Judging & Awards Process
Individual criteria differ by category, but the emphasis is on the overall quality of the entry: the merits of the claims to innovation claimed in the entry, relative to the judges’ experience and their knowledge of the participant’s industry, as well as the quality of the entry’s content itself.
Judges tend to value well-written entries that are long on facts and short on fluff; that come close to the word-limit for their categories (i.e. that aren’t perceived as being too short); and that are supported by attachments such as a link to a corporate website, press clippings, work samples, etc.
We recommend that you request an entry kit so that you can familiarize yourself with the criteria and submission requirements.
Awards Process
Updated 30 September 2026
All entries are first reviewed by Stevie® Awards staff to ensure that eligibility requirements are met, that entries are formatted properly in order to go forward to be judged, and that entries have been submitted in appropriate categories.
Determination of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Winners
Judging will be conducted in November 2026 - January 2027. Judges will be recruited worldwide, will be invited or will apply to judge on the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards web site, and if accepted will be assigned to category groups by Stevie Awards staff, based on their industry, function, and experience. A judge will not be assigned categories to which their own organization has submitted entries.
During the judging, each entry will be reviewed and rated by no fewer than five (5) judges who have been approved as qualified (by Stevie Awards staff) to judge those entries. Rating will be done on a scale of 1-10.
All entries that receive an average score of at least 8.0 out of a possible 10, regardless of category, are automatically conferred Stevie Award status. Entries with average scores of 7.75 – 7.99 may be conferred awards status at the discretion of Stevie Awards administration, but are not guaranteed awards placement.
Every category that has at least one qualifying entry (with a final average score of at least 8.0/10) will have at least one Gold Stevie Award winner. The qualifying entry with the highest average score in a category will be awarded the Gold Stevie Award. The top 45% of other qualifying entries will be accorded Silver Stevie status. The remaining 55% of qualifying entries will be accorded Bronze Stevie Award status.
The veracity of claims made in entries may be audited. Any entry found to contain false or misleading information will be disqualified. Gold Stevie-winning entries will be published on Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards web site. Winners will have the opportunity to redact any confidential or non-public information from their entries before publication.
Determination of Grand Stevie Award Winners
Two Grand Stevie Award winners will be selected and announced at the awards banquet. The organization that wins the most Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards will be presented with the Grand Stevie Award for Organization of the Year. The top-scoring nomination in the entire competition will also be recognized with a Grand Stevie.