- Number of entries increases by 46% compared to 2020 with large, small and medium sized firms all supporting the industry’s key awards event
- Most popular categories are individual categories including Young Consultant of the Year, Rising Star and Team Leader Consultant of the Year
- New categories include exceptional support and delivery during COVID-19 to both a client and by an individual consultant
The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Awards continue to grow year on year with another record number of entries received for the 2021 MCA Awards. Participation in the awards spans across membership with entries coming from a wide range of firms. Overall, submissions are up 46% compared to the 2020 MCA Awards which itself was a record year.
Two new award categories have been announced for 2021, the 24th year of the MCA Awards, in recognition of the work done by MCA Member Firms during the pandemic. 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. Firms must have clearly demonstrated the contribution and impact to the project, to the client, the benefit to society and the impact on the consultancy firm. The submission must demonstrate a clear picture of how the firm went above and beyond to deliver benefits during the period of the pandemic. There is an additional award which recognises the contribution of an individual to consulting engagements specifically addressing client challenges created by COVID-19 in either the public or private sector. These two new categories means that there are now a total of 24 awards including prizes for firms, projects and individuals. This includes the significant ‘Project of the Year’ which was won by EY with the Metropolitan Police Service last year for its work to design and deliver a unique leadership development programme for 10,000 officers.
As well as new categories, a number of new judges have joined the independent panel to assess the submissions for the awards for 2021. This includes representatives from the Department for Work and Pensions and the National Apprenticeship Service, and these judges join a wider selection of experts from a diverse range of backgrounds including academia, the media industry, government and the private sector.
Once submissions have been appraised by the judges, finalists will be announced in April and will be interviewed by a panel of judges in June. The awards will then be presented at the MCA Awards Ceremony on Monday 1st November 2021.
Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive, MCA, said:
“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. With nearly 50% more entries than last year, 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.
“The standard of awards submissions are higher than ever 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.”
Further information can be found at www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards