The Honours system

How to write a nomination

Who deserves an honour

We all know extraordinary people, people whose enthusiasm and focus knows no bounds, whose drive for success raises the organisations they are involved in above the rest and whose consideration for those in need turns into actions which make a considerable difference to all concerned. Is this someone whose influence has enhanced life within their community or had far reaching positive effects on the country as a whole? This, then is the type of person who deserves an honour.

What you can do

You can nominate this person for an award, which is a simple process and starts with the writing of the nomination. The Protocol and Honours team will provide support and guidance if required. 

How to write a nomination

This is your chance to tell your nominee’s story, to explain the situation, task, action and result to share the outstanding qualities that have brought your nominee on this journey. 

Show how your nominee has:

• contributed in a distinctive way to improving the lives of those less able to help themselves
• shown innovation or creativity in delivering lasting results
• earned the respect of their peers or are a role model in their field
• achieved outstanding results requiring courage, vision, tenacity and hard work, often against substantial difficulties 
• made a positive difference to their community and be sure to include any voluntary contributions they may have undertaken

Be concise, be clear and tell the story!

By following the headings in the nomination form you will be able to provide a complete story of why your nominee is deserving of an honour.

Remember a nomination is not a:

• summary of educational achievements (honours aren’t awarded for passing exams)
• list of everything your nominee has ever done (honours aren’t awarded for lists)
• job description (honours aren’t awarded for jobs)
• C.V. (this is an honours nomination, not a job interview)

Please beware of:

• being mundane, remember the honours committees see thousands of nominations, so make that first sentence evocative. Which example would make you read on?
  • “she is interested in writing for children and sets her stories in Scotland” or
  • “she is passionate about children’s literature and literacy, her books have been praised for their elements of strong setting and sense of place and she draws on the dramatic landscape of Scotland, its history and its culture.” See the difference?
• rambling – longer is not always better unless it adds value. We use the information you provide to draft a citation which is limited to 2700 characters including spaces. This information is presented to the relevant Honours committee and is used to assess whether an award is achieved. Choose your words wisely, writing to “paint the picture” and not “paint a wall” 
• presuming that saying “my dad is a great guy who raises tons of cash for loads of charities” will be enough to share the depth, detail and effect of your dads work. Think – Situation - Task – Actions – Result - when describing the events that makes your dad honour worthy

Remember:

• share what they did, their achievements and the personal contribution over and above the call of duty when mentioning work – remember you don’t get awards for doing your job. 
• consider that submissions for each of the bi-annual Honours Lists happen around 6 months before that list is announced
• do not fall foul of the 12 month rule – if the nomination is work related the nominee can only be considered in the first 12 months following retirement, Nominate sooner rather than later
• should a nominee be retiring a work email address/telephone number will not be suitable, we will require personal details to allow the Cabinet Office to contact them directly, should they be succesful
• confidentiality. Please note the nominee must not be aware that a nomination has been made. You can enlist the help of an individual or group to assist with the nomination, however please make sure that your conversations are confidential and every care must be taken to ensure that you hold personal information safely and securely. *please note the Honours process is exempt from the usual requirements of GDPR
• timescale for consideration. Please be aware that each nomination can take up to 36 months to be fully considered. If your nomination has not been included in the Honours announcements within that period, you should assume that the nomination has not been successful. Should you have further evidence or additional information which focuses on the impact of your nominee, then we would encourage you to re-nominate
• update reports on ongoing nominations. The Honours team considers thousands of nominations each year for the Honours process. We therefore regret that we are unable to provide progress updates or personal feedback on individual cases. We would, however ask you to inform us if you no longer support a nomination, if your nominee has a life limiting condition or has passed away
• once the nomination is submitted the confidentiality regarding the nomination extends to the nominator. This means that we cannot share any information and that only the nominee will be informed if successful, prior to the public announcement

Nominate, nominate, nominate:

• if you think someone is exceptional then do it - don’t presume someone else will
• it has been shown time and time again that awards have positive effects for the organisations and communities connected to successful nominees
• it gets much easier the more often you do it

Contact the Protocol and Honours Team for advice ScottishHonours@gov.scot