The Third Sector Awards is an initiative by the Department of Community Development established to recognize and celebrate excellence across Abu Dhabi’s third sector.
Held biennially, the Awards highlight the impactful contributions of volunteering, not-for-profit organizations and social enterprises in advancing community development and social wellbeing.
First launched in June 2024, the Awards serve as a strategic platform to promote innovation, strengthen sector capabilities, and encourage sustainable, high-impact initiatives within Abu Dhabi emirate.
Why This Award?
The Third Sector Awards incentivize excellence beyond compliance, reinforcing sector-wide performance standards and strengthening governance, institutional sustainability, and the social impact across not-for-profit organizations, social enterprises, and volunteering initiative. In an increasingly dynamic global landscape, the third sector plays a pivotal role in driving meaningful and lasting change. The Third Sector emerges as a vital driving force for positive change, where passion meets purpose to address pressing societal issues.
Award Objectives
The primary objectives of the Third Sector Awards are to:
- Recognize exemplary Third Sector entities and local champions.
- Inspire and guide entities and individuals striving to make significant social impact.
- Support the Third Sector as a pivotal driver of impact.
- Foster a vibrant culture of engagement, innovation, and social responsibility.
- Enable entities to enhance their overall institutional strength and operational maturity, supporting long-term sustainability and effectiveness.
Award Structure
The Third Sector Awards adhere to a robust governance framework that follows international best practices and excellence models across 4 domains:
- Non-for-Profits
- Social Entreprises
- Volunteering
- AI for Social Impact
The awards identify exceptional performance in 8 different categories, ensuring a comprehensive recognition of diverse contributions. Focused on operational excellence, social contribution, measurable impact, and innovative implementation of advanced technology.
The awards categories are:
- 1-Not-for-profit of the Year
- 2-Most Impactful Not-for-profit
- 3-Rising NFP of the Year
- 4-Social Enterprise of the Year
- 5-Most Impactful Social Enterprise
- 6-Volunteering Team of the Year
- 7-Volunteering Opportunity of the Year
- 8-AI Powered Entity of the Year
The Awards Framework is firmly anchored in four core principles—integrity, justice, credibility, and transparency, which collectively underpin its governance, ensure rigorous standards, and safeguard the fairness and trustworthiness of the entire process.
Evaluation Process:
The evaluation process follows a robust, multi-layered approach to ensure fairness, transparency, and rigor. It is conducted through the collaboration of specialized teams across different levels:
- Technical Team
(Department of Community Development)
Responsible for the initial screening of applications, including eligibility verification and completeness checks. - Independent Evaluator (Qualified Third-Party Assessors)
Conducts a comprehensive and objective assessment of all eligible applications, based on defined evaluation standards and best practices. - Steering Committee (Cross-Sectoral)
Provides oversight on the overall evaluation process and validates the final selection of award recipients.
Winners Incentives:
Winners will receive a curated incentive package by the Social Contribution Authority Maan:
- Priority in securing access to the Athar+ community for up to two representatives (membership, co-working spaces, meeting rooms access with extended usage quota)
- Access to a network of vetted service providers and associated benefits including advisory services on business, branding, legal and accounting consultations.
- Full utilization of the Athar+ platform and its engagement tools including a series of workshops focused on building capacities, enhancing well-being, and strengthening impact and policy awareness within the social sector.