Results

When judging closes, AwardKit ranks entries by their final score and shows you a leaderboard. From there, you assign awards, publish the results, and every entrant gets a certificate.

Results are per category

The leaderboard is ranked per category. Use the All entries tab and the category tabs above the list (each with its entry count) 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.

Reading the leaderboard

• The Judges / Audience / Compare switch appears when public voting is on. Each track is ranked on its own ballot and the two are never averaged together: Judges shows rubric scores (or the judges' pick points), Audience shows pick points and pick counts, and Compare puts both ranks side by side so you can deliberate a combined prize. Click a column header in Compare to sort by that track.
• The Score column header is a menu on a score ballot: pick Total score or any single criterion to rank by it, handy for a "Best Innovation" side award. The header then reads the criterion's name and each row shows that criterion's average with the overall score under it. The Categories column only shows on All entries; on a category tab every row is in that category.
• Expand a row for Detailed Scores (per-criterion averages) or, on a Top Picks ballot, the Pick Breakdown (picks per rank position and voters who did not pick it), plus any written feedback.
• Export CSV downloads every entry with its judges' rank, score or points, vote count, criterion averages, audience score or points and vote count, and feedback (each comment prefixed with the judge's name), alongside the entry's categories, entrant type, and payment columns.

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 four 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 a Top Picks ballot, scoring is rank-based and per category. Each voter's first pick gets the most points, second pick fewer, and so on. The category ranking sums every voter'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. Round pills at the top of the page (each with its entry count) select the round you're viewing; pick the round you're advancing from (for example, Screening), then check the entries that move on to the next round. Select top N by score checks the first N rows for you.

Advancement is per category, so a multi-category work is handled category by category: the confirmation dialog lists every category the checked works compete in ("Uncheck any that should not advance."), and 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. A later round with nothing advanced yet shows "No entries in Final yet" with a link to View Screening results.

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. Awards can be assigned from any tab: pick the juried winner from Judges, the People's Choice from Audience, and a combined prize from Compare. The sidebar tracks how many of each award have been assigned across your categories and overall awards ("3 winners assigned"). Assignment is award-first: click an award in the sidebar ("Click an award in the sidebar to assign winners"), then click the entry that should receive it ("Select an entry to assign Brand Identity - Gold"). The score and rank stay visible so your team can audit decisions.

You can pick any entry, not only the top-ranked one, if you need to override the leaderboard (judge override, ineligibility caught late, etc.). The leaderboard remains visible for transparency.

Publishing results publicly

The toolbar above the leaderboard shows the state, Results hidden or Results published, with a Publish results or Hide results button next to it. The helper line explains what is missing when you cannot publish yet: "Collect at least one vote or assign a winner to publish results.", or, in Test mode, "Results publish once your program is live. Test scores and winners are cleared at go-live."

Click Publish results and the Publish Results & Notify Entrants dialog shows how many entrants will be emailed and names any unassigned awards ("You can still publish"). Confirming with Publish & Notify 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.

Certificates and badges

Every entrant on every submitted entry receives a certificate page with the program name, category, award, and the entry title, plus a verification URL and an Add to LinkedIn button. Winners get a Certificate of Achievement, everyone else a Certificate of Participation. Certificates live on the entrant's entry page. Use them as a marketing asset for next year's program: winners often share them on LinkedIn and in their press kits, driving organic reach back to you. See After the program.