform, provided that such benefits do not affect evaluation scores or the ranking of results. • Commercial packages: Commercial packages may be offered that include benefits such as additional content, offers, promotional campaigns, reports or digital services, in accordance with the published prices and terms.
07 · Policies
User Data and Aggregated Data
• User data: Sponsorship or advertising does not grant the sponsor or advertiser access to users' personal data except in accordance with the privacy policy and the necessary legal consents. • Aggregated data: General or aggregated statistics on campaign performance or engagement may be provided to partners and sponsors, provided that no personal data is disclosed without authorisation.
08 · Policies
Duration and Termination
• Duration of partnerships: The duration of each sponsorship or partnership is determined by its own agreement. The end of a partnership does not affect results that were independently approved while it was in force. • Termination of partnership: A partnership or sponsorship may be terminated or suspended in the event of a breach of the terms of the agreement, or of any occurrence that may materially affect the integrity or reputation of the award.
09 · Policies
Protecting Integrity
The integrity and independence of the evaluation, judging and results shall always take precedence over any commercial interest connected with sponsorship, partnership or advertising.
