The GlaxoSmithKline Impact Awards are an annual scheme, funded by GlaxoSmithKline as part of the company's commitment to promote community health and well-being. The awards are now in their eleventh year, and recognise and reward small to medium sized charities that are doing excellent work to improve people's health. They are organised and managed in partnership with the King's Fund, a leading independent health charity working to improve health and social care.

Criteria used to assess applications
A unique feature of the GlaxoSmithKline Impact Awards is that they recognise excellence in existing work. The assessment is based on the work of the whole organisation and focuses on excellence in the six areas of Impact.

The judges look for evidence of:

Innovation
Leadership, creativity and initiative in addressing current challenges in healthcare access and delivery.

Management
Efficient use of resources; quality of management processes; equality of opportunity; clear objectives and plans; strength and financial effectiveness of the organisation.

Partnership
Working effectively with others (members, users, private and public sector partners, etc.), willingness to share 'best practice' and to learn from others.

Achievement
Measurable results achieved; numbers of people benefited; impact on access to healthcare; a reflective approach to evaluation of the work; measurement and monitoring of performance.

Community Focus
Involving and responding to users and the community; openness and provision of information, adaptability to changing circumstances and needs.

Targeting Needs
Awareness of community issues and priorities and having a detailed understanding of the target community; ensuring services are accessible to and focus on people in need.

All short-listed organisations are visited by an independent assessor. The assessors are managed by the King's Fund and have extensive experience in community health and organisational development. The LSN underwent an intensive four hour assessment in November and a report of this meeting was fed back to the judging panel. Final judging took place at the end of January and the LSN was subsequently contacted with the good news that the Charity had got through to the final ten. The next step is that the LSN will be contacted by a PR company with the view to producing a short video outlining the work of the Charity. This video will be shown at an 'Oscars' style award winners' ceremony to be held on 29 April at the National Gallery, when the 'overall' winner will be announced. Should the LSN be fortunate enough to win 'first prize', a further £10,000 will be presented to the Charity.