Annual SIMNA Awards
Now in their 8th year, the SIMNA Awards celebrate the great work being done across Australia to evidence social change. Through the sharing of work, the SIMNA Awards shine a light on the leaders and learners in the social impact measurement space.
As in years past, we encouraged Australian for-purpose organisations of all sizes and types to apply – not-for-profits, social enterprises, funders, B Corps, corporates and government agencies and have received a record number of applications in each of the following four categories. You can read all about the 2022 Finalists here!
2022 SIMNA Awards Ceremony
Join us at the virtual 2022 SIMNA Awards Ceremony on 6 December. With pitches from our finalists and a discussion panel with national impact makers, funders, philanthropists and policy makers, this unique digital networking opportunity is not to be missed! Our Virtual Ceremony will feature one minute pitches from our Finalists and a lively debate with our fabulous speaker panel. So prepare to get dressed up, invite some friends and colleagues to join you and choose a glass of something special to toast our Winners and Runners-Up!
Event details
- Where: Online (Zoom)
- When: Tuesday 6 December 2022 from 3.00-5.00pm AEDT (12.00-2.00pm in Perth, 2.00-4.00pm in Brisbane and 2.30-4.30pm in Adelaide)
- Cost: FREE to attend – Get your ticket here!
Discussion Panel
After the enthusiastic response to last year’s inaugural Discussion Panel, we are bringing it back to the Awards Ceremony for 2022. Hosted by SIMNA Board Member and CEO of Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre, Benjamin Jardine, the Panel is set to provoke and engage our panel of experts and those attending the Awards Ceremony.
Awerangi Tamihere – Chief Operating Officer of the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency
Awerangi has spent the last three decades working with Māori communities. Understanding and measuring social return has become an effective framework for Whānau Ora to assess how to invest in the strength of whānau – the “family unit” – and to assess lasting change over time.
For Awerangi, whānau is first and foremost. She promotes an integrated and collaborative model of care, creating space for whānau to co-produce what services look like and that takes a diversity of stakeholders into account. Awerangi is at the forefront of developing new approaches with the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency. A New Zealand Indigenous Commissioning Agency which has over 100 Indigenous Social Impact Partners across New Zealand collectively working together to demonstrate the change that matters most for Māori. This social impact programme that has been modelled on her work with Te Whānau O Waipareria, an urban Indigenous provider in Auckland that had been leading and championing outcomes and social value in NZ since 2012.
Edmund McCombs – Group Head of Social Impact at Lendlease and new SIMNA Board Director
Edmund is the Head of Social Impact at Lendlease. He started working for Lendlease in 2009, where he originally focused on accessible design and providing equitable access to all people in the built form. In that role, Edmund worked with various community and advocacy groups. This lead him to unlock his passion for Social Sustainability and Community Development. Edmund now leads Lendlease’s Sustainability and Foundation team. This is where he has found that his work genuinely aligns to his passion – helping people and communities around the world.
Jen Riley – Chief Impact Officer at Our Community
Jen joined Our Community as Chief Impact Officer in January 2022. She brings to the role 20+ years working in the social sector for both government and not-for-profits and is skilled in strategic planning, program and product design and management, outcomes measurement, and evaluation. Jen is currently focused on the roll out of the Outcomes Engine within SmartyGrants and helping clients to collect and report on their outcome data across grant portfolios. Jen’s passion is technology and outcomes and helping organisations understand and improve their impact
Awards Categories
The Excellence Award is intended to recognise a social impact measurement initiative that promotes best practice and leads by example. Social impact measurement must be put into practice with demonstrable results across a cohort, community or place. Judges will be looking for strong stakeholder engagement, robust measurement frameworks, a body of evidence and transparent sharing of results.
The Innovation Award is intended to recognise a social impact measurement initiative that promotes emerging or innovative approaches. Social impact measurement may be planned or in pilot stage. Judges will be looking for creativity and experimentation, supported by rationale for adopting the chosen approach. Organisations (large and small) trying new approaches are encouraged to apply. This Award category also recognises the introduction of new tools or frameworks that could positively disrupt the sector.
The Collaboration Award is intended to recognise a social impact measurement initiative that promotes strong collaboration. The intent is to celebrate collaboration and co-design involving stakeholders supporting, participating in or affected by the change – funders, impact organisations, beneficiaries and community members. While consultancies may be involved in the initiative, the engagement of a consultancy or advisor is not generally regarded as a collaboration in the assessment of this Award.
The Leading Funder Award is intended to look across an investment or grant-making portfolio to see how Social Impact Measurement is structuring and informing your decision-making. The Award is open to any organisation which funds activities intended to have a social impact, including (but not limited to) social enterprise and social business, foundations, corporations, and local, state and federal government bodies. For larger bodies with complex operations and multiple funding streams, the application may be with respect to a particular portfolio or initiative.
Judging Panel
All of this year’s judges are respected practitioners in the field of social impact measurement. Judges participate in two rounds of scoring, working in different pairs to encourage transparency and the balanced application of the judging criteria. It is a big task and we are so grateful to this year’s Judging Panel for helping to select this year’s finalists – thank you!
Awards Sponsors
The SIMNA Awards would not be possible without the financial support of our incredible sponsors. We would like to thank our Platinum Sponsor, the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS), along with our Category Sponsors SVA Consulting, Urbis and Smarty Grants for joining us in making the 2022 SIMNA Awards happen.
