Alison North New Professionals Award

Founded in 2010 by Alison North and the IRMS, this award is aimed at celebrating some of the diverse and brilliant talent that we have coming into the industry.

Whether you are a student studying something information-related, or you are within three years of starting in the profession, take a look and see if the NPA can boost your learning and your career!

The winner of the New Professionals Award has a choice as to what they would like to receive. The options are the following:

• A fully funded place at the 2 day IRMS Conference in May, including attendance at the Gala Dinner, hosted at a table by Scott Sammons (the current patron); or
• £500 worth of book vouchers to be spent on course materials and books on Information and Records Management.

As the winner of the New Professionals Award you will also:

• Receive a certificate and trophy award with your name and year to be awarded at the IRMS Gala Awards ceremony at the annual conference
• Have your winning entry shared with our 1000+ members vis the IRMS Bulletin
• Access to mentoring and advice from our patron, Scott Sammons
• Receive a logo as an award winner for use on your materials, email signatures etc
• Membership of a diverse and illustrious group of award winners Alumni!

• This award is only open to those who are either within the first three years of their career in any field under the umbrella of Information and Records management and information Governance.
• Or, someone who is currently studying full time a subject relating to data, information and records management. This includes an apprenticeship programme like the Level 4 DP & IG Apprenticeship.

This can be in any format (written article, video, podcast or even poem – the sky is the limit!), based on a topic of your choosing.

The subject matter should be related to information, records or data, but can be about any aspect of it. Take a look at the insights below for some inspiration if you need it.

Your entry must:

• If it’s a written piece, then it is to be submitted in Word (or similar) format (no PDFs please) and be no more than 1000 words long.
• If pre-recorded, be in a media format that is playable on any device
• be in English, if possible. If this poses any issues for you, please contact is beforehand.

Unlike our other awards you do not need another person to nominate you and you do not need to be a current member of the IRMS.

However, if you are a student, IRMS student membership is free, so why not become one?

Your submission could be anything, like imaginative future thinking or a different perspective on current practice, comment on the core fundamentals, a successful project or even a failed one and how it shaped your thinking. We would love to hear your new ideas on how to work with all things digital. 

What we are looking for is something different. Alison was always known as a disruptor throughout her career and was always looking for fresh ideas, new approaches and challenging thoughts. Be bold, be brave, and share with our wonderful community what you think of the practice, the profession, or a specific topic. 

We encourage also those who have discovered information and records management through another profession and may be involved in data and information management as part of another field such as governance, security, analytics, digital preservation, IT etc. 

So have a think, and if you’re an IRMS member you can also read some of the previous submissions in the Resource Library.

Past winners: 

Why not find some of our past winners and runners-up on social media and ask about their experiences or perspective? 

Please email awards@irms.org.uk :

• A copy of your entry
• Details of who you are
• How you meet the eligibility

Deadline: 31st January 2026

Scott Sammons (Lighthouse IG)

Scott is the current patron of the NPA having been a winner himself in 2012.

Scott is now an experienced professional in the information profession and owns his own consulting firm Lighthouse IG.

Scott has also been a volunteer for the IRMS, getting so far as to be Chair in 2016-20, proving that any NPA can reach any heights! 

You can find more information on Scott on his LinkedIn page. 

Dr David Reeve (IRMS)

David is the Chair of the IRMS Awards Panel and Vice-Chair for Internal Governance of the IRMS. 

Starting as an Archivist in 1990 David is now a key member of the IRMS and a self-employed Data and Privacy Consultant.  

You can find more information on David on his LinkedIn page.