This year’s Computing Awards for Excellence are open for entry – and one of the most competitive categories will be the Projects of the Year.

We are looking for readers to nominate IT projects that highlight the importance of new technology initiatives, and demonstrate the benefits of well-managed IT implementations for changing and improving business and public life.

If you believe your project meets these criteria, we want to hear from you.

Last year’s winners agreed that the prize represents significant recognition of their hard work and achievements. Among the winners was the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which received the Innovative Project of the Year award for its e-assessments initiative.

‘I am delighted that the key stage 3 ICT test has won such a prestigious award. It is real recognition of our work,’ said Martin Ripley, QCA’s head of e-strategy, after last year’s prizegiving.

‘I believe that the Computing Award is verification that e-assessment is becoming a leading force in the future of education.’

This year, we are looking for entries in four project categories:

* Private Sector Project of the Year.

* Public Sector Project of the Year.

* Innovative Project of the Year.

* Voluntary Sector Project of the Year.

We are looking for projects that meet the following criteria:

Return on investment: how has the project improved your organisation and developed a competitive advantage or enhanced public services?

Innovation: has the project introduced new or leading-edge technologies, created different ways of working or supported a change in business direction?

Future growth: how will the project be developed and how will it support future growth or change in the organisation?

Management: was the project completed on time and to budget? What lessons did the implementation team learn to improve management of future projects? Were the project’s objectives achieved?

Excellence: does the project demonstrate that the use of technology is a vital enabler to improving organisational excellence, competitiveness or quality of service?

The project must have been completed after 1 September 2005 and involve a UK-based implementation.

To enter your organisation for one of the Project of the Year awards, prepare a summary of the project, detailing how the entry meets the criteria above.

You might want to explain the business objectives, give an idea of the size and scope of the implementation, when it was completed, and the benefits that have been realised as a result of successful deployment. Please keep submissions below 750 words.

Then complete the form at the Computing awards web site,

www.computing.co.uk/awards.

The final shortlists will be announced in September, in advance of the 14th annual awards ceremony at Battersea Park Events Arena, which takes place in London on 25 October.

Last year’s winners

Private Sector Project of the Year - British Airways

British Airways’ Customer Enabled BA project involved web-enabling booking, loyalty, checking-in and other customer services on a single ecommerce platform available through www.ba.com.

For BA to achieve its aim the company also required new IT governance, integration and design processes across the organisation.

The flexible, component-based environment saved nearly £100m, says BA. One new function – allowing customers to upgrade easily when booking online – returned the £1m invested in the programme in just three months.

Nearly one-third of BA’s 36 million customers now use the BA site to book flights or manage their booking.

Public Sector Project of the Year - Venerable Bede Secondary School

Venerable Bede Secondary School was established as Sunderland’s school of the future.

The school installed a converged voice, data and video network based on Cisco technology, supporting more than 400 PCs, 100 IP telephones, interactive whiteboards in every classroom and plasma screens around the campus. The network supports systems such as student records and timetables, and every pupil and staff member has their own login access to emails and file storage.

Innovative Project of the Year - Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is the government education agency responsible for overseeing the GCSE and A-level exams and national tests at ages 7, 11 and 14.

In 2003, QCA launched a six-year, £29m project to build an IT system for delivering on-screen tests to 4,000 secondary schools, and to develop a new practical IT test for 14-year-olds.

Last year, a national pilot covering more than 45,000 pupils was completed, proving the process from registering to completing the tests.

The system was installed in 700 schools, rising to 4,000 by 2007. The project reduced operational costs per pupil from £7.20 for comparable paper-based tests to £4.60.

Voluntary Sector Project of the Year - GAP Activity Projects

GAP Activity Projects (Gap) is an educational charity that provides overseas volunteering placements for 17- to 25-year-olds.

Gap worked with the University of Reading on a project to web-enable its processes, as part of a Department of Trade and Industry-sponsored programme.

A number of innovative systems were developed using modern programming tools such as XML, C# and SQL Server, including online applications and payments, management information, and interactive features to support a web community of volunteers.

As a result of the project, more than 80 per cent of applications are now completed online, freeing up staff time for other work.