2024’s TPAS Scotland’s Awards rewards celebrate the magnificent achievements of tenants, community members, landlords, contractors, and other organisations in improving communities and services, spotlight and share best practice, and applaud all the tireless efforts that are making life better.
Please complete and return your completed entry (along with your promotional photograph) by 12 noon on 6th May 2024 to enquiries@tpasscotland.org.uk
The 2024 categories
Don't forget to read our Awards Entry Guidance before applying!
Involving Tenants in shaping or scrutinising services
This award will be made to a registered social landlord and/or tenant led group who has successfully involved tenants/residents in shaping or scrutinising services e.g. designing new services, identifying service improvements, scrutinising or testing services. This could focus on one or more services which tenants receive. Examples could include - repairs services, online services, complaints reporting, reviewing service charge services.
Assessment criteria
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How tenants are included in shaping or scrutinising the service i.e. the level of involvement/ consultation, support offered to enable tenants to participate, and how inclusive the methods for getting involved were
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How services have been improved as a result of the tenant involvement
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What difference it has made/will make - the outcomes of the involvement
Communities supporting communities
This award recognises and celebrates the achievements of a community led group or project that has supported other individuals or groups within their community. This support could include examples such as: running community activities; providing local facilities; environmental/gardening projects, wellbeing support etc. If something is being done by the community for the community, we’d love to hear about it!
Assessment criteria
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The type of support provided
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How the needs of the communities/individuals are met
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The impact the support has had on individuals/communities
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Whether the projects can be sustained/adapted for the future
Tenant team of the year
sponsored by
This award recognises a Team of Tenants who work to ensure the voices of tenants are heard in shaping housing services or influencing their landlord’s decisions. The team of tenants could be any dedicated body of tenants working together such as a Panel, Committee, Forum, Group etc. The tenant team could be working independently or in partnership with their landlord.
Assessment criteria
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The commitment of the team
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The difference the team’s work is making
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The range of work undertaken by the team, including any future plans
Communicating with Tenants and Residents
This award recognises how effectively a social landlord and/or tenant led group communicates with its tenants and residents/service users. This could include a range of communication methods such as video, social media, newsletters, Facebook live and, direct ‘in person’ contact in communities etc.
It could also include a specific communication project to raise awareness or understanding of a particular topical issue, for example tackling damp & mould, or changes to services or reaching out to a wider audience.
Tell us about how you communicate with your tenants and what difference it is making, such as: raising awareness of services or the support you offer; building relationships and understanding; or being accountable about your organisation’s performance and plans. This award is inclusive of all methods of communication.
Assessment criteria
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The appropriateness of communication methods used in relation to diversity of the tenants e.g. plain language/avoiding jargon during communication
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The effectiveness of the communication e.g. feedback from tenants/service users, social media analytics etc.
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Any lessons learned
Tenant voice
This award will be made to a social landlord who can demonstrate that their tenants/ residents are actively supported to be engaged, involved, and empowered to influence services and decisions which affect them.
We want to know how the landlord is working to ensure the tenant voice is heard, listened to, and acted upon at all levels of the organisation. We also want to hear what you have in place to enable that to happen.
Assessment criteria
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How the organisation is working to ensure the tenant voice is heard, listened to, and acted upon at all levels of the organisation.
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How tenants are encouraged and supported to be involved. How do you raise awareness and get tenants engaged and involved? What support and training do you provide?
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How the organisation is working to ensure the range of tenant’s voices are heard, making engagement inclusive for the tenants and communities it serves.
Tenant of the Year - The Alan Ferguson Award
sponsored by
This award will be made to an individual tenant/resident of a social landlord who has made a significant contribution to Tenant Participation.
Assessment criteria
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The commitment and dedication they have shown
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What difference their commitment has made to the tenant community and/or groups they have worked with
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How inclusive they’ve been and how they’ve considered the needs of others
Engaging Tenants in environmental initiatives/projects
sponsored by
This new award recognises a landlord, organisation or community group which has successfully engaged Tenants/Residents in initiatives which benefit the environment, globally or locally! We want to acknowledge those who are supporting tenants to engage in and benefit from environmentally focused initiatives. These could be: NetZero focused projects, e.g. involving tenants in using low energy heating; reducing carbon footprints; tackling the climate emergency; biodiversity/nature projects or sustainable living. So, tell us what you have been up to and what others could learn from it.
Judges will consider…
- Outline how you have engaged with tenants/residents and provided support to be as inclusive as possible.
- Outline the impact of the engagement to date and what the future impact may be.
- Include some testimonials/feedback comments from those you have engaged with.
We would also like to hear of any examples of how landlords have been listening to feedback from tenants living with the Net Zero systems. Some examples of these systems include heat pumps; solar panels; batteries; insulation; or any works that have been done to ‘retrofit’ a home.
Assessment criteria
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How tenants have been engaged in environmental initiatives/projects
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How you are working to ensure engagement methods are inclusive for the tenants and communities the organisation serves
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The difference tenant engagement in environmental initiatives/projects has made/is making
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Follow up and future plans for tenant engagement in environmental initiatives/projects and sustainable housing
Best practice in involving young people
This award will be made to a social landlord or community group which is investing in and supporting young people in their local community. We are looking for initiatives that are helping young people to engage with their peers and the wider community, overcome challenges and enhance their lives or opportunities.
Nominations should be able to demonstrate an effective approach towards working with young people. What we want to see is evidence of the positive impact that the initiative has had on the lives of young people, including those with additional support needs.
Assessment criteria
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Actions creating opportunities to engage
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How young people have contributed to decision making, service planning and consultation.
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Is this a model that could be replicated in more communities?
Best practice in widening engagement
sponsored by
This award will be made to an individual tenant/resident, landlord or organisation investing in and supporting tenants and communities. We are looking for support/advice programmes that are helping the wider community to overcome challenges and enhance their lives and/or enhance opportunities.
Nominations should be able to demonstrate an effective approach to support/advice. We’re looking at anything from, managing money and tackling debt to digital inclusion; warm hubs to education and employability. What we want to see is evidence of the positive impact that the programme has had on the lives of residents.
We're also interested to hear how your approach is supporting people with barriers to engagement, such as
- Physical, sight, hearing, or speech challenges,
- Mental or physical health problems
- Learning difficulties
- Being new arrivals in the community
- Barriers due to geography or facilities.
Assessment criteria
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The commitment and dedication they have shown
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What difference their commitment has made to the community and/or groups they have worked with
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How inclusive they’ve been and how they’ve considered the needs of others
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no cost to enter the National Good Practice Awards 2024.
No, anyone, any organisation can apply.
No. We will accept more than one entry from the same organisation, including (where appropriate) multiple entries into the same category, but please ensure that your entries are substantially different. If you have a project or initiative that you think could be applied to more than one category, please determine which category you feel is most appropriate for it. Please do not enter the same project into two different categories, the judges will decide if your submission should be considered in a different category
Yes. You can enter by completing our online submission form, printing and returning this to TPAS Scotland, Room 2 3rd Floor, Erskine House, 1 North Avenue, Clydebank, G81 2DR (please follow the same layout as per the online form). Alternatively, and preferable would be email submissions. Please email these to: elaine.
You can access the entry forms via the 'Apply now' links above.
Yes. For the categories that recognise a particular project or initiative, we would welcome joint entries from organisations that have worked together.
Projects that have already been considered by the judges in previous years should only be resubmitted if there has since been a significant change or advancement in the project.
Yes, you can submit up to 5 pictures and one newsletter via email to elaine.scoular@tpasscotland.org.uk
An independent panel of judges, consisting of officers of RSL’s, tenants and Scottish Government colleagues will rate your application against the award criteria
The closing date for submissions in all categories is 6 May 2024.
Due to the number of submissions that are received, we are unable to accept entries after this date. The judging panel will meet soon after this date and you will be notified if your entry has been shortlisted. The eventual winners are then chosen by an independent panel made up of leading figures from throughout the housing sector.
Yes, this will be provided upon request.
Try to bear the following tips in mind when completing the online entry form:
- Make sure that you have answered all the questions as fully as possible
- Keep your entry concise and focused
- Do not exceed the maximum word count
- The judges will be looking for tangible evidence to support your entry. Please supply performance data, costs, testimonials, or user feedback where possible
- Only submit supporting evidence if it helps to support your success.
You will be invited to attend the Awards ceremony and Gala Dinner, at the TPAS Scotland National Annual Conference. The awards are not just about rewarding excellence, they are also about showcasing successful or innovative ways of working and helping others to learn from and replicate your achievements.
Please contact Elaine Scoular at elaine.scoular@tpasscotland.org.uk or on 0141 552 3633/07753686792