Introduction

The ESPC Inspire Awards 2026 are open for nominations. Click here for the nomination form.

The ESPC Inspire Awards are annual community awards recognising people, creators and contributors across the Microsoft 365 and AI ecosystem. The awards recognise contributions across Microsoft 365, Copilot, SharePoint, Azure, Power Platform, open source, technical content, mentoring and the wider Microsoft technology community.

Every year, thousands of people contribute their time, knowledge and experience to the Microsoft 365 and AI community. They answer questions, publish tutorials, maintain open-source projects, record podcasts, create videos, mentor others and share what they have learned.

The ESPC Inspire Awards are our opportunity to recognise those contributions.

Whether your world is Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Azure, Copilot, Power Platform, Teams or the wider Microsoft ecosystem, we want to hear about the people and content that have made a difference to you in 2026.

Nominations are open until 9 September 2026.

Celebrating the Microsoft 365 and AI Community

Technology changes quickly. Keeping up with it is often a community effort.

A useful blog post can save someone hours of work. An open-source project can solve a problem for thousands of people. A podcast can introduce a completely different way of thinking about a topic. A mentor can help someone take the next step in their career.

Behind all of these contributions are people willing to share what they know.

The ESPC Inspire Awards recognise those people, while giving the wider community the opportunity to decide who deserves to be celebrated.

Following nominations, our judging panel will select the finalists, and then public voting will pick the winners! The 2026 ESPC Inspire Award winners will then be announced at ESPC26 in Amsterdam.

So, who should you nominate?

Best Community Contributor

Some people seem to be everywhere in the community. They answer questions, share useful resources, organise meet-ups, contribute to discussions and regularly make time to help others.

Their contribution might happen online, at events, within user groups or behind the scenes.

If someone has consistently made the Microsoft community a better and more useful place this year, nominate them for Best Community Contributor.

Best Podcast

Which tech podcast has been a regular part of your week in 2026?

The Best Podcast award recognises shows that consistently produce useful, interesting and engaging content for the community.

It might cover Microsoft 365, AI, Azure, Power Platform or the wider technology landscape. If there is a podcast you regularly recommend to colleagues or make sure you never miss, we want to hear about it.

Best YouTube Channel

YouTube has become one of the most useful places to learn about new technologies, troubleshoot problems and see how other people approach their work.

Best YouTube Channel recognises creators who consistently produce useful and engaging video content for the community.

Think about the channels that have helped you understand a new feature, solve a problem or develop your skills this year. Which one deserves recognition? Tell us!

Diversity Leader

Strong communities benefit from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

The Diversity Leader award recognises people who actively help create a more inclusive technology community. That could mean creating opportunities for others, supporting under-represented voices, improving accessibility or helping more people feel welcome and able to participate.

If someone is making a practical difference to inclusion within our community, nominate them.

Best Mentor

Most of us can point to someone who has helped us at an important point in our career. A good mentor might offer technical guidance, provide useful feedback, introduce new opportunities or simply make time to help someone work through a challenge.

Best Mentor recognises the people who invest their knowledge and time in helping others develop.

Who has helped you move forward in your career in 2026? Nominate them today.

Rising Star

The Rising Star award recognises someone who is making an impact early in their community journey.

They might have started speaking at events, sharing technical content, contributing to projects or finding new ways to help others.

This isn’t about how long someone has been in the industry. It’s about recognising new voices, fresh ideas and people whose contribution is already getting noticed.

Who should the wider community be watching? Tell us by nominating them.

Open-Source Contributor

Open source plays an important role across the Microsoft ecosystem, from Microsoft 365 and Power Platform to Azure, Copilot and developer tooling.

From code and tools to samples, documentation and community projects, open-source contributors create resources that other people can learn from, build on and use in their own work.

Much of that work is done voluntarily and often behind the scenes.

The Open-Source Contributor award is an opportunity to recognise someone whose work has made your life easier or helped move the community forward. Submit nominations.

Best M365 Copilot Prompt

Sometimes a good prompt can completely change the usefulness of Copilot.

The Best M365 Copilot Prompt award is about finding practical, creative and effective prompts that help people get more from Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Maybe you’ve created a prompt that saves you time every week. Perhaps a colleague shared one that changed a workflow for your team. Or you spotted one from a community member that you immediately added to your own toolkit.

If you’ve found a Copilot prompt worth sharing, nominate it now.

Best Sticker Design

We’re adding something a little different to the Inspire Awards this year.

The new Best Sticker Design competition gives the community the chance to design an official ESPC sticker.

Submit your original design and our judging panel will select their favourites as finalists. The finalists will then go to a public vote, with the winning design professionally printed and handed out at ESPC26.

So if you’ve ever had an idea for the perfect ESPC sticker, now is the time to make it.

Learn more about submission details for the sticker competition.

Why Nominate Someone for a Microsoft Community Award?

Community recognition only works if people take part.

You don’t need to write an essay or make a grand case for someone. If a person, podcast, channel, project or resource has genuinely helped you this year, tell us about it.

A nomination is a simple way to recognise the time and effort people put into sharing their expertise with others. It also helps us discover contributions from across the Microsoft 365 and AI community, including people whose work might not always receive the widest attention.

Nominations close on 9 September 2026, so don’t leave it too late. Nominate today.

FAQs

What are the ESPC Inspire Awards?
The ESPC Inspire Awards recognise people and content making a positive contribution to the Microsoft 365 and AI community, including contributors working with Copilot, SharePoint, Azure, Power Platform and other Microsoft technologies. Learn more about the ESPC Inspire Awards 2026.

Who can be nominated for a Microsoft community award?
The Inspire Awards are open to members of the Microsoft technology community who have made an impact through knowledge sharing, mentoring, content creation, open source, inclusion and other community contributions.

Do I need to be a Microsoft MVP to be nominated?
No. The ESPC Inspire Awards are community awards and are separate from the Microsoft MVP programme. You do not need to hold an MVP award or any other Microsoft recognition to be nominated. The Inspire Awards are about recognising the contributions people make to the wider Microsoft 365 and AI community.

Can I nominate someone who works with Microsoft 365, Copilot or Power Platform?
Yes. The awards cover contributions from across the Microsoft 365 and AI ecosystem, including Microsoft 365, Copilot, SharePoint, Power Platform, Azure and related technologies.

Can I nominate myself?
Yes of course. Self-nominations are welcome. When completing the nomination form, tell our judging panel about your contribution to the community and why you believe it should be recognised.

How do I nominate someone for an ESPC Inspire Award?
Click here to be taken to the ESPC Inspire Awards nomination form.