Who Can Enter 

The BCEDA Awards are open to: 

  • Local governments 
  • Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led organizations 
  • Regional economic development organizations 
  • Chambers of commerce and business associations 
  • Non-profit organizations 
  • Consultants submitting projects completed on behalf of a community or organization 

Entries must reflect work completed within British Columbia and must clearly demonstrate local or regional economic development outcomes. 

Membership in BCEDA is not required to enter. 

 

Eligible Project Timeframe 

To qualify for the 2026 BCEDA Awards, submissions must relate to projects or initiatives that were: 

  • Started, completed, or meaningfully advanced between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025, and 
  • Led or supported by the submitting community, organization, or partnership. 

Multi-year or ongoing projects are eligible as long as clear progress or impact occurred within this period. 

 

Population Levels 

To ensure fair comparison among communities of different sizes, entries will be evaluated within the following population tiers: 

  • Under 10,000 population 
  • 10,000 – 25,000 population 
  • Over 25,000 population 

Population is based on the most recent available BC Stats or Statistics Canada data. 

Consultants submitting on behalf of a community must list the appropriate population tier for the client community. 



General Eligibility Rules 

To be eligible, submissions must: 

  • Clearly align with the selected award category 
  • Demonstrate measurable outcomes, benefits, or results 
  • Be the original work of the submitting organization or partnership 
  • Include accurate information and verifiable data 
  • Provide permission from all partners or collaborators when required 

Entries that do not meet basic eligibility standards may be disqualified at the discretion of BCEDA. 

 

Submission Requirements 

All entries must include: 

  1. Completed online entry form through the BCEDA Awardify portal 
  1. Project description outlining goals, activities, results, and impacts 
  1. Provide supporting files, such as: 
  • PDFs (plans, strategies, reports, case studies) 
  • Images or graphics 
  • Videos (linked or uploaded) 
  • Infographics or charts 
  1. Confirmation of the correct population tier 
  1. Payment of entry fee (if applicable) 

Supporting files should clearly strengthen the written submission and should be concise, readable, and relevant. 



File Format Guidelines 

Awardify accepts: 

  • PDFs (recommended for written content) 
  • JPEG/PNG (photos or graphics) 
  • MP4 or video links (if relevant) 
  • Maximum of three uploads per entry 

Please ensure: 

  • File names are clear and descriptive 
  • Files do not exceed Awardify's upload size limit 
  • Proprietary or confidential information is removed or anonymized 

Number of Entries 

Communities and organizations may submit multiple entries across different award categories. 

However, each initiative may only be entered once. Duplicates in multiple categories are not permitted.