AI Project of the Year
The overall winner. The project that best combines responsible AI, real adoption, measurable outcomes, and delivery rigor.
A new AIPM community initiative
AI Project of the Year
A global recognition for teams applying AI responsibly inside real, delivered project work. Free end to end, judged online, built by practitioners for practitioners. One entry, one rubric, three ways to be recognized.
Join the interest list Nominations open mid-August 2026
Why this award exists
Plenty of awards celebrate AI products. Plenty of awards celebrate project delivery. Almost none look at both at once: was the AI responsibly governed, genuinely adopted by the people it serves, and delivered with real project discipline? That intersection is where this award lives, and it is exactly the work this community already does.
The AIPM AI Project of the Year Award recognizes AI-enabled projects that demonstrate responsible innovation, strong delivery, measurable value, human-centered adoption, and positive organizational or societal impact. Every finalist case becomes community learning: a published story the whole profession can borrow from.
The award at a glance
- One entry, three recognitions. AI Project of the Year, plus Excellence in Responsible AI and Excellence in Agentic AI, all from one funnel and one rubric.
- Six weighted criteria. Outcomes 25, responsible AI 20, adoption 15, AI fit 15, delivery rigor 15, community learning 10; the first three carry 60 percent. See the rubric.
- Two tiers, three regions. Regional judging across Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, then a global round that re-scores from zero. About six to nine global finalists.
- Free, global, online. No fee to enter or win and no cash prize; open worldwide; judged and celebrated online.
- July 2026 to January 2027. Pre-announcement now, nominations mid-August to end of September, judging October to December, the online ceremony in December, feedback and Story-of-Success into January.
One entry, three recognitions
There is a single submission funnel and a single rubric. You enter once, for AI Project of the Year. From the finalist pool, the global jury designates the two special recognitions. You never apply for them, and one entry puts you in the running for all three.
Excellence in Responsible AI
A special recognition, designated by the global jury to the finalist that best demonstrates responsible AI governance, human accountability, and trustworthiness.
Excellence in Agentic AI
A special recognition, designated only where a finalist applies agentic or autonomous AI responsibly. If no entry qualifies, it is simply not awarded in edition one.
Which one do you enter for? You do not choose.
The specials are not separate application tracks, so there is nothing extra to fill in. Here is the whole routing:
- You delivered an AI-enabled project. You enter once, for AI Project of the Year. That single entry is your entry for everything.
- Your project set a high bar for responsible AI. You still enter once. The global jury designates Excellence in Responsible AI from the finalist pool. You do not apply for it.
- Your project used agentic or autonomous AI responsibly. You still enter once. The global jury designates Excellence in Agentic AI only where a finalist qualifies. You do not apply for it.
One entry. One rubric. Three ways to be recognized.
How it will work
The full rules, rubric, and eligibility publish when nominations open in mid-August. The essentials are already set:
- Free end to end. No entry fee, no judging fee, no charge for the badge, certificate, logo use, or proof of winning. There is no cash prize.
- Global from day one. Projects from anywhere in the world, judged online.
- A published rubric. Six weighted criteria, published before the call opens. Durable change and real adoption beat model novelty. See the rubric below.
- Two tiers, regional to global. Entries are judged first within three macro-regions (Americas, EMEA, Asia-Pacific), then re-scored from zero by the global jury. Only entries that clear a published cut-off advance: the cut-off is a floor of quality, not a seat count. About six to nine global finalists reach the ceremony.
- Feedback for every finalist. Each finalist receives a written, criteria-anchored feedback report: strengths and improvement areas, not just a result.
How judging works
Judging runs in two tiers, from regional to global, across three macro-regions (Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific):
- Tier 1, regional (October 2026). Each region scores entries against the same published rubric and promotes only entries that clear a published cut-off. The cut-off is a floor of quality, not a seat count: slots are never filled below it.
- Tier 2, global (November to December 2026). The global jury re-scores every finalist from zero under the same rubric, so regional scores never carry forward. About six to nine global finalists deliver a short live online pitch (10 to 15 minutes) with questions and answers.
- The outcome. The global jury designates the overall winner and the two special recognitions. The whole award follows an eight-stage process, from charter and criteria through to the finalist feedback and community lessons.
Road to recognition: 2026 to 2027
- July 2026 Pre-announcement, interest list opens
- Mid-August 2026 Nominations open: rules, rubric, and timeline published
- End of September 2026 Nominations close
- October 2026 Tier 1 regional judging
- November to December 2026 Tier 2 global judging, finalist pitches
- December 2026 Live online ceremony
- December 2026 to January 2027 Feedback reports and Story-of-Success rollout
The rubric: how your project is scored
Six weighted criteria, each scored 1 to 10, with the weights published before the call opens. This is the transparency you can plan your entry around: you can see exactly what carries the most weight.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Outcomes, benefits and impact | 25% |
| Responsible AI governance and Human-in-Command | 20% |
| Adoption and change management | 15% |
| AI solution fit and innovation | 15% |
| Project management and delivery rigor | 15% |
| Learning and contribution to the community | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
The first three criteria carry 60% of the weight combined. That is deliberate: a technically impressive AI solution cannot win without credible evidence of outcomes, responsible governance, and real adoption. Judges score evidence, not claims.
Can you enter?
Eligibility comes in three blocks. In short: a real, delivered project where AI did meaningful, responsibly governed work, and was genuinely adopted.
Eligible
- AI is a meaningful component of the project, not a decorative add-on.
- The work is beyond proof of concept: completed, delivered, piloted in a real setting, or operationalized, with evidence.
- Global from the first edition: entries from any region are welcome.
- Responsible-AI evidence is included: governance, risk, ethics, transparency, privacy, bias mitigation, and human oversight.
- Adoption evidence, not only deployment evidence: it went live and it was taken up and used.
- At entry, you indicate a non-binding willingness for a redacted Story-of-Success case study to be published if your project becomes a finalist; actual publication consent is sought only from finalists and winners before publication, with confidentiality safeguards including the ability to withhold specified confidential details.
- Joint vendor-plus-practitioner entries are welcome, with the spotlight on the practitioner or delivery team leading adoption.
Ineligible
- Ideas, concepts, models in isolation, tools, demos, and hackathon prototypes.
- Work that has not moved beyond proof of concept.
- Entries where AI is a decorative add-on rather than a meaningful component.
- Material a nomination relies on (including a video or supporting link) that is not accessible without a login.
- Entries missing the required responsible-AI evidence or adoption evidence.
- Entries containing special-category personal data about other people (health, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, genetic or biometric data, or data concerning sex life or sexual orientation) that has not been redacted.
Participation and conflict of interest
- Vendor-neutral: no bonus for any particular technology, platform, or supplier.
- Self-nomination, open peer nomination, and joint entries are all permitted.
- A single named Lead Nominator owns each entry and is the point of contact.
- Jurors never judge their own entry, employer, client, or a materially connected project: auto-decline, plus disclose-and-recuse for any residual conflict.
The eligibility window. Your project must have been completed or operationalized within 18 months of the nomination deadline. The full eligibility rules publish with the operating rules when nominations open in mid-August.
Join the interest list Eligible? Join so you hear the day nominations open.
How to enter, in five steps
Read ahead now, no sign-in required. These steps show exactly how you are judged and what a strong entry looks like. Every rule and guide named below lives in one place, the operating pack at the foot of this page, so the steps point you there rather than repeating the files. The full pack and the entry form publish when nominations open in mid-August; work through this in order and you will be ready the day the window opens.
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Read the criteria
The six weighted criteria your project is scored against are on this page. The full rubric, with the 1 to 10 scoring anchors, is in the Operating rules (Section 8) in the pack.
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Read the rules
The complete Operating rules cover eligibility, the nomination flow, the integrity rules, and the recognition package. Read them before you start assembling; you will find them in the operating pack below.
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Understand the process
How entries are judged: a two-tier, regional-to-global flow across three macro-regions (Americas, EMEA, Asia-Pacific), an eight-stage process from the call to the feedback reports. About six to nine global finalists reach the live online ceremony. The full detail is in the Operating rules (Section 7) in the pack.
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Assemble the nomination package
A complete entry is the structured Nomination form, an evidence pack (your proof of outcomes, responsible-AI practice, adoption, and delivery), and a short video. The Nomination form, the Evidence-pack guide, and the Judge guide all live in the operating pack, so you can see exactly how your project is assessed before you start.
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Submit your entry
You can read every rule and rubric now, free and with no sign-in. When nominations open in mid-August 2026, you submit through the official entry form on this page; nominations run until the end of September. Join the interest list and you will hear the day the window opens, with the full rules and rubric in hand.
The operating pack
This is the single home for every award document. The steps above point here rather than repeating the files. Each file is self-hosted on this page, with a year-stamped name and a format label; nothing sits behind a login, and there are no third-party download links. These are the public editions of the pack, free to read now; the entry form opens when nominations open in mid-August 2026.
- Operating rules (the complete rules, rubric, eligibility, and integrity)
- Nomination form (the structured questionnaire you fill in)
- Evidence-pack guide (what proof to gather, and how to present it)
- Call for judges (how to take part as a judge, and how entries are assessed)
Join the interest list Nominations open mid-August 2026.
Questions you might have
Is it really free?
Yes. Free end to end: no entry fee, no judging fee, and no charge for the badge, the certificate, the logo use, or any proof of winning. There is no cash prize either.
Who can enter?
Anyone with an AI-enabled project that was genuinely delivered. You can nominate your own project (self-nomination), nominate a peer's project, or enter jointly (for example a vendor together with the practitioner team, with the spotlight on the practitioner leading adoption). The award is global from the first edition, and every entry must be beyond proof of concept: delivered, piloted, or operationalized, with evidence.
Do I have to choose between the three recognitions?
No. There is one submission funnel and one rubric. You enter once, for AI Project of the Year. From the finalist pool, the global jury designates Excellence in Responsible AI, and Excellence in Agentic AI only where a finalist qualifies. You never apply for the specials, and entering once puts you in the running for all three.
What does "AI applied responsibly inside delivered work" actually mean?
Two things at once. First, AI has to be a meaningful part of the project, not a decorative add-on, and the project has to have been genuinely delivered and adopted, not just launched. Second, the entry has to show responsible-AI practice: governance, risk, ethics, transparency, privacy, bias mitigation, and human oversight. The rubric rewards durable change and real adoption over model novelty.
How is it judged?
Against a published six-criterion rubric (see the rubric), scored 1 to 10 per criterion. Judging runs in two tiers: a regional round across three macro-regions, then a global round in which finalists are re-scored from zero by the global jury. Only entries that clear a published cut-off advance, and the cut-off is a floor of quality, not a seat count. Judges are asked to distinguish claims from evidence, and to score the evidence.
What do winners and finalists get?
The recognition package is a Credly-style digital badge, a digital certificate, logo and mark use, a place at the live online ceremony, and a finalist Story-of-Success publication in the community case-study library. Every finalist also receives a written, criteria-anchored feedback report of strengths and improvement areas. There is no cash prize.
How are the judges chosen? Can I be one?
Judges are drawn from AIPM ambassadors and external experts, selected against published criteria and bound by published conflict-of-interest rules (a juror never judges their own entry, employer, client, or a connected project). Interest in judging is welcome, and the interest list has an option for it. Signing up expresses interest only; seats follow the published criteria and the conflict-of-interest rules, and no seat is promised.
What is the eligibility window?
Your project has to have been completed or operationalized within 18 months of the nomination deadline. That is the eligibility window for edition one. The full eligibility rules publish with the operating rules when nominations open in mid-August. Join the interest list and you will get them first.
When does everything happen?
The interest list is open now (July 2026). Nominations open in mid-August 2026 and close at the end of September. Regional judging runs in October, global judging from November to December, and the live online ceremony is in December. Feedback reports and the Story-of-Success rollout follow from December 2026 into January 2027.
What about things I have heard mentioned, like sponsors or a public vote?
Edition one is settled on these points. It is judged by a jury, with no public vote. It is owner-funded, with no sponsor. It recognizes projects, and there is no separate person-level award in this edition. The eligibility window is 18 months, measured at the nomination deadline. The full rules, rubric, and eligibility are in the operating rules, and they publish when nominations open in mid-August. Join the interest list and you will get them first.
Built to stay credible
Four principles are hard constraints on the design, and the integrity rules publish alongside the rubric.
Original
Proven award mechanics, AIPM's own identity, naming, and criteria.
Non-commercial
Free end to end. Winning cannot be bought, and proof of winning is never paywalled.
Practice-grounded
Real, delivered, or operationalized project work. Not ideas, demos, models, or tools alone.
Community-first
Finalist feedback and published case studies make the whole community better, win or not.
Judging integrity: a published jury and conflict-of-interest policy, no contact with judges during judging, human-authored submissions, and judges who score evidence, not claims.
Be first in line
Planning to nominate a project? Interested in judging? Want to help spread the word? Join the interest list and you will hear from us the moment nominations open, with the full rules and rubric in hand.