Eligibility

The competition is open to any individual, group or organisation based in a rural community with a population of no more than 5,000 in the county of Warwickshire. Entries must relate to activities that have been completed or at least reached a stage at which they can be judged between 1st June 2009 and 31st May 2010.
Each rural community may have more than one group entering each category of the competition and there is no limit on the number of categories entered.
Communities with entries in three or more categories will be considered for the overall award.

Categories 

There are six categories in the competition:

Community Projects – includes any project either one-off or ongoing, which is for the benefit of the whole or part of the community.  Examples include groups for the elderly, young people, families with children, sports clubs, social activities, lunch clubs, recreation groups etc.  Projects will be assessed on community involvement, benefit to the community, the difference the project has made and sustainability.
 
Community Buildings – includes all types of buildings used by the community, for example churches, village halls, scout huts, sports facilities etc. The category will be judged on usage, degree of community involvement, innovative use and sustainability.
 
Communication – this section will look at how information is made available in the community, whether everyone can find out easily about what is going on and how the community ensures that all sections of the community have their say in community life.  Examples include welcome packs, newsletters, websites and the provision and use of information technology.  Entries should be restricted to recent projects/activities and will be assessed on how well all members of the community are included, innovative communication methods, effectiveness and quality of communication methods chosen and sustainability.
 
Community Heroes – the special part that businesses play in the life of the community.  This section will be entered by individuals nominating local businesses and explaining in what way the nominated business ‘goes the extra mile’ in its involvement with the community.  Business includes shops, pubs, social enterprises, farm shops, industrial enterprises, individuals working from home etc. 
 
Environment – this will look at activities undertaken by and within the community in order to protect the environment and to ensure that the village is a pleasant place to live.  Examples could include litter picks, volunteers planting communal areas, environmental activities such as pond clearances, footpath maintenance and tree planting or responses to climate change such as energy-saving initiatives, diversification, regeneration etc. 

History & Heritage – this section will celebrate local history and will include projects that explore and/or record the history and heritage of the community or areas within it.  Entries will be judged on the extent and thoroughness of the work undertaken, together with community involvement and the quality of any records produced (e.g. book, DVD, tapestry, etc) in the last twelve months.

Entries 

Each entry must include a fully completed Entry Form together with supporting evidence.  Photographs, recordings and videos as well as literature are encouraged. All materials submitted will be returned upon request after the presentation ceremony. When completing the entry form, entrants are advised to give full details of why the activity was undertaken, who is involved, how the activity is financed and resourced, both currently and for the future, which groups in your community it benefits and how it is regarded by community members.
The Entry Fee is at the discretion of Warwickshire Rural Community Council.
On receipt of entries, posters will be issued for display in the rural community and these will constitute proof of entry.

The closing date for the competition will be 31 May 2010.  Entries received after close of business on that day may not be accepted unless there are exceptional circumstances.  The decision is at the discretion of the Competitions Organiser, whose decision will be final.

Judging

Judging of the Warwickshire Best Village Competition will take place in July and the presentation of awards will take place in September.  Communities may be visited in the course of the judging.

As far as possible communities will be judged against other communities of a similar size within each category.
Warwickshire Rural Community Council will appoint judges from those who volunteer their services.  We would expect that the volunteers live in a rural community and experience in one of the categories of the competition is desirable.  At the discretion of the WRCC suitable volunteers will not be excluded.  Reasonable personal travel expenses will be reimbursed at the rate of 40 pence per mile.

Each entry will be judged by at least two judges, who will not consult on their marking until they have completed the process.  No judge will be asked to comment on a community in which they are resident or one for which they are an elected representative.

How entries are assessed
Marks will be allocated as follows:  Each judge allocates marks out of 20 for each of the following - consultation, level of community involvement, funding, sustainability and benefit to the community - and a mark out of 50 for overall impression, giving a maximum score of 150 marks per judge.  The marks given by individual judges are then added together and divided by the number of judges to give an average score out of 150 for each entry in each category. These scores are used to identify the best three village in each category as well as the best three villages overall.  Only villages that enter three or more categories may be considered for the overall prize.  In order to ascertain how well each village does overall in the fairest way possible, the total number of marks a village scores is divided by the number of categories that the village enters, in order to give an average score.  This average score is then used to identify third place, second place and best village overall.

The judges are looking for vibrant, pro-active, caring communities which, irrespective of their size, have made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all inhabitants.  Indicators include community members taking pride in the place where they live and feeling involved in what goes on.

Awards
The awards will be presented at a ceremony in September.
Entrants may be asked to organise a display of their projects at the Awards Ceremony and there may be a separate prize on the day for the best display.
Prizes and/or certificates will be awarded in all categories and there will be overall prizes for the best villages of 2010.
Feedback from the judges will be available from the WRCC after the judging has taken place.