The Global CIO community invites participation in the “Project of the Year” contest

On September 15, the international IT community, Global CIO, officially opened applications for the annual “Project of the Year” contest, where IT leaders from around the globe showcase most impactful IT projects.

The “Project of the Year” provides a valuable platform for IT leaders and IT suppliers to to highlight their achievements, share experiences, and gain recognition from peers. Participation is free, with the primary goal being to identify, consolidate, and promote best practices within the global IT community.

One unique aspect of the contest is its project evaluation methodology, developed by the community’s experts. It combines online voting by IT professionals with a comprehensive assessment of each project's scope and significance. With no jury involved and a balanced evaluation process, the selection of winners remains as objective as possible.

The “Project of the Year” is more than just a contest — it's an opportunity to exchange knowledge and foster growth within the entire IT industry. Over the past years, projects from 35 countries have participated. More than 2,000 senior IT executives voted for the projects and shared their views on the effectiveness of the submitted IT solutions in the comments. Constructive comments and peer support not only motivate participants but also lay the foundation for future success.

Who can submit a project:

1. The CIO or business unit manager personally.
2. IT service providers with the confirmation of the Head of the business unit by the customer. Projects without proper confirmation are not eligible.

Eligibility criteria:

• The project or part of a business project must have specific goals and objectives;
• The stated goals must have been achieved between October 1, 2022, and November 1, 2023 (the project itself may extend beyond this period);
• The project must be implemented with measurable outcomes. Projects not delivered to the declared end customer company (e.g., unimplemented software) are not accepted;
• The editorial board reserves the right to reassign projects to another category for better thematic consistency and fair competition.
  

Important!

1. Software products, solutions that are not implemented by an external customer and not confirmed by its manager are not allowed to participate in the contest.
2. It is possible to submit several projects in different nominations, but each project participates only in one nomination.

Contest deadlines:

• Application submission: September 15 - October 31, 2025
• Project verification: November 1 - November 9, 2025
• Voting: November 10, 2024 - January 11, 2025 inclusive
• Competition results announcement and awarding the winners (preliminarily): January 30, 2026.

Project evaluation criteria

1. Scale — assessed by the project applicant.

2. Significance for the company — assessed by the project applicant.

3. Complexity — evaluated by IT community members (1 to 5 points).

4. Effectiveness of the solution — evaluated by IT community members (1 to 5 points).

5. Additional points:

• for comments on projects.  Each thematic comment of the project (the comment should be 200+ characters) adds 0.2 points to the project. Comments from IT professionals only are taken into consideration (comments from IT services providers and IT journalists are not considered). Project author's responses to comments (200+ characters) also add 0.2 points to the project for each comment
• for contribution in CIO Compass as active community member. If the CIO or IT vendor representative submitting the project has a CIO Compass subscription, the project receives an additional 1 point.
• for members of the Global CIO directory. If the IT vendor or IT solution used in the project is listed in the corresponding catalog, the project receives 0.5 points for the entry. 

Applications for participation in the “Project of the Year” will begin on September 16th. Participation is free of charge.

Follow the link to participate.

Submit your project today and let the world know about your achievements. Take a look at the highlights from last year’s ceremony — and we’ll be glad to see you at this year’s event!