Frequently asked questions
What to know before you enter
Short answers to the questions we are asked most often about The DaVinci Awards®: who can enter, what it costs, how entries are judged and what winners receive.
Questions
About the awards
A DaVinci Award® is an independent mark of excellence for innovative products, services, organizations and teams. Entries are assessed by expert judges and can earn one, two or three stars. The awards are run entirely online, with no ceremony to attend.
The DaVinci Awards® is run by Awarding & Consultancy International, the team behind The Cloud Awards, which has recognized excellence in cloud computing since 2011. The DaVinci Awards® launched in 2025. Read more about us.
One star recognizes commendable growth, clear innovation, and evidence of quality, consistency and credibility. Two stars recognize excellent growth, a track record of innovation, and a high level of sophistication and execution. Three stars are reserved for the most outstanding accomplishments.
No. Every entry is judged on its own merits against the star criteria, and an entry that does not reach the one-star standard receives no award. Unsuccessful entries are never made public.
No. The DaVinci Awards® is run entirely online. Winners are announced on our website and through press releases.
Questions
Entering
Organizations of any size, anywhere in the world. Your organization must have been operating for at least two years, and you must show growth over the last year in at least one of these areas: profitability, customer base, customer satisfaction, number of staff, staff satisfaction, staff retention, cross-border trade or workforce diversity. See the eligibility rules.
An organization, a product or service, an initiative or project, or a business department, team or person.
No. The seven areas (Health, Planet, Work, Navigation, Living, Learning & Culture and Frontier) show the range of what we cover. They are suggestions, not fixed categories. If your innovation does not sit neatly in one of them, you can still enter. Explore the award areas.
The entry fee is US $695. Each entry covers one product, service or other nomination. Late entries, accepted for up to two weeks after a deadline, carry a US $100 surcharge.
Yes. You can enter as many as you like. Each one is a separate entry with its own fee.
No. Once an entry has been submitted, the fee is non-refundable.
There are four deadlines a year, and you can enter at any time. The next deadlines are December 11, 2026; February 26, 2027; June 25, 2027; September 24, 2027; and December 10, 2027. Entries received by a deadline are judged in that round. View all deadlines.
Late entries are accepted for up to two weeks after a deadline, with a US $100 surcharge. After that, your entry is judged in the next round.
Download the entry form, complete it, and submit it with any supporting materials on the Enter Now page.
Questions
Judging and results
Each entry is assessed on three things: the completed entry form (70%), supplementary materials (20%), and third-party metrics and our own research (10%).
Judges are drawn from a pool of more than 550 international experts, the same pool that serves The Cloud Awards. For each entry, judges are selected for the relevance of their experience.
Results are announced within three months of each deadline.
Not at present. We do not currently provide individual feedback on entries.
Yes. You are welcome to enter again in a later round.
Questions
Winning
Winners receive the DaVinci Awards® badge for their star level, a trophy, an article about their achievement published on our website, and press opportunities with our editorial team. See the winners’ benefits.
Indefinitely. Each badge carries the year in which it was awarded.
Trophies are currently shipped to the mainland United States only. They are produced and shipped within nine months of winners being announced, and production and shipping are included in the entry fee.
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