Nominate for a BC Quality Award
Help celebrate excellence in BC health care by nominating an individual, team or project making a difference. The BC Quality Awards, presented by Health Quality BC, recognize those who are driving positive change and improving care across our province.
Nominate an individual, team or project making a difference in BC health care by following the steps below.
Submit your nomination by September 5, 2025.
How to Submit Your Nomination
Follow these steps to recognize the people and projects improving the quality of care in BC.
Explore Tips for Writing a Great Nomination
Set your nomination up for success by reviewing our expert advice and examples from past winners: 5 Tips for Writing a Great Quality Awards Nomination.
Confirm Eligibility
Make sure your nomination meets the eligibility criteria.
Who can nominate:
What can be nominated:
If you’re unsure about eligibility, email us at awards@healthqualitybc.ca.
Choose a Category
Review the three award types below and choose the award category that aligns with your nominee.
Review the Award Details
Each award category includes links to the Nomination Questions and Judging Criteria. Be sure to look these over so you’re prepared.
Start Your Nomination
Once you’ve chosen a category, click Nominate in This Category to begin your application.
The Awards Journey at a Glance
Submit a Nomination
Anyone can submit one or more nominations, whether you’re recognizing a colleague, a team or your own work. Nominations are open to individuals, teams and organizations working to improve care across BC.
Judging
Each nomination is reviewed by a diverse panel of health system leaders, patient partners and improvement experts. Submissions are assessed using criteria focused on impact, equity, innovation and learning. See BC Quality Award judges.
Winners & Runners-Up Are Contacted
After the judging process, winners and runners-up are contacted directly and asked to confirm key details. We then prepare to publicly recognize and celebrate their contributions.
Winners Are Celebrated
Winners receive a $2,500 sponsorship to support and share learning from their projects or to invest in ongoing development. Excellence in Quality project winners are also invited to present their work at the Quality Forum. Explore past winners & runners-up.
What Past Winners & Runners Up Have to Say About the BC Quality Awards
Start Your BC Quality Award Nomination
Select the category that matches your nominee—Excellence in Quality, Inspiring Individual or Transformative Leadership—to get started.
Excellence in Quality Award Categories
The five Excellence in Quality categories represent the five areas of care as defined by the BC Health Quality Matrix. All five categories follow the same criteria, but judges will look for elements that address the chosen area of care. Nominated projects may include highlighting approaches, processes, products, or programs that have demonstrated positive results. A project can only be nominated in one category.
The application should include measurable evidence of how the initiative improved outcomes, sustainability, economic benefits and/or demonstrated meaningful impact on patients, families and communities.
Optimizing the Early Years
The Optimizing the Early Years award celebrates a project that improved care for maternal health and wellness or early development programs or services.
Strengthening Health & Wellness
The Strengthening Health & Wellness award celebrates a project that improved the promotion of well-being initiatives, or projects that prevented injury, illness, or disability.
Returning to Health & Wellness
The Returning to Health & Wellness award celebrates a project that improved care for programs that address acute illness or injury.
Living with Illness or Disability
The Living with Illness or Disability award celebrates a project that improved programs or services that provide care and support for chronic illness and/or injury.
Coping with Transition from Life
The Coping with Transition from Life award celebrates a project that improved programs or services that plan, care, or support individuals, families or communities faced with life-limiting illness and/or bereavement.
Inspiring Individual Award Categories
Each year, we also recognize the contributions of individuals towards improving quality and enhancing the culture of safety and quality in the BC health system.
There are three categories that recognize inspiring individuals, including patients and caregivers as well as health care practitioners. Each of these categories features its own judging criteria.
The Doug Cochrane Leadership in Quality Award
The Doug Cochrane Leadership in Quality Award celebrates someone who made an inspirational, significant and sustained contribution to improving the quality of health care in British Columbia. These contributions may have been made in the fields of health policy, care design, innovation or academia and brought to patients at the point of care by cultivating skill development, implementing improvement initiatives or providing respectful and compassionate care for those in need.
This award is named in honour of Doug Cochrane’s contribution as founding Chair of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, now Health Quality BC. Doug was a pioneer in improving quality and safety. He chaired the BC Patient Safety Task Force from its inception in 2003 to the creation of the Council in 2008. He also served as the Provincial Patient Safety & Quality Officer from 2008 to 2019. He also chaired the BC Patient Safety & Learning System, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and he was the Board Chair of Interior Health.
Everyday Champion
The Everyday Champion award celebrates someone who showed a passion and commitment for improving quality of care that was outside of their formal role to lead positive change. They saw a need for improvement and committed to action, leading by example and inspiring others.
Nominees do not have to work in leadership roles, or roles that specify participation in quality improvement activities. We believe everyone can play a role in improving the quality of care, regardless of their position or leadership responsibilities!
Leadership in Advancing the Patient Voice
The Leadership in Advancing the Patient Voice award celebrates a patient, caregiver or family member who made an outstanding contribution to patient engagement in BC’s health care system. They took the lead to inspire and support other patients, caregivers, family members and health care organizations to partner in pursuit of better care.
Transformative Leadership Award Categories
These awards recognize the contribution of a team that has demonstrated leadership qualities in engaging and influencing their organizations and environment by creating meaningful partnerships, fostering inspirational motivation and providing an ethical framework for positive change.
Achievement in Sustainable Health Care
The Achievement in Sustainable Health Care award celebrates a team that has shown leadership in innovative clinical practices that promote environmental sustainability, mitigate against the impacts of climate change and result in a measurable achievement that improves the quality of care (based upon the Health Quality Matrix dimensions).
Leadership in Co-Designing Health with Public & Community
The Leadership in Co-Designing Health with Public & Community award celebrates a team that has shown leadership in creating partnerships between those who deliver care with those who receive it in the pursuit of collectively improving health quality. The partnership involves some aspect of co-design to engage and amplify public and community voices and what matters to them in advancing health.
Have questions about the BC Quality Awards? Get in touch at awards@healthqualitybc.ca.
