Results

Review the leaderboard, assign winners, publish results to your public program page, and issue certificates and badges.

When judging closes, AwardKit ranks entries by their final score and shows you a leaderboard. From there, you assign awards, publish the results, and issue certificates to winners and finalists.

Results are per category

The leaderboard is ranked per category. Use the category tabs above the list to see each category's ranking on its own, and the Awards & Winners panel groups the awards you can assign by category (plus any overall awards). A work entered in several categories appears in each one's ranking independently, so it can place first in one category and mid-pack in another, and win a different award in each.

How final scores are calculated

For programs using Score Criteria, every entry gets a weighted average across all criteria, averaged across all judges who reviewed it. For example, an entry scored 8 / 7 / 9 / 6 by three judges on a single criterion gets (8 + 7 + 9 + 6) / 4 = 7.5 for that criterion. The final score multiplies each criterion's average by its weight (Impact 30%, Innovation 25%, etc.) and sums them.

For programs using Top Picks, scoring is rank-based. Each judge's first pick gets the most points, second pick fewer, etc. Final ranking sums every judge's points for each entry.

See score calculation for the full formula and how ties are broken.

Advancing entries between rounds

If your program runs multiple rounds, the Results page is also where you advance the shortlist. Use the round selector at the top to view the round you're advancing from (for example, Screening), then check the entries that move on to the next round.

Advancement is per category, so a multi-category work is handled category by category: you can advance it in one category and leave it behind in another. Only the entries you advance become the next round's pool; everything else is done after this round.

Once the next round has votes, its entry pool locks so a late change can't invalidate scores already cast. To change which entries advanced, reset that round's votes first (from the Scoring section), then re-select the shortlist.

Winners are assigned and results are published from the final round. Earlier rounds just narrow the field.

Assigning awards

Open Results to see the leaderboard alongside the Awards & Winners sidebar. The sidebar tracks how many of each award have been assigned across your categories and overall awards. Click an entry on the leaderboard to assign it a Winner, Finalist, or any other award you configured. The score and rank stay visible so your team can audit decisions.

You can also pick winners manually if you want to override the leaderboard for any reason (judge override, ineligibility caught late, etc.). The leaderboard remains visible for transparency.

Publishing results publicly

When you're ready, flip the Results & Certificates Published toggle on the Results page. The first time you publish, AwardKit asks you to confirm via a Publish & Notify dialog that shows how many entrants will be emailed and flags any unassigned awards. Confirming both makes the leaderboard public and sends a one-time email to every entrant with a submitted entry letting them know results are live and certificates are ready.

Your entry gallery updates automatically with winner badges.

The notification email is sent only the first time you publish. Toggling results off and back on later won't re-send it. Make sure award assignments are final before that first publish. The Awards & Winners sidebar on the Results page tracks unassigned awards while you work.

Certificates and badges

Every winner and finalist receives an automatically generated certificate (PDF) with the program name, category, award, and the entry title. They can download it from their entry's public detail page. Use the certificate as a marketing asset for next year's program: winners often share it on LinkedIn and in their press kits, driving organic reach back to you.