by Roxana Rosu | Jan 16, 2023 | Articles
Award Force had a busy year in 2022!
Flexibility, accessibility and ease of use were key themes for last year and we delivered! Over the year, we implemented 21 new features and made 155 product improvements—all to help you do more in less time and set you up for future success.
Here is a look at some of our most exciting new features and updates!
Using your minimum entry criteria, the eligibility screener automatically diverts ineligible entries and saves everyone’s time, energy and effort. Built to be flexible, the eligibility screener can be used to lock/unlock subsequent sections of the entry form, apply to individual categories, has built-in notification, content settings and so much more.
Read more: Save time + automatically check entrant eligibility
With Award Force, award program managers can maximise their submitted entry volume by inviting known entrants to submit an entry for a new award or category. Perfect for enticing quality entrants from previous award seasons to participate!
Read more: Maximise entry volume, with invitations
Owners and program managers can preview the Award Force platform as another user. Preview mode is read-only, so no changes can be made. This allows you to test your judging configuration, see how things look for entrants, and troubleshoot issues reported by users.
Award Force is packed full of features to help you maintain compliance with requirements under the various regulations, including HIPAA. This is great news if your program collects health data in the United States and is subject to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. And, if not, it’s just a healthy reminder we’ve got your back when it comes to data security.
In 2022, we continued to expand the Award Force API with several new endpoints available, including the ability to send and/or edit table field data.
When adjudicating an entry, judges can upload files, including images, and leave comments. Especially useful for judges who provide detailed comments. All judging modes have this capability.
Sometimes program managers need to check entries offline from top to bottom. You might also have to share an entry with someone who doesn’t have Award Force access. You can download and view a full entry PDF from within the manager’s workspace. #simplify
Read more: 5 New features to help you save time managing entries
This feature helps program managers organise entries with a star, a similar action to marking important emails in your email system. Program managers can refer back to an entry whenever they need it by clicking the star next to it. You can filter by starred entries too!
Read more: Feature focus: 3 Fast ways to organise your awards entries
The blank form PDF provides program managers and entrants the ability to download a blank entry form as a PDF, use it to review or share questions offline and gather any information needed in advance. All fields are displayed in the same sequence and logic as the online form.
Awards data can now be stored in Canada. Providing a new data residency option alongside Australia, the European Union and the United States.
Table fields allow entrants to provide data in a table format. Whether you want to collect information around budget, resources, expenses or community data – table fields are an ideal format. Table fields can now perform automatic calculations on behalf of your entrants and/or your awards management team.
A new list view is available for program managers to see all the exports and bulk downloads generated from their account. The Downloads option provides a list of all downloads generated in the platform.
Awards can be awarded to anyone, so we ensure our software works for everyone. That is why we continually update our software to comply with the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). We made 20 WCAG improvements in 2022!
Read more: Awards management accessibility
Our engineers are already hard at work on some amazing new features and tools: entry collaboration, new user roles, new API endpoints and so much more!
2022 has been another wild ride, and we couldn’t have done it without you. This year (and every year) we’re thankful for you, our amazing clients and users, for helping improve the platform with your continued feedback. We look forward to partnering with you to recognise excellence in 2023!
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