Association Collaborations

Important and Prestigious
The A' Design Award, established in 2008, organizes one of the world's largest design awards annually and runs the World Design Rankings. The A' Design Award has a YouTube Channel with 3.5M followers and obtained 1.302.903.442 Pageviews to our platform through our 3868 media extensions publishing and promoting good design in over 126 languages. A' Design Award is organized under 202 competition categories where 312 jurors evaluate entries based on pre-established and publicly available evaluation criteria, following blind peer-review process. With our academic evaluation process and very expansive reach, the A' Design Award is truly a highly prestigious and prominent accolade that has a philantrophic mission to make the world a better place with good design.

Ethical, Academic and Institutional
A' Design Award is constantly seeking partnership and collaboration with esteemed design associations and trade organizations, to make the A' Design Competition better, more ethical, and to have a wider reach. Design and trade associations bring their industry expertise, feedback and insights that help us in our mission to benefit and advance society with good design. A' Design Award promotes affiliated associations and winner association members worldwide, helping them gain, on average 138+ media placements in 126 languages, as well as providing extensive public relations and visibility services to eligible laureates, in addition to the award trophy, certificates, yearbooks which are distributed free of charge during the A' Design Award's black-tie, glamorous gala night and awards ceremony La Notte Premio A' in Como, Italy, and the A' Design Prize is provided to all eligible Professional and Digital Edition laureates, free of charge, without any contractually obligated winner fees.

Mutually Beneficial Outcomes for All Parties Involved
A' Design Awards are constantly seeking new partnerships and further affiliations with established and important design associations as well as trade organizations, including government bodies and ngos. We are interested in both giving and gaining patronage, cross promotion and international awareness creation opportunities where our mission and your charter rules and bylaws intersect. We are also able to provide new revenue streams, sponsorship and prestige opportunities for your design association or organization via cooperation contributions, in-kind donations, promotion of your association members and via public relations services provided to organizations. A' Design Awards can help your organization connect with the wider international networks, and help further your mission in creating value for society and your association members. With association collaborations, the A' Design Award offers positive outcomes that addresses the interests of all parties and creates mutual value. We are seeking partnerships worldwide from trade associations, industry associations and design associations.

Up Next : Collaboration Framework and Support
Our team will provide your coordinator with A' Design Award's Call for Entries in your association's language(s) , with the needed visual assets and your referral links already included. We will also activate the required interfaces and guide our counterpart in your association to dispatch the newsletter and publish the call for entries in the association website. We will be providing you with all the support you need and we will help you get on board with one of the cooperation types and levels we noted below. We propose developing and signing a mutually agreed framework outlining our shared objectives, areas of cooperation, and respective commitments. We are pleased to provide you with the modular A' Design Award x Association Cooperation Framework Agreement, which also serves as our first proposal and is noted as below. Our A' Design Award Collaboration Framework is designed to work either as a set menu or à la carte: your association may adopt one of our eight structured In-Kind Partnership tiers (A1–A8) as a ready-made package, or independently select and combine individual items from our Professional Recognition, Exhibition, Publicity, and Revenue tables to build a bespoke cooperation that fits your specific capacity and priorities. Beyond these formal, benefit-for-benefit exchanges, we equally welcome organic partnerships that arise simply from the natural alignment of our missions such as instances where our shared commitment to design excellence, professional development, passion for good design and public benefit creates value on its own, without requiring a fully itemized exchange of contributions. In this sense, our collaboration can be as structured or as flexible as your association needs: a fixed tier for predictable mutual benefit, a custom combination of individual activities for targeted needs, or a good-faith, mission-driven partnership grounded in the genuine overlap between your organization's charter and our own commitment to advancing good design for society. Once your association has identified its goals, we can formalize the relationship at whatever level of structure fits: for organic collaborations such as simple goodwill alignment, mutual recognition, or informal support arising from shared mission, a brief Memorandum of Understanding is sufficient to capture the spirit of cooperation, while more substantial in-kind partnerships involving tickets, revenue, or institutional commitments warrant a detailed agreement specifying scope, benefits, and obligations for both parties. That said, for the most basic organic activities such as announcing our deadlines to your members or informing your laureates of relevant opportunities do not require a signed memorandum; your association is free to publish our deadline for entries, call for entries, winner results and world design rankings and winner feature communications naturally, as a normal expression of institutional goodwill and shared purpose, without needing prior paperwork to do so.

In-Kind Partnerships
The A' Design Award In-Kind Partnerships cooperation arrangements below combine institutional recognition, member benefits and, where selected, financial or in-kind support. Your association may choose a communication-based partnership or undertake a more active role in member introductions, public relations, entry coordination or nomination sales. In return, A' Design Award provides the corresponding participation privileges, nomination support, institutional visibility and agreed remuneration. Financial benefits may, where approved, be settled through institutional payments or through specified support for your association's nominations, communications, exhibitions or professional delegation activities.

BASE Communication Package: Your association sends the four-announcement cycle; publishes a linked call for entries or calendar listing and a results or member-laureate update; displays the A' Design Award partner logo and website link on an appropriate page for 366 days. BASE Support Benefit Package: Provides a featured association listing with logo, profile and link for the corresponding period; a 20% reduction on eligible nomination fees for verified members; priority participation support; and the baseline Digital Nomination Ticket allocation described below. Qualified jury nominations receive facilitated administrative consideration under the standard selection process.

Announcement Cycle, Sponsored Nominations and Jury Failitation
The standard communication cycle comprises: (1) Early deadline announcement. (2) Standard deadline announcement. (3) Late deadline announcement. (4) Results announcement, preferably highlighting relevant designs or association member laureates. (5) World Design Rankings update Announcement. Completion of the agreed cycle (at least 3 of the 5 items, with standard and late deadline being required) provides one Digital Nomination Ticket for an eligible member entry, unless a larger allocation has been confirmed. Each completed announcement earns 33.3% of the corresponding Digital Nomination Ticket fee waiver. For example, one completed announcement may provide a 33.3% waiver toward the specified sponsored Digital nomination; four provide the full waiver, fifth will provide an additional 33.3% waiver towards next ticket. Our sponsored-entry benefit is separate from the general member discount and is not automatically combined with it. A' Design Award nomination tickets may be allocated in advance by mutual confirmation so that the selected member can enter before the current deadline. Otherwise, the issued ticket will identify the future entry period for which it is valid. Associations joining partway through an edition may agree an equivalent communication schedule. Additional tickets may be provided according to relevant membership reach, verified account registrations, qualifying nominations, member engagement and the broader contribution delivered. Mailing-list size alone does not determine the allocation. Jury facilitation means assistance with nomination and administrative review and not preferential jury member appointment, access to confidential member-entry information or influence over judging. Your association joins at the tier that matches its capacity and interest, and may move up or down at any annual review. Every tier does not necessarily includes the tier below it, role-specific arrangements may be distinct for different tiers. Communication commitments are measured in communication cycles: one cycle is the four agreed announcements of an edition (early deadline, standard deadline, late deadline and results) and it is possible to have additional fifth (for World Design Rankings announcement in January) and sixt or more cycles (for featuring A' Design Award Laureates during August, March, October, November, December) at your sole discretion. The base number of Digital Nomination Ticket allocation is indicative for an association of average size. We may increase it in proportion to the number of members in your association and, more importantly, to the number of association members who actually create A' Design Award accounts and nominate; for example, one additional Digital Nomination Ticket for every agreed number of verified new member accounts within a cycle, reviewed at results announcement. Professional Nomination Tickets are not part of routine allocations and are considered only exceptionally, for example for flagship exhibitions.

Good to Know : For all tiers (1) priority consideration of one qualified juror nominee, free preliminary evaluation for members, member data never leaves the association. (2) If your qualifying budget allows we can alternatively pay for and cover your association delegation's travel, accomodation, hosting and catering expenses, if we do this, such would be deducted from your qualifying revenue. 1 per cycle : One A' Design Award Digital Nomination Ticket for completing one standard minimum three-announcement cycle (the flat baseline, no extra increases). 1 per cycle + growth : The same one digital ticket baseline per cycle, plus additional tickets added as your association's verified member registrations / nominations increase. Base + growth (increased) : The baseline digital ticket allocation plus growth-based tickets, but at a higher rate/multiplier than the standard tiers (reflecting the added personal advocacy / coordination work at that tier). Base + growth + starter allocation : The baseline allocation for A' Design Award Digital Nomination Tickets, plus growth-based tickets, plus an extra upfront batch of tickets given at onboarding to help the top-tier representative start selling/servicing right away.

Coordinator onboarding and delegation : Your association's coordinator gets trained/onboarded by A' Design Award, and your delegation is hosted/invited to attend events in Italy. Delegation at gala : Your association's representatives are invited and accredited to attend La Notte Premio A' - the A' Design Award's Gala Night and Awards ceremony in Como, Italy. Does not include paid travel, accommodation or catering (however if in-kind option available, can be bartered). One delegate invited : an invitation/accreditation only (access to attend La Notte Premio A' and the exhibition in Como), not paid travel, accommodation or catering. In-kind option : Instead of a cash payment or bank transfer, your association can choose to receive the equivalent value as non-cash support (e.g., travel, accommodation, event participation, extra nomination tickets) - Also important to note all gala participation sponsored or not, requires adherence to our gala night guidelines.

Professional Recognition and Member Benefits
A' Design Award Professional Recognition and Member Benefits items help your association deliver practical professional value with international participation opportunities, portfolio guidance, nomination assistance, educational access and recognition of member achievements. Your association may select individual items that complement its existing services. Quantities, eligibility and included support are confirmed before activation, and benefits already included in a partnership package are not duplicated automatically.

Good to Note. A' Design Award participation benefits concern fees, assistance and agreed communications and not evaluation outcomes. A' Design Award Tickets, waivers and pathway changes must match the entrant's actual account eligibility. The applicable package should identify exactly which charges are waived and which benefits or obligations remain.

Exhibitions, Workshops, Conferences and International Exchange
The following A' Design Award collaboration opportunities combine your association's local knowledge, facilities and professional network with the A' Design Award's curated content, educational resources and international laureate community. Exhibition cooperation normally requires both a suitable venue and a workable local production plan. Additional support reflects the complete contribution such as installation, staffing, accessibility, programming, logistics and audience engagement and not floor area alone.

Good to Know: A' Design Award's cooperation exhibition levels below are alternative project packages, not cumulative ticket awards. A curated exhibition may represent designs from more than 100 countries where supported by the agreed selection; this does not imply that physical objects or visiting designers from all those countries will attend. Providing venue space alone is welcome as an initial contribution, but does not automatically activate a complete exhibition or ticket allocation. Physical objects require additional confirmation of transport, insurance, handling, security and return arrangements (it is possible to accept only objects that do not require a return).

Publicity, Communication and Reach
Publicity and Reach elements are the principal communication activities through which your association can introduce suitable members to the A' Design Award while gaining reciprocal institutional visibility. Items below may be selected individually or incorporated into a partnership tier. A' Design Award supplies approved materials and relevant tracking links and your association communicates through its own systems without transferring its mailing list.

Good to Know: Activities already included in A1 to A8 do not automatically generate a second allocation under this table. Sponsored, affiliate or otherwise remunerated communications should carry appropriate disclosures where applicable. The return for each activity may be reciprocal publicity, nomination support or an expressly agreed institutional contribution. The specific exchange is confirmed before publication.

Revenue, Financial Contribution, In-Kind Donations and Budget Relief
The following A' Design Award framework options allow our cooperation to reflect your organisation's structure and governance requirements. Earned referral payments, resale margins, service income, sponsorship and genuine donations are treated as distinct arrangements, with appropriate documentation and no effect on judging. Associations at their sole discretion may differ in how they receive income, genuine or in-kind donations and funds from A' Design Award, and may operate commercial services or accept institutional support at their sole discretion (apart from A1 to A8, premade tiers).

Referral remuneration and resale margin do not automatically apply to the same nomination. Member discounts, sponsored tickets and additional institutional payments are combined only where expressly confirmed. In-kind hospitality must serve an approved institutional purpose and comply with the recipient organisation's policies, particularly where public bodies are involved. In-kind hospitality is not a personal reward for obtaining an endorsement or influencing an institutional decision.

The Delegation Fund
Turning cooperation into representation, the A' Design Award Delegation Fund is an institutional credit account that we open in the name of each partner association. At your sole discretion, the cooperation contributions your association earns under our Framework, by completing communication cycles, introducing members, or acting as our Authorized Representative, can be credited to your Delegation Fund instead of being paid in cash. A' Design Award then applies your cooperation credits directly to the costs of bringing your association's delegation to Como, Italy: to La Notte Premio A' - our black-tie red-carpet gala night and awards ceremony, to the winners' exhibition, and to the Partner Associations Roundtable held during the same week. We created the Delegation Fund because associations told us they would rather be seen than be paid. A cash contribution requires invoices, bank details, currency conversion and a line in the accounts that a board must explain. A delegation requires none of that. Your participation to our events honoring good design, innovation, architecture, technology and science, such as our gala night, exhibitions, workshops and roundtable meetings is an international representation activity that most association charters already foresee; your participation is photographed and reported; and your participation rewards the members and volunteers who make your association work; and gives your board a first-hand experience of the A' Design Award & Competition that your association recommends to its members. No money changes hands. A' Design Award books flights, hotels and hospitality directly with suppliers. Your association decides, under its own rules, who travels. However, at your sole discretion, we can also transfer the whole or partial accumulated Delegation Fund amounts to your association's operating companies, provided a formal invoice is provided to us (requires prior approval, generally 15 days before a payout). You may also use your Delegation Fund to sponsor further entrants from your association, creating value for your members.

How A' Design Award's Delegation Fund for Associations Works

1. Open.
   Your Fund is opened at no cost when your association joins the Framework at Tier 3 or above.
   
   
2. Earn.
   Credits accrue from your association's direct referrals and every accrual is itemised. You earn from each qualifying paid nomination attributed to your association's tracked link or recorded introduction (we provide you with an interface where you can create and manage accounts for entrants in this case each account you create for nominating entrants is automatically noted, alternatively we provide you with a personalized referral link, each registration made from this referral link contributes to your Delegation Fund).
   
   
3. See.
   Your coordinator receives a quarterly Fund Statement showing accruals, applications, balance and expiry dates, and, in plain terms, how many Delegate Hosting Packages your balance covers today.
   
   
4. Nominate.
   Your association nominates its delegates through its own approved procedure and sends us their names and titles by the delegation deadline, normally [45] days before La Notte Premio A'.
   
   
5. Travel.
   Our Hospitality & Delegations Desk books and pays travel, accommodation and hospitality up to your balance, issues official invitation letters, and welcomes your delegation in Como.

Recognition of Your Delegation
Your association will receive a protocol mention from the stage at La Notte Premio A' as well as a listing or recognition in the printed ceremony programme and/or informed to participants indirectly; Your association will also be provided reserved seating under your association's name; the "Official Partner Association Delegation" badge or VIP badges are also provided together with an official delegation photograph at our gala night and events (please kindly require we have strict black-tie dress code) together with a report for your annual report and channels. We are also pleased to feature your association's participation to our events on select A' Design Award channels and to provide your association with a Certificate of Participation for your association's archives, at your discretion.

Quality and Fairness Adjustments
The allocations and benefits in A' Design Award's Association Collaboration Framework are indicative and may be increased or decreased by mutual understanding before each cycle, so that the exchange remains proportionate. We do not reward mailing volume for its own sake: a highly engaged specialist association is often more valuable than a much larger general-interest list, and repeated messages to the same audience are not equivalent to one message to a new audience. We therefore look at outcomes and effort rather than list size: the number of association members who create accounts, the number of new and repeat nominations attributable to the association, the relevance of the audience to specific design categories, the prominence and placement of announcements, credible engagement, and additional agreed work such as translation, member briefings or event production. Where the association's audience is smaller than ours, balance is achieved through reasonably spaced repetition or a combination of channels; where it is larger, we match with a more relevant segment or with additional benefits. Frequency limits are agreed to protect members from over-communication, and the same action does not earn a fixed benefit, a ticket allocation and a referral fee simultaneously unless expressly agreed. The benefits associated with a cooperation activity may be increased or decreased by mutual agreement to reflect its scope, quality and actual contribution. We assess more than mailing volume or nominal audience size. Relevant factors may include: (1) Audience suitability such as professional relevance, design disciplines, geographic coverage and the proportion of appropriate prospective participants. (2) Verified engagement via meaningful visits, enquiries, member briefing participation and genuine interest generated. Participation outcomes: attributable account registrations, qualifying new nominations and eligible repeat nominations under the agreed programme. (3) Communication quality that is prominence, accuracy, language quality, timing, duration and usefulness to the audience. (4) Work and resources contributed such as personal introductions, translation, coordination, production, facilities, staffing and logistics, as well as (5) Institutional and public value such as educational benefit, accessibility, support for emerging designers and the quality of the professional exchange. Where audiences differ, the parties may balance the exchange through appropriately spaced communications, different placements, relevant audience segments or complementary activities. Repeatedly contacting the same audience is not automatically equivalent to reaching additional people. Additional Digital Nomination Tickets, enhanced publicity or other benefits may be agreed for stronger contributions. Reduced or substituted benefits may be agreed where the intended scope changes. Adjustments are confirmed transparently and do not retrospectively reduce benefits already earned under the agreed terms. Reporting should use aggregate evidence wherever possible. Associations retain their mailing lists; identifiable participant information is shared only where necessary, authorised and appropriately protected. No benefit adjustment affects jury selection standards, evaluation, award results or ranking methodology.

Modular Agreement
The A' Design Award invites your design association and trade organisation to select or propose complementary activities that advance design excellence, support our members (members of both your association and the A' Design Award laureates) and create mutual institutional value. Cooperation may include reciprocal publicity, deadline communications, member nomination support, qualified jury nominations, institutional revenue and donation opportunities, professional exchanges and jointly organised exhibitions as well as academic cooperation. Each selected activity pairs your association contribution with a corresponding A’ Design Award contribution, with scope and benefits agreed transparently in advance. It is important to note that, all cooperation preserves the independent judging of the A' Design Award as well as respects each organisation’s governance requirements and recognises the contributions of both institutions. Your association's core communication actions (such as sending dedicated outreach, publishing articles or call for entries) take generally under two hours per cycle with our kit and your representation is remunerated precisely because it takes such work. You can exit the framework anytime within thirty days of notice and your earned contributions will always be honoured. In the end, at A1 / Tier 8 (1) your association earns an agreed institutional referral fee on qualifying paid nominations attributed to your participation link or approved introduction process. (2) Preferential nomination-ticket pricing enables your association to retain an agreed margin on each eligible sale. (3) Your association may offer a separately priced and clearly disclosed entry-coordination service to participating members. (4) Payments to an affiliated operating company can be accommodated where that entity is properly approved, contracted, and able to provide the required documentation. (5) Alternatively, we are also able to sponsor in-kind agreed expenditure on your association delegation's accommodation, event participation, additional nominations, exhibitions, communications services or travel expenses to or from Italy. (6) At your request, we may also transfer accrued credits as account credits to another account.

Important to Remember
While your association may nominate qualified juror candidate(s), subject to independent selection and conflict-of-interest rules, we kindly wish to reiterate that participation of your association members to A' Design Award through our collaboration does not affect judging, award eligibility or results; this cooperation is administered separately from our evaluation process. Our prepared communication kits are designed to keep routine publication and newsletter tasks straightforward. The time required depends on your association's systems, approval procedures and selected activities; active representation, managed entry and event organisation involve additional work.

What we need from you?
We need a concrete activation plan. We need an activation plan appropriate to your selected partnership. Your activation plan identifies your coordinator and confirms the applicable communications, website placements, member introductions or briefing activities. A newsletter-only partnership does not require your association to undertake sales, personal introductions or event organisation. In general, we would ask you to (1) Appoint one coordinator. (2) Publish one linked opportunity or competition listing such as our call for entries. (3) Send one dedicated announcement and one deadline reminder to your relevant, permission-based audience. - then, in time, and based on your collaboration level, we may need these kind of commitments from your association: (4) Personally introduce the A' Design Award participation opportunity to an agreed group of suitable members. (5) Arrange one short member briefing if appropriate, such as a workshop or presentation.

What do we commit to get started:
We will provide you with (1) our approved media materials and tracking tools. (2) Brief the coordinator you assigned to us, provide them with our call for entries and visual links. (3) Provide the agreed discounted nomination and entry support to your association members. (4) Give you access to a system that helps you manage entrants, if you need. (6) Provide you with access to a system that helps you track qualifying participations and institutional earnings. (7) Settle payments or credits according to the agreed schedule.

Framework Summary
The A' Design Award and your association would agree to cooperate on a non-exclusive, modular basis to advance good design and to create measurable value for your Association, its members and society. Under our Framework Agreement your association contributes its expertise and reach: you may nominate a juror to the A' Design Award jury, inform your members of the A' Design Award call for entries and deadlines, and acknowledge your affiliation with A' Design Award on your own channels. In return the A' Design Award honours your association publicly as a featured affiliated institution, grants Association members preferential participation terms, priority support and complimentary nominations, promotes association laureates through its worldwide media network of 3868 extensions in 126languages, contributes to your association's mission through donations, referral contributions, in-kind support and hosting of your Association delegates in Italy, and places A' Design Award exhibitions, speakers and conference platform at the disposal of your Association events. Every item of our cooperation is paired, so that each contribution by one party is matched by an equivalent contribution from the other; where audiences or capacities differ, the exchange may be balanced with another contribution. Your Association and the A' Design Award select the pairs they wish to activate, may add or withdraw pairs by mutual written consent, and review the arrangement annually. Entry fees fund the A' Design Award programme and there are no winner fees for Professional and Digital nomination pathways. A' Design Award's evaluation is blind peer review against published criteria by a published jury, and members can obtain a free preliminary evaluation before committing. We invite the Association to nominate a juror and see the process from inside. Even if you already organize your award, you shall consider the A' Design Award & Competition as complementary and not competing with your award program; many designers and brands join multiple awards, and you may consider the A' Design Award as a multi-disciplinary international step with true global reach. We are pleased to remind you that the A' Design Award communications can be scheduled around your own awards calendar and positioned as an additional international opportunity for suitable members. When you engage with newsletters your member data never leaves you. You simply send a newsletter and we only see entries that members themselves submit. We do not ask you to transfer us data. Representative status, contributions and delegations have no bearing on A' Design Award's independent third-party evaluation of nominated works, and this is written into our Framework Agreement.

Simplified Framework Agreement
The A' Design Award proposes a modular cooperation in which your association selects the level of engagement suited to its charter, capacity and interests, and may progress between levels at any time. Cooperation is organised along three paths:

• Communication.
  Your Association announces A' Design Award's Call for Entries and results through its website, newsletter and calendar. A' Design Award provides ready-to-publish materials in your Association's language, features your Association in its directory and allocates Digital Nomination Tickets for the Association to award to its members.
  
  
• Outreach.
  The Association introduces the A' Design Award & Competition to its members through its own channels and contacts, using tracked participation links. Members benefit from preferential conditions, free preliminary evaluation and priority support. Your Association receives an agreed Cooperation Contribution for each qualifying nomination, settled to the Association or its approved operating company, or applied to the Delegation Fund covering travel, accommodation and hosting of the Association's delegation at the awards gala in Como.
  
  
• Representation.
  Your Association, or its operating company, acts as Authorized Representative for Entry Services: your association or its operating company promotes nominations, invoices participating members locally and provides entry assistance at preferential institutional pricing, retaining the resulting margin and any separately disclosed service fee. A' Design Award provides training, verified representative status, a dedicated liaison, managed-entry allocation and full programme benefits, including jury nomination, gala accreditation and protocol recognition.

In all cases your Association retains full control of its member communications and data, and the cooperation has no bearing on the evaluation of entries, which remains subject to blind peer review under published criteria.

Collaboration FAQs
Below we have compiled the frequently asked questions and common inquiries regarding A' Design Award x Association Collaborations, please contact us via email or using our web form if you have other items in mind.

• What is Simple communication partnership?
  Your association simply partners with A’ Design Award & Competition SRL, registered in Como, Italy, by sending three agreed member announcements, selected from deadline reminders, results announcements or laureate features. There is no affiliation or renewal fee, deposit, compulsory purchase, minimum sales target or obligation to fund advertising or events; your contribution is staff time and use of your existing communication channels. Completing the three announcements guarantees a 20% nomination-fee discount for eligible members and one complimentary Digital Nomination Ticket, regardless of whether your communications generate paid entries. The nomination ticket covers one eligible entry, expires 365 days after issue and, if the entrant wins, provides Digital benefits without physical deliverables or event invitations. Registration, uploading and preliminary evaluation are free; paid nominations remain optional, and Professional and Digital pathways have no contractually obligated winner fees. You retain your mailing list, may share a neutral notice without endorsing the A' Design Award, and approve use of your association's identity. Judging remains independent, and you may end the collaboration at any time.
  
  
• What is A1 / Tier 8 - Authorised Representative and Entry Service?
  In addition to the agreed communication commitments and member benefits, your association may actively offer nomination and entry-management services through a dedicated control panel, managing member accounts with their authorisation. Under a written pricing schedule, you receive preferential nomination pricing and may retain the agreed resale margin, pass additional savings to members, or charge separately disclosed fees for entry assistance. Members may pay your association, which then settles the amounts due to A’ Design Award weekly, or pay the organiser directly, with qualifying remuneration credited to your account; eligible repeat nominations qualify under A1. No upfront ticket purchase, deposit or minimum sales commitment is required, but you owe the agreed organiser charges for nominations and services ordered through your association. Bank payouts require invoices and bank details and have a €1,000 minimum threshold; approved operating-company payments and in-kind settlement are available. Chargebacks reverse related referral earnings. Entry-management responsibilities, applicable prices and attribution rules should be confirmed before activation. Representative status does not authorise you to contract on the organiser’s behalf or influence judging.
  
  
• What exactly do my association members pay, and what do they get if they don't win?
  Your association members pay zero fees for account creation, upload and preliminary jury review at A' Design Award. Nomination is subject to a fee and your members will have a discount. For A1/Tier 8 associations, we will also provide additional preferential pricing, which you may keep for your association budget or reflect as further discounts to your members. There are no winner fees for Professional and Digital Edition entry pathways.

• What is the association's share, in numbers, and how is it paid and accounted?
  For A1/Tier 8, we will provide your association with a special control panel where you can create accounts for your members or gain control of existing accounts of your members. Members pay to you, you pay us later, so you are in complete control of the payments and fees collected. If you decide, members can pay to us as well, with your discount but without the preferential pricing, in this case, we would credit your account the differences, at your sole discretion, you may also ask members to pay full price (without the 20% member discount) such that the larger percentage amount can be credit to your account.

• Does this partnership influence judging in any way?
  Absolutely does not, our jury is independent, follows pre-established evaluation criteria, signs a very serious juror agreement, subject to jury verification and declaration and entries are evaluated via blind peer-review, voted anonymously.

• Do you need our member data?
  Never. You keep your member data. No mailing-list transfer is required.

• How many staff hours per cycle?
  In general, it would take 2 hours per cycle to do : 1. Copy paste the call for entries to your system and send it. 2. Copy paste the call for entries (article) to your website. 3. Copy paste the social media post together with provided image(s). We will be providing almost everything but we are pleased and we welcome if you enhance the texts and make them more relevant to your association, otherwise takes up to 2 hours, generally the copy-paste and review of text before doing so can finish within 15 minutes if interfaces are already open, however 2 hours per cycle is a conservative time allocation.

• We have our own award - does A' Design Award compete with ours?
  We are not competing with you. A' Design Award is structured very differently from a trade or an association award, we provide an extremely long list of benefits, each explained for several pages, here at design prize details page. Moreover, our findings and research shows that entrants join multiple awards, from different organizers to reach wider audience. Our award compliments your award but never substitutes it.

• Is there exclusivity for our country/sector?
  No, there is not. We only have exclusivity for city-sector based associations, i.e. if your association is sector focused and city focused.

• What are the terms and how do we exit?
  You can exit anytime. There is no fixed terms, however one award cycle takes about 540 days, i.e. 365 days for nomination, and 175 days of post-result deliverables in general. The smallest timeframe would be about 7 days where you would send an invite 15 days before nomination. If you choose the A1 / Tier 8 model, before you exit, we would ensure our balances are proper.

• Can we invoice through our operating company? Can it be in-kind?
  You can invoice through your association companies, and we can pay either as bank transfer or offer in-kind contributions at your discretion. If you decide to collect nomination fees yourself (i.e. if your association members pay through you instead of depositing to us directly), then we would ask the fees to be settled within a few days of nomination. Accumulated contributions can be applied to flights, accommodation and hosting of your association's delegation at La Notte Premio A'. We can cover costs and deduct from differences if any.
  
  
• What is the full legal name of the contracting entity? Is it a company, nonprofit association, foundation or another entity? What are its registration number, registered address and applicable tax/VAT details? Where is it registered?
  A' Design Award & Competition SRL (Corporation). Registered Como, Italy at Via Leone Leoni 32. European / Italian Value Added Tax Code. IT03806480137
  
  
• Who is authorised to sign the agreement and who is our partnership contact?
  You will be assigned one of our team members.
  
  
• Is there an application, affiliation, annual or renewal fee?
  No.
  
  
• Must we purchase nomination tickets upfront?
  You do not have to, if you do, we can apply bulk nomination pricing, which provides a discount
  
  
• Is there a minimum purchase or sales commitment?
  None.
  
  
• Must we pay a deposit?
  You do not have to.
  
  
• Can you transfer all our referrals to our Delegation Fund instead?
  Yes we can.
  
  
• Can we use our Delegation Fund for attending other cultural events in Italy and Europe?
  You can. We can transfer the Delegation Fund to you via your association or your association's operational companies, or we can pay for hotels, travel and accomodation on your behalf ourselves.
  
  
• Are we expected to fund advertising, translation, printing or events?
  You are not obliged to.
  
  
• What happens if we publish everything agreed but none of our members enters?
  This can happen in small associations. We can still sponsor select members free of charge to show appreciation to your efforts for dispatching deadline reminder newsletters, posting in social media and publishing our call for entries.
  
  
• Could we ever owe you money?
  Communication-only partnerships carry no affiliation fee, require no ticket purchases and impose no minimum number of member entries. The association contributes the agreed communications and its own staff time. Any paid services, ticket purchases or event expenditure require separate written agreement. However if you collect nomination fees yourself (A1/Tier 8) (if your members pay to you for entry fees or for any other costs such as for purchasing additional trophies and similar) in this case you would be accumulating funds that were meant for A' Design Award nominations and services, and if you ask us to provide such services (such as shipping the additional trophies and/or assigning nomination tickets), you would be owing us (from the funds you already collected), if however your members pay to us instead, we would be owing you commissions / referral fees based on the agreed tier.
  
  
• What is a nomination?
  It is submitting an entry for the A' Design Award consideration, not receiving an award. Nomination also covers the jury voting and evaluation process.
  
  
• What does one nomination ticket cover?
  Tickets are account-type and nomination-type specific, they cover nomination fee for 1 entry.
  
  
• What does the discount apply to?
  Discount applies to nomination fee only. Professional, Digital and Vision A' Design Award entries do not have contractually obligated winner fees as such does not apply for "further fees".
  
  
• What does Digital nomination include?
  It is similar to Professional Nomination, but there are no physical deliverables and no event invitations. We have a page that explains the differences here.
  
  
• What is preferential pricing?
  In addition to discounts provided to your association members, it is possible to have preferrential pricing for your association depending on your tier, think it as a further discount you can apply or keep:
  
  Example: if publicly noted nomination fee is 1000, and your preferential price is 650 (as an example, we may have higher rates or lower rates for different entry types) you can have multiple options:
  
  
  • Full Entry Services - Primary Model of A1 / Tier 8.
    offer nomination tickets at 2000
    here, you upcharge for presentation and support services and you collect entries, you collect 2000, and then give us the association fee, say for example 650, you accumulate 1350. (A1/Tier 8 Model)
    
    
  • Limited Entry Management
    offer nomination tickets at 1250
    here, you upcharge modest for entry management services, you collect 1250 and give us 650 your preferential fee, you accumulate 400.
    
    
  • Limited Entry Guidance
    offer nomination tickets at 1000
    here, you do not upcharge, members complete entry process themselves but you do not reflect them the discounts, the difference 1000 - 650 = 350 is what you collect / accumulate. (Referral Model)
    
    
  • Entry Direction
    offer nomination tickets at 800
    here, you do not upcharge, members complete entry process themselves but you do not reflect them the up to 20% association member discounts, the difference 1000 - 650 = 150 is what you collect / accumulate.
    
    
  • Entry Support
    offer nomination tickets at 700
    here, you do not upcharge, members complete entry process themselves and you also give up a portion of your association commission, and therefore collect 700 - 650 = 50
    
    
  • Subsidized Entry
    offer nomination tickets at 500
    here, you do not upcharge, members complete entry process themselves or you help them, members pay you 500, but the actual cost is 650, you subsidize the members. (generally for government associations)
    
    
• Which benefits are guaranteed if we fulfil our agreed commitments, which depend on member participation, and which require a separate proposal?
  If you complete the 3-cycle newsletter (any of 3 letters; early, standard or late deadline announcements or winner announcements, category-based winner features or coverage, or results announcement) then you are guaranteed the 20% discount for your members + 1 complimentary digital nomination ticket, regardless of if someone joins or not joins via your referrals. In addition you unlock performance based benefits via referral system and A1/Tier 8 conditions. For example, the baseline ticket depends only on publication, and as such it is not dependent on generating paid entries.
  
  
• How much income could the association actually earn?
  Depends on your reach, efforts and audience. A small association with 10 corporate - big brand members, who each make multiple entries, say 10 entries per entrant, can earn 6 digit referrals. But a large association with many students will get less because A' Design Award nomination fees depends on entrant type, and students do not get a simple 20% discount but get about 90% discount on entries compared to world brands for example.
  
  
• The referral percentage or fixed payment? The amount on which it is calculated: before or after discounts, taxes and refunds. The reseller purchase price or margin. What counts as an attributed referral. Whether existing entrants and repeat nominations qualify. The attribution period and treatment of competing referral claims. Payment frequency, currency and minimum payout. Required invoices or other documentation. Treatment of cancellations, refunds and chargebacks.
  Referral percentages change during different entry period, highest potentials are: Professional (28%), Digital (38%), Vision (50%), Classic (100%) subject to agreement. If you apply discounts, these are substracted, so if you applied 20% discount, it remains 8% margin for Professional. If you mark-up by 50% or 100% (these are reasonable depending on industry and entrant types for providing managed entry services), then you would keep your markup + the fees. Professional, Digital and Vision entry does not have contractually obligated winner fees. Classic Edition has, and entrants may choose Professional or Digital package afterwards, we can apply a discount for them as well, with 25% for Pro and 35% for Digital. Repeat nominations qualify for A1/Tier 8 only since they manage the entries, for other tiers they do not qualify. A1/Tier 8 settlements weekly. Others are once in each trimester. Minimum payout threshold is 1000 EUR. If a nomination got a chargeback, we cancel any referral fees paid to you and reflect a negative balance to your account at A' Design Award. We require invoices and your bank details for payments. For in-kind payments, we would need an approval document or simple email confirmation of you authorizing us or requesting us.
  
  
• What responsibility would our association assume? Does each entrant contract directly with the organiser? Who collects entry fees and issues invoices? Who handles refunds and complaints? Are we responsible for a member missing a deadline? What happens if our coordinator uploads incorrect materials? Does [Authorised Representative] allow us to make commitments on your behalf? Are we merely sharing an opportunity, or publicly endorsing the award?
  Entrants may connect through you and you may manage their entries (A1/Tier 8) or can use our system for DIY. If you manage their entries, you may collect the fees, if we collect fees, we can credit you the differences. We handle refunds and complaints, and we have ombudsman and very detailed procedures. Members are responsible for their own deadlines, unless you were managing their entries, in general we could help. If your coordinator uploads incorrect materials for an entrant, if we find it to be case, we would contact you, if we do not and there are issues, we would try to help. [Authorised Representative] does not allow you to enter into agreements on our behalf. At your discretion you may choose to either act merely as sharing an opportunity, or publicly endorse and promote the award, or simply provide a benefit to your laureates.
  
  
• It is written that "Your responsibility and workload as a member of praesidium ends here", can you clarify?
  Delegating administration does not necessarily end a board member’s oversight responsibilities of course, you would want to ensure that your staff or team member follows through the required cycle updates, posts or communications, at your discretion.
  
  
• Can we protect our name, independence and relationship with members? You mention governance and non-exclusivity, which is good. But I would want to know: Will you obtain permission before listing us as an affiliated association? Can we approve the use of our name, logo and quotations? Can we publish a neutral opportunity notice without endorsing the competition? Can we edit promotional language to match our editorial standards? May we decline unsuitable announcements? When must each party remove the other’s logo after termination?
  We will ask permission before we may use your name as a "partner" or "affliate", for each type of communication your name would be used or before listing you as affiliated. You may approve the use of your name, logo and quotations and it is good to know we generally do not ask quotations and for logo you upload yourself at your sole discretion. You may publish a neutral opportunity notice without endorsing the competition and indeed this is what we prefer, we prefer you approach this naturally. Parties should remove the logos if they are told to remove, if after participation parties agree to create extended visibility for each other, we would welcome this, as long as the language surrounding does not create an endorsement or confusion.
  
  
• How do our members actually activate the benefits?
  We will provide you with a referral link that includes your association discount, valid only for your association members, and also provide the A1/Tier 8 associations with a special control panel where the benefits are activated for your association where you may decide to reflect or not.
  
  
• Can existing accounts use the benefit? Can members who already paid receive an adjustment? Who selects the sponsored entrant? When does the ticket expire? Who handles redemption problems? What information can the association see about participating members?
  Existing accounts can use the benefits and members who already paid may receive an adjustment if payment is very recent (made within the last 3 days) and that would be reflected to your association's or entrant's account credits, after you inform us of such. Our support will handle redemption problems. In A1/Tier 8, your association can see everything about the participating members they control, register or manage through the platform. Tickets expire in 365 days from issue, with option to renew at a modest fee if already expired.
  

With over a dozen initiatives, the A' Design Award & Competition organizes a massive outreach campaign each year to promote its laureates worldwide, we would be pleased to uplift and support your association members..