Writing a Strong Nomination Practical guidance and reflections from people recognised at the Norfolk Care Awards.

Strong nominations share a few identifiable qualities: they’re specific, they’re evidenced, and they connect clearly to what a category is actually looking for. This guidance draws on conversations with people recognised at the 2025 Norfolk Care Awards, who reflected on what their recognition meant and what they’d tell someone writing a nomination this year. The aim isn’t to make your nominee sound impressive, it’s to give judges enough to genuinely understand why they deserve recognition.

Start with the criteria, not the person

It’s tempting to begin writing by thinking about everything you admire about your nominee. Resist that instinct, at least at first. Start instead with the award category itself, read the criteria carefully, and treat it the way you’d treat a job description before writing an application.

You wouldn’t apply for a role by listing your qualities in general terms and hoping the employer worked out the connection themselves. You’d explain, specifically, how your experience matches what the role actually requires. A nomination works the same way. If a category is looking for leadership, don’t simply say your nominee is a good leader, show a specific moment where their leadership changed an outcome, and tie it directly back to what that category is looking for. The strongest nominations read as though they were written for that category, not just a biography of a really great person or team.

Show, don’t tell

The most common weakness in nominations isn’t lack of admiration, it’s lack of evidence. “Sarah is caring.” “John always goes above and beyond.” These sentences are true, almost certainly. They’re also unusable. A judge reading them has no way to distinguish one caring, hardworking person from another, because nothing in the sentence is specific to your nominee.

Compare it to this instead:

Sarah introduced a new mealtime approach that helped reduce anxiety for residents living with dementia. Families noticed the difference, and the approach has since been adopted by the wider team.

Or, for a nomination built around leadership rather than a single initiative:

When handover gaps between shifts were leading to missed information, John introduced a short structured handover checklist and trained the team to use it consistently. Errors linked to missed details dropped within weeks, and two other units have since adopted the same approach.

Neither sentence claims Sarah is caring or John is a strong leader, they don’t need to. The fact is demonstrated, not asserted. The difference isn’t length or polish, it’s that one gives a judge something to picture, and the other doesn’t.

Find the evidence before you write

Ruth Rimmington, whose Home Instead Norwich team won the Innovation award in 2025, put it well when reflecting on her own team’s progress: “Even the little bits of feedback, when you put them together, can build something that makes such a big difference.” The strongest examples often aren’t the ones that come to mind first, they’re the ones surfaced by asking around. Before you start writing, it’s worth asking colleagues what they remember, checking any records or feedback you’ve received from families, and thinking back over several months rather than just the most recent week. Often the strongest example is the one someone else brings up when you ask.

Explain the impact, not just the action

This is where many otherwise-good nominations fall short. They describe what someone did; ran a project, introduced a new process, stayed late, handled a difficult situation well, without explaining what actually changed as a result.

Judges aren’t just assessing effort. They’re assessing difference made. Angela Herbert, recognised in 2025 with the Harold Bodmer Lifetime Achievement Award, reflected on what that difference can look like in practice: “We may be the only person somebody sees week in, week out. We provide hope as well as care.” So for every example you include, ask: who benefited, and how? Did a person drawing on care feel calmer, safer, more themselves? Did colleagues feel more supported, or better equipped to do their jobs? Did a family notice a change in how their relative was cared for?

Taking our mealtime example further: the impact isn’t just that Sarah introduced a new approach. It’s that residents’ anxiety reduced, families noticed, and the practice spread. Evidence that the change made an impact. Data and quotes help. Make sure you state the impact, don’t assume the judges will know or will understand. The judges have to base their assessment on what is written down.

Everyday excellence counts

It’s easy to assume a nomination needs to describe something dramatic; a crisis handled, a major project delivered. Often, it’s the opposite. Pedro Campos, Registered Manager at Cavell Court, made this point directly when reflecting on his own team’s award: “Sometimes the little things are the major things.” People often do extraordinary things without realising it, simply because it feels like ordinary work to them.

Consistency is its own kind of achievement, and it’s easy to overlook precisely because it doesn’t announce itself. The care worker who remembers small preferences; how someone takes their tea, what music they like, and adjusts quietly. These aren’t dramatic stories, but they’re often the ones that matter most to the people receiving that care, and they’re just as valid a basis for a nomination as any single standout event, provided you can describe specifically what was done and what difference it made.

Before you submit

Read back through what you’ve written and ask three questions:

• Does this connect clearly to the award category?
• Does every claim have a specific example behind it?
• Does it explain not just what happened, but what changed for someone as a result?

If the answer to all three is yes, you’ve written a nomination that gives your nominee a genuine chance because you’ve clearly shown why they deserve the award.

Every nomination is an opportunity to recognise the people making a positive difference across adult social care. Taking a little extra time to explain why someone deserves recognition could make all the difference.

Nominations for the Norfolk Care Awards 2026 remain open. If there’s someone in your service whose work should be recognised, we’d encourage you to put them forward.

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