Innovation has made the UK world-leading across industries, and the Innovation Award at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards celebrates the businesses driving it. UK firms invested £55.6 billion in research and development in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics, and this category rewards those who turn that kind of ambition into real commercial and social impact.
This guide explains what the judges look for in the Innovation Award, and how to build an entry that proves your innovation made a measurable difference.
About the award
The Dext Innovation Award celebrates British innovation in all its forms across the private, public and third sectors. It recognises organisations of all sizes and stages that have successfully applied innovation, invention or continual improvement to solve a business, industry or societal challenge, and can prove the commercial viability or impact that resulted.
Who can enter?
The award is open to organisations of all sizes operating across all sectors. Judges want evidence that innovation, or a culture of continual improvement, is at the heart of your organisation and has had an exemplary impact. Read the full criteria on the Innovation Award category page before you begin.
How the award is judged
Entries are scored against four weighted criteria. The weightings tell you where to concentrate your entry, so plan your word count to match them:
|
Criterion |
Weighting |
|
Leadership & Innovation |
30% |
|
Employee & Customer Engagement |
25% |
|
Financial Performance & Growth |
25% |
|
Purpose Beyond Profit |
20% |
How to win, criterion by criterion
Leadership & innovation (30%)
This is the highest-weighted area, so lead with it. Demonstrate exactly how innovation was implemented in the business or for customers, and how it contributed to your success. Show how your management structure and leadership philosophy enabled that innovation, and how you optimised new technology, platforms or processes to improve delivery. Be specific about what was genuinely new and the impact it had on your business, industry or community.
Employee & customer engagement (25%)
Show how you attract, retain and motivate a team that can innovate, and how that translates into engaged customers. Evidence your talent strategies, productivity gains and the growth in your customer base or market penetration over the last 18 months. Engagement is a proven performance driver: Gallup’s research links the most engaged teams to materially higher profitability and productivity. Use case studies and data, not adjectives.
Financial performance & growth (25%)
Set out your key growth metrics, financial targets, KPIs and timescales, and how you benchmark against peers on sales, profitability or market share. Show how you have performed against your plan, and include examples or case studies of innovation that has driven, or will drive, further commercial success.
Purpose beyond profit (20%)
Explain how your mission and values align with your approach to innovation, what you are doing on environmental, social and governance impact, and how your approach to diversity, equity and inclusion supports innovation. The strongest answers connect purpose directly to better innovation and commercial outcomes.
Evidence beats adjectives
Across every criterion, the same principle decides the score: judges reward proof and ignore assertion. Phrases like “market-leading” or “world-class” carry no marks on their own, while a number, a trend and an independent voice carry all of them. For each claim you make, attach a figure, show the journey with a starting point and an end point, and corroborate it with customer quotes, testimonials or third-party data. A good test is to read each sentence and ask: would a judge who knows nothing about us be able to score this? If not, add the evidence.
The finalist presentation
Judging happens in two stages. Your written entry is scored first, and if you are shortlisted you will be invited to London to present to a panel of four judges, with around 20 minutes to present and add colour to your entry and about 25 minutes of questions and answers. Prepare for both: the written entry gets you into the room, and the presentation wins the award. Build the presentation around your highest-weighted criteria rather than repeating the entry, bring people who can answer detailed questions, and rehearse for the toughest questions on your numbers. See our guide on how to write a winning awards entry for the full method.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Describing your product instead of evidencing the impact of the innovation.
- Under-investing in the leadership and innovation section, which carries the most marks.
- Claiming to be innovative without proving commercial viability or measurable results.
- Forgetting to show a culture of innovation, not just a single project.
- Leaving the entry to the last minute rather than drafting and reviewing it properly.
Your quick pre-submission checklist
- Have I mapped my word count to the weightings, with the most on the highest-weighted criteria?
- Is every important claim backed by a number, a trend or an independent voice?
- Have I answered every part of every question in the category criteria?
- Have I shown both my track record and a credible plan for sustained growth?
- Has someone outside the team read it and understood it without explanation?
Ready to enter?
The Innovation Award rewards businesses that can prove innovation made a measurable difference. Build your entry around the weightings, evidence the impact, and prepare to defend it under questioning. For eligibility and process details, see the entry FAQ.
Entries for the 2026 Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards close at midnight on Friday 3 July. Start your Innovation Award entry today.
