Categories and criteria

Disability Smart Impact Awards categories

Business Disability Forum’s annual Disability Smart Impact Awards showcase and celebrate the work of organisations and individuals that are removing barriers to inclusion for disabled employees and consumers. If you’re making a positive impact on the lives of disabled people, we want to hear from you.

The awards are open to UK, international and global organisations of any size, from any sector. All categories are free to enter and multiple entries are welcome.

Read the entry criteria carefully to help you plan your entries

Enter from Wednesday 3 December 2025.

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Categories

Disability Smart Impact: Diversity and Inclusion Professional

This Award will be given to a diversity and inclusion professional who has overseen real and tangible improvements for disabled people in their workforce and potentially beyond. We are looking for a practitioner with a hands-on role who is dedicated to delivering disability inclusion locally, nationally or globally. We want to reward and showcase a D&I professional who has engaged teams and functions including senior leaders and whose actions have resulted in positive changes that break down barriers experienced by disabled people.

Note: Disability Network Leads, Disability Network Chairs and self-nominations are very welcome to apply in this category.

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Disability Smart Impact: Leader Award 

This Award will be given to an inspirational senior leader who has led the implementation of real and tangible improvements for disabled people. We are looking for an individual who leads by example and uses their position and seniority to create a better environment for disabled people locally, nationally or globally. We want to reward and showcase a leader who is a real change maker and has truly driven disability inclusion to make positive change that breaks down barriers experienced by disabled people. 

Note: Self-nominations are very welcome to apply in this category. 

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Disability Smart Impact: Technology Award –– small organisation (less than 250 employees)

This Award will be given to a use of technology that has really improved the life opportunities and experiences of disabled people, in the workplace, as a consumer or in wider society. This might be through an innovative use of existing technology or through the development of a new digital, assistive technology or AI solution that has been created within the last 18 months and that has gone the extra mile to break down barriers experienced by disabled people.  Your entry should clearly highlight the positive impact of your technology on disabled people.

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Disability Smart Impact: Technology Award –– large organisation (250+ employees)

This Award will be given to a use of technology that has really improved the life opportunities and experiences of disabled people, in the workplace, as a consumer or in wider society. This might be through an innovative use of existing technology or through the development of a new digital, assistive technology or AI solution that has been created within the last 18 months and that has gone the extra mile to break down barriers experienced by disabled people. Your entry should clearly highlight the positive impact of your technology on disabled people.

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Disability Smart Impact: Workplace Experience Award – small organisation (less than 250 employees)

This Award will be given to an SME (less than 250 employees) that is a great place to work. We are looking for an organisation that demonstrates that it really values the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all its workers, including disabled people, and has thoughtful, engaging and inclusive workplace practices. This might be through a new way of delivering effective workplace adjustments, a holistic wellbeing programme, accessible and inclusive learning and development solutions or a truly inclusive approach to the workplace that enables disabled people to grow, develop and thrive in the organisation. Your entry should clearly highlight the positive impact on the lives of your disabled employees.

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Disability Smart Impact: Workplace Experience Award – large organisation (250+ employees)

This Award will be given to an organisation with more than 250 employees that is a great place to work. We are looking for an organisation that demonstrates that it really values the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all its workers, including disabled people, and has thoughtful, engaging and inclusive workplace practices. This might be through a new way of delivering effective workplace adjustments, a holistic wellbeing programme, accessible and inclusive learning and development solutions or a truly inclusive approach to the workplace that enables disabled people to grow, develop and thrive in the organisation. Your entry should clearly highlight the positive impact on the lives of your disabled employees.

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Disability Smart Impact: Recruitment Award

This Award will be given to an organisation or team that has created innovative, engaging and most of all, inclusive and accessible recruitment campaigns that has resulted in greater numbers of disabled people obtaining work or accessing a profession. We want to reward and showcase an organisation or team that has gone the extra mile to break down barriers experienced by disabled people. Your entry should clearly highlight the positive impact on disabled people of your campaign or initiative.

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Disability Smart Impact: Inclusive Communication Award

This Award will be given to an organisation or team that has created a truly inclusive and accessible internal or external communication campaign or piece of work. We want to hear about how you involved your disabled staff, customers, service users or other stakeholders in your campaign, the different communication channels you used, and the positive outcomes achieved. Your entry should clearly show how your campaign or piece of work sought to include and meet the needs of disabled people throughout with clear results.

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Disability Smart Impact: Customer Experience Award – small organisation (less than 250 employees)

This Award will be given to an SME (small or medium-sized organisation with less than 250 employees) which has provided excellent customer experience to everyone – including disabled people. We want to reward and showcase truly inclusive customer service from an organisation which has gone the extra mile to break down barriers experienced by disabled customers, service-users or clients either in person or online. Your entry should clearly show the positive impact on your disabled customers.

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Disability Smart Impact: Customer Experience Award – large organisation (250+ employees)

This Award will be given to an organisation with more than 250 employees which has provided excellent customer experience to everyone – including disabled customers, service users or clients. We want to reward and showcase truly inclusive customer service from an organisation which has gone the extra mile to break down barriers experienced by disabled people either in person or online. Your entry should clearly show the positive impact on your disabled customers.

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Disability Smart Impact: Accessible Built Environment Award

This Award will be given to an organisation that has created accessible and inclusive physical environments for everyone, including disabled people. We are looking for environments that support the physical and mental health and wellbeing of everyone who lives, works or spends time in them – whether employees, customers or other stakeholders, including the general public – and that are truly inclusive. Your entry should clearly show how your physical environment is inclusive for disabled people.

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Disability Smart Impact: Global Disability Inclusion Award

This Award will be given to a global organisation or team that has made a tangible, positive impact to the lives of disabled employees, customers, or service users across a global setting. This might be through the introduction of best practice solutions, a new campaign, service or product, where the benefit has been achieved across a number of different geographic regions. We are looking for innovative approaches to accessibility and inclusion that have overcome any challenges of implementation across different geographies and cultures, resulting in a more disability inclusive culture within your global organisation. Your entry should clearly demonstrate the positive impact for disabled people in multiple geographic regions.

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Disability Smart Impact: Product Design Award

This award will go to an organisation or team that has brought a new product to market (in the last 18 months) which is both accessible and aspirational in terms of its functionality and design. We are looking for a product which has thoughtfully considered inclusion for everyone including people with disabilities from the outset and which has built in end-to-end inclusive design from inception to delivery. Your entry should clearly demonstrate the positive impact on disabled people of your product.

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Disability Smart Impact: Procurement Award

This award will go to an organisation or team that have improved the life opportunities and experiences for disabled people through inclusive procurement practices. This might be through ensuring that products and services procured are inclusive and accessible and/or choosing suppliers with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences of disability.

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Disability Smart Impact: Lifetime Achievement Award

This is an opportunity to celebrate the work of an outstanding individual from one of our Member or Partner organisations who has shown ongoing commitment to improving the lives of disabled people, by removing barriers to inclusion.

Note: Nominations for this award are made by BDF staff.

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Entry criteria

Each entrant must write 200-500 words for each of the three entry criteria.

The winner in each category will demonstrate real achievement in all three areas related to the same piece of work, project or product.

1. Innovation
   The organisation, individual or team has introduced or developed innovative approaches, projects, practices or products which positively impact disabled people’s lives, and have not been seen before.
2. Inclusion
   The organisation, individual or team has designed an approach, project, practice or product which has thoughtfully considered accessibility and inclusion for everyone, including disabled people from the outset, and has involved disabled people throughout its development.
3. Impact
   The organisation, individual or team has demonstrated that its approach, project,  practice or product positively impacts disabled people’s lives (relative to the size of your organisation). 

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