Critique & Awards is open to anyone who has produced communications projects or programs within the past year for an organization in the public sector. Examples include work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a land-grant university, a state extension service or experiment station, or an international foundation.

It is the responsibility of the lead entrant and/or the individual or institution paying for the entry to list teammates on the entry form. ACE Headquarters cannot add teammates to entries after they have been submitted without the consent of the lead entrant and/or the individual or institution paying for the entry.

Judges have the option of disqualifying any entry that does not have the required elements, or for which the supplemental description exceeds two pages. All entries must follow the rules of the category and class to which they have been submitted, as well as the general rules of the Critique and Awards program itself. ACE reserves the right to disqualify entries that do not adhere to the rules of the program.

Judge's decisions are final.

*The description should include: purpose, audience, marketing/promotion, role of each entrant, extent to which the project met goals and objectives (if that information is available), and other information (production costs, special circumstances faced during production and any other relevant information the judge should consider in evaluating your entry). In addition, carefully read the criteria for each class; some classes may require additional background information, such as evaluation methods used.