2025 Annual BIA Conference
March 30 to April 2, 2025
Mar30
Awards
Select a year: 2024
2025 Awards Program
Our 2025 Awards Program IS OPEN!
Use the drop down above to view submissions and winners for previous years.
2025 Awards Champion
Interested in sponsoring our Awards?
Find more information here!
A Celebration of Excellence
You’ve worked hard, scored some real victories, and made a measurable difference in your community….now it’s time to take credit for your efforts! Enter your project, initiative, partnership, promotion, or campaign in the 2024 OBIAA Achievement Awards.
We’ve made changes to the program this year that better align both its submission and evaluation criteria with similar association and urban place management awards programs, and that look to elevate our profession through a focus on strategic goals and measurable outcomes.
Check out the changes to the program this year that will help you celebrate excellence – yours!
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:
1. Entries will be judged against a standard set of criteria vs. against each other. This means there can be multiple winners in any category – and this could be you!
2. BIAs or projects with small budgets are not judged against large BIAs or budgets; every entry has an equal chance to be recognized with an award.
3. All entries (application and promotional materials) are submitted in one online application only.
4. You can download the judges’ evaluation form (below) to better understand how you will be evaluated.
5. NEW: The Scoring Guide now lives in the Evaluation Form to make it easier to see how the judges will be scoring your submission!
6. DEADLINE: Friday, January 31, 2025
HOW TO ENTER:
1. Think of all the great projects you’ve successfully completed this year – pick the best ones that might be unique or include robust measurement of your success, or ongoing programs with a real track record, or initiatives other BIAs can learn from, or ones you’re most proud of.
2. Fill in the Word template of the awards application – keep this for your files.
3. Complete the application form online, upload your Word template, your supplemental materials, 3-5 PowerPoint slides (in case you win), and choose how you would like to pay.
NOTE: If you’re entering the same project in more than one category, you must complete a separate application form for each project.
4. Review the checklist before you hit “submit”.
5. Register for the OBIAA annual Conference in Blue Mountain, ON from March 30 to April 2, 2025 where the Awards will be given out.
2025 Awards Categories
Pillar: Leadership & Management
Efforts focused on strategic, high-level leadership programs and/or hands-on operational management excellence.
- Advocacy & Governance: Recognizes strategic leadership skills development, including board leadership, organizational visioning, governance, and external relationship building such as government relations, stakeholder/community engagement, addressing social issues like homelessness and crime, and legislative or policy changes.
- Operations: Efforts focused on operational excellence in financial management, team management, staff recruitment & retention, diversity, equity and inclusion policies and processes, volunteer programs, operational systems, and internal relationships.
Pillar: Economic Development
Programs focused on business retention, recruitment & expansion, market analysis/research, historical preservation programs, tourism, nighttime economy, and incubators or pop-up spaces.
- Business Retention, Recruitment & Expansion: Recognizes BIAs with economic development programs to attract new businesses and/or help existing business flourish and expand.
- Economic Resilience & Community Building: Have you seen, adapted and leveraged challenges (from construction, social, disaster/damage…) and partnerships to strengthen your BIA.
Pillar: Marketing & Promotions
Programs focused on branding, public relations, promotions, marketing strategies, data & metrics, sponsorship & fundraising strategies, crisis communication plans, public engagement or events.
- Special Events: Includes events of any kind targeted at members or the larger community.
Marketing: Includes brand communication, marketing/promotion communication, with tactics such as external publications, advertising, public service announcements, audiovisual or digital communication like websites, online stores, blogs, podcasts, social networks, democratized content networks, micro-blogging and content-sharing sites or the like.
Communications: Includes government relations, community relations, media relations, issues/crisis communication, member communications, internal publications, community/member consultation, engagement.
Pillar: Public Realm
Programs focused on clean, safe, hospitality and placemaking.
- Streetscaping & Public Realm Improvements: Includes animating open spaces & parks, sidewalk activations, beautification, public art, street banners and holiday décor and public realm technology. Can include partnerships with government, private or other collaborators. This can also include sustainability improvement initiatives.
- Special: Legacy Awards
These awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated excellence in the BIA world.
Alex Ling Lifetime Achievement Award: Recognizes individuals who selflessly contribute to strengthening and promoting BIAs and the movement at large above and beyond their own BIA or organization.
Jan Hawley Memorial Pinnacle Award: Recognizes individuals who are accomplished leaders and have demonstrated skills in advocacy, innovation, and community building at their own organizations, OBIAA, and/or within the BIA movement at large.
Note: Entrants may submit multiple entries in the same category and/or across multiple categories provided that the work plan fits the category description. You may submit as many entries as you wish, but separate fees apply for each entry.
Not sure where you fit? Reach out to [email protected] for some guidance. You will not be penalized for submitting to an incorrect category.
Supplemental Items for the 2025 Awards Program
More 2025 documents will be added here as they are updated and approved. Check back soon!
Awards submissions will open Monday, December 2, 2024
and the deadline to submit is Friday, January 31, 2025 at 5pm.
Submission FAQs and Tips & Tricks
As an award recipient you, your organization or client, and your community will receive acknowledgement and recognition by your peers at the BIA Awards presentation at the Awards Dinner. As a member of this select group you will also receive a BIA Award and a copy of the photos taken with your team at the presentation of the awards.
OBIAA and TABIA members are invited to submit projects individually or jointly with partners for consideration. The submitting organization must have played a key role in the achievement of the project, its implementation, and its results. Given the vital role partnerships play in many successful efforts, we urge you to identify all participants in your submittal.
Projects have to have taken place and/or been completed within the last two years and must be 90-95% complete to be eligible for consideration. In a multi-phase project, completion of a major phase of the project is necessary for entry. For long-term or ongoing programs, something new or different should have taken place within the eligibility period.
A letter of support from a member BIA is required for non-BIA applicants.
This is where you will build out your submission in its entirety. You will then upload it to the online application form. This way, you can keep a copy for your records.
Use this document as a reference when filling in your submission. The judges will use this when evaluating your entry.
Use this document as a reference when filling in your submission. The judges will use this when evaluating your entry.
*For this year we included the Score Guide document inside the BIA Award Evaluation Form.
Can include any materials that help illustrate your work plan, such as pictures, website or blog screenshots, publications, advertisements, speeches, sample media articles, training materials, etc. Include the URLs and/or passwords for websites or other online platforms within your work plan or supplemental materials for judges to view live at judging time if required.
There is no limit on the number of supplemental materials, but less is more. Think 1-6 per entry.
While it all depends on the project, examples of what you might include:
- A page from your BIA’s strategic plan
- A media release
- A screenshot of a blog, social media post, or website page
- A live link to a website or web page
- A live link to a blog story by you or a partner
- A few elements of a new brand identity or advertisement
- Photos of an event
- A one-page summary of results of a formal survey or poll
- Board chair speaking notes (just the first page)
- Graphics of media coverage you received (website post, FB re-post)
- Anything else that you reference in the plan that is relevant to the story you’re telling
- A small table with a budget re: revenue (sponsorships vs levy vs grants vs other) and expenses (contracts, purchase materials, hiring vendors)
- In the event you are a winner, please provide us in advance with 3 – 5 PowerPoint slides with the following:
- Summary of the project
- Budget summary
- Tips and tricks for replication
Have you done/included the following:
- Filled out the online application form
- Included relevant promotional materials
- Included the relevant URLs or similar for live digital supplemental materials
- Included the victory materials in 3-5 PPT slides
- Registered for the OBIAA annual conference where the Awards will be given out
- Patted yourself on the back for entering – congrats!
Fees are as follows:
BIA – Levy less than $500,000 | $56.50 |
BIA – Levy more than $500,000 | $113.00 |
Consultant, Municipality, Supporter & Partner | $282.50 |
Payment Options:
Cheque
E-transfer
Credit card
EFT
Invoices available upon request
The awards will be presented at the Annual BIA Conference during the Monday evening Awards Dinner and all winners are encouraged to attend. Winners will have an opportunity to give a short speech upon receipt of their award.
Winners will also have an opportunity to present their winning submission during our popular Awards Sessions on the Tuesday immediately following the Awards Dinner.
All submissions may be considered to present during our of our weekly Best Practices Calls.
If you have any questions about which category to choose or how to submit your entry, please contact [email protected]
Call for Judges for the
2025 Awards Program
Get a front-row seat to Ontario’s top talent!
For more than 14 years, the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) has celebrated professionals for their talent and creativity through the OBIAA Awards program.
The Awards offer the Ontario place management profession an opportunity to present its best work. It celebrates and promotes excellence from the BIA world and fosters a greater appreciation of it.
Each year, senior BIA leaders and sector experts volunteer their time to review and evaluate dozens of outstanding award submissions from leading organizations across the province. It is one of the exclusive benefits of an OBIAA membership that provides professional development and networking opportunities.
We’ve made changes to the program that better align both its submission and evaluation criteria with similar association and urban place management awards programs, and that look to elevate our profession through a focus on strategic goals and measurable outcomes.
As we prepare for award submissions, we’re looking for experienced BIA staff and experts to serve on our panel of judges. Our judges are critical and highly valued for their leadership and hands-on experience. They not only evaluate submissions, but – new this year – they will also provide insightful feedback that helps our entrants develop as practitioners.
We are currently accepting applications from senior and/or experienced professionals to join our panel of esteemed judges.
Get a front row seat to some of the best and most innovative work in Ontario and learn how to submit your own entry using the new format. It’s a win-win.
What you need
Ideally 5 or more years of experience as a BIA professional and/or content expert
Accreditation is a plus
A passion for continuing to develop professionally and network with some of the best BIA leaders in the province
What we need from you
Complete the application
Commitment to complete and reconcile evaluations within the stipulated timelines
NOTE: Being a judge doesn’t prevent you from entering; you just won’t evaluate your own submissions.
APPLY NOW
We thank all applicants for their interest. Those selected to join the judging panel will be contacted by the OBIAA Awards Judging Committee directly.
Judging FAQs
We’re looking for strategic thinkers, BIA professionals with hands-on experience, previous entrants and/or winners, people willing to learn and commit the time to evaluating entries thoroughly and thoughtfully.
No, but it will be helpful. As evaluation will be done in pairs, more experienced evaluators will be paired with less experienced judges for both learning purposes and to offer a more robust evaluation, so you’ll be able to learn ‘on the job.’
Evaluators will be paired up: more experienced with less experienced judges. You’ll judge the award entries you’re assigned individually first. Then, you and your partner will meet up by phone or virtually to reconcile your scores and feedback. The pair will then submit one final evaluation form for each entry.
The process ensures two sets of eyes on each submission and greats a create networking and learning opportunity for judges.
OBIAA will hold two Judging Sessions the week of March 11 to help you along with the process.
About 45-60 minutes per entry on your own to evaluate. Then you’ll meet up with your judging partner and spend about 30+ minutes per entry to come to consensus on feedback and scores. The number of entries per pair will depend on the number of judges and entries.
The Awards Committee has updated the resources available to judges when reviewing submissions. Check out the new Tip Sheet (formerly Marks of a Winner) and Scoring Guide.
Important Dates
Rachel Braithwaite | St. Catharines Downtown Association | Committee Chair
Tasneem Bandukwala | Gerrard India Bazaar & Uptown Yonge BIAs (Toronto)
Liz Behrens | Volunteer
Stephen Lokash | Mount Pleasant Village BIA
Salvatore Marchese | City of Sault Ste. Marie
Nicole Moore | The Village of Richmond Hill BIA
Vicki Smith | Downtown London BIA
Passcode for the January Workshop: T9S75Gs&