Create + Configure an Award

Once you have configured the global settings for the Awards + Nominations app, you can create an award. Rhythm's Awards + Nominations app can be used to accept applications and nominations as well as conduct reviews for:

• Awards + Competitions
• Scholarships
• Elections

CREATE AN AWARD

1. Navigate to the Awards + Nominations app.
2. Click the + Create a New Award from Scratch button.
3. Designate the award type.
4. Give the award a name, and the award ID will automatically generate.
   
   Helpful Hint: When naming an award, it's beneficial to add a unique identifier (like the award year) to it. This helps you keep track of the award over multiple years.  
5. Determine whether the award should be visible in the portal. If you would only like the award to appear for a set amount of time, choose the start and end dates. If you would like it to appear indefinitely, leave the date fields blank.
6. Optionally, you can include a description of the award that will appear in the portal.
7. Select which features should be available for this award:
   • Nominations: Allow people to be nominated for this award
   • Applications: Allow people to apply for this award online
   • Recipient Categories: Allow nominations, applications, and recipients to receive this award in various categories
   • Reviews: Allow individuals to review and judge applications online
   
   Helpful Hint: You can add or remove any of these features in the future if necessary by navigating to the Award > Setup > Award Details
    
8. Determine the maximum number of award applications someone can submit. Leave the field blank if there is no limit.
9. If you created custom page layouts for nominations, nominees, applications, or recipients, you may designate them. Otherwise, leave the field blank to use default layouts.
10. Upload a logo for your award that will appear in the portal.
11. Click the Save Changes button.

CONFIGURE AN AWARD

Once the award has been created, you need to configure the processes for the features you enabled. Navigate to the Awards + Nominations app, then to the given award, and click Setup from the left toolbar. 

APPLICATIONS

Application Fees

Create fees that will be associated with your award program applications.

1. Select Fees under Applications in the left toolbar.
2. Click the Create Application Fee button.
3. Determine which business unit to associate with the fee.
4. Give your fee a name.
5. Here, you can determine the price of the application and choose to give a discount to members.
6. Like other fees in the platform, you have the option to designate the following:
   • Special pricing logic
   • G/L accounts
   • Purchasing eligibility
   • Confirmation email
   • Coupon codes
   • Documents
   • Installment plans
   • Cancellation fees
7. Click the Save Changes button.

Application Processes

1. Select Applications from the left toolbar and click Processes.
2. Click the + Create Application Process button.
3. Give the application process a name and select whether the applicant type should be an individual or an organization.
4. Select which application form should apply to the process.
5. Choose which dates to open and close the application process. If you do not choose any dates, the process will be open indefinitely.
6. Optionally, select whether the application process should only be available to those who have been nominated for the award.
7. Optionally, select whether a fee should be associated with the application.
8. If you would like to allow applicants to update their applications, enable the setting. You can then choose which form they should use and a deadline for any application modifications.
   
   Helpful Hint: If there is specific information you do not want applicants to update after their initial submission, you can create a separate form specifically for updates that omits those fields. 
9. If you want to require references for the application process, enable that setting. You can then add multiple reference requirements that specify the reference type, reference process, and the number of references required.
10. If you would like to prompt applicants to update their contact or organization profile during this process, enable either or both of those settings.
11. Set eligibility criteria if only certain people should be allowed to apply for the award.
12. Enable the confirmation email setting to send once the award application is complete, using the editor to design your email and add content.
13. Click the Save Changes button.

Review Buckets

Review buckets allow you to sort applications before assigning them to a review team. This is especially helpful when you receive a large number of applications compared to the number of people available to review them. No matter how many applications you receive, you must have at least one review bucket.

1. Select Applications from the left toolbar and click Review Buckets.
2. Click the + Create Review Bucket button.
3. Give the review bucket a name.
4. Click the Save Changes button.

Review Teams

Review teams are groups of individuals who will review and score award applications. You may have as many review teams as necessary for your award program and may designate the roles of the individuals on the team.

1. Select Applications from the left toolbar and click Review Teams.
2. Click the + Create Review Team button.
3. Give the review team a name.
4. Add members to the review team in one of two ways:
   • Click the + Add team members from a committee link in the right corner to appoint reviewers from a committee. By default, it will include every member of the committee, but you may deselect members as necessary. 
   • Click the + Add a Team Member button to search for a specific contact in your CRM.
5. Assign roles to the team members:
   • Reviewer: Individuals who are assigned applications to review and score
   • Administrators: Individuals who do not submit reviews but rather have the ability to advance them to future rounds, change bucket assignments, and update the review status
   • Administrator + Reviewer: Individuals who can perform both activities
6. Click the Save Changes button.

Review Rounds

Whether your review process has one round or multiple, we'll configure them here.

1. Select Applications from the left toolbar and click Review Rounds.
2. Click the + Create Review Round button.
3. Assign the display order for this review round.
   
   Helpful Hint: While the display order number isn't visible, it tells Rhythm how to sequence your review rounds. As an example, Preliminaries may be 1, Semi-Finals may be 2, and Finals may be 3. Your review teams would see Preliminary applications first, Semi-Final applications, and Final applications last. 
4. Give the review round a name. 
   
   Helpful Hint: If you have multiple categories, you should create separate review rounds for each of those categories. Following the example above, it could be Premilinaries - Technical and Preliminaries - Creative. 
5. Select the round status:
   • Not Yet Open: This is a future round that should not accept reviews until formally opened
   • Open: This is an active round that should accept reviews and allow reviewers to edit their reviews
   • Closed: This round is completed, and reviewers can no longer submit or edit their reviews
6. Assign review teams to your review buckets. You can have different teams reviewing award applications in the various buckets you have configured, or a single team can review applications across all buckets.
7. Optionally, you can enable blind reviews where the contact details for award applications are hidden from reviewers. Note this must be designated by each review round.
8. Optionally, you can override the review form shown to reviewers for award applications in this round. When enabled, you may select a different form for them to complete.
9. Optionally, you can override the award application page layout for reviewers in this round. When enabled, you may select a different page layout to show. 
10. When the review round's status is open, you can choose to end the round automatically by a specific date and time.
11. Click the Save Changes button.
12. Follow this process to create however many review rounds are necessary for your program.

Note: In order to prevent any mistakes, Rhythm requires that you manually open review rounds.

Review Settings

1. Choose the starting review round.
2. Choose the default review bucket.
3. Choose the review form.
4. Click the + Add Review Criterion button to determine how a reviewer should measure the aptitude of the application. In the pop-up box, you can assign the various settings. Add as many measures of criteria as necessary.
5. Optionally, prompt reviewers to make a recommendation when submitting their review. They will be required to choose between Definitely Not, No, Yes, and Strong Yes.
6. Enable the Bucket Assignment Rules setting to assign applications to a specific review bucket based on the criteria you set.
7. Provide instructions to reviewers that will appear in the portal. It can be helpful to share what is expected of them during reviews and who they can contact if they need assistance.
8. Provide instructions to review administrators that will appear in the portal to communicate your expectations for their roles, as well as help on how to fulfill their duties.
9. Assign review administrator permissions.
10. Click the Save Changes button.

NOMINATIONS

Nomination Processes

1. Select Nominations from the left toolbar and click Processes.
2. Click the + Create Nomination Process button.
3. Give the application process a name.
4. Determine how individuals completing this process should select a nominee:
   • Existing Only: Users are shown a list of existing nominees, and they can select only from that list
   • Allow New Nominees: Users are prompted to enter nominee information, and new nominees are created. Rhythm will take care of any potential duplicates based on the email address
   • Both: Users can either select from a list of nominees or enter new ones
5. Select whether the nominee type is an individual or an organization.
6. If you opt to accept new individual nominees, you will be prompted to select which contact fields to require in the process.
7. Select which nomination form should apply to the process.
8. Choose which dates to open and close the nomination process. If you do not choose any dates, the process will be open indefinitely.
9. If you would like to prompt people to update their contact or organization profile during this process, enable either or both of those settings.
10. Set eligibility criteria if only certain people should be allowed to nominate individuals or organizations for the award.
11. Enable the confirmation email setting to send once the nomination is complete, using the editor to design your email and add content.
12. Click the Save Changes button.

REFERENCES

Reference Processes

1. Select References from the left toolbar and click Processes.
2. Click the + Create Reference Process button.
3. Give the application process a name.
4. Select a reference form for the process.
5. Enable the reference notification email setting to inform the reference of the request and provide instructions for completing it.
   
   Helpful Hint: Be sure to include the unique reference URL in the email. The URL format is typically: https://portal-url.your.org/awards/references/submit?id={{reference.id}}
   
   Note: Make sure you have installed the references portal feature into your portal site for this to work properly. 
6. Enable the applicant notice email to notify an applicant once a reference has been completed.
7. Click the Save Changes button.

RECIPIENTS

Recipient Categories

1. Select Recipients from the left toolbar and click Categories.
2. Click the + Create Recipient Categories button.
3. Give the category a name.
4. Click the Save Changes button.