The shortlist was drawn up by a panel of six judges from more than 200 nominations, the vast majority of which are individual control room personnel. According to APD meanwhile, the judges possess "extensive experience of working in or with emergency services and critical control organisations."
A spokesperson for APD said: "Shortlisted entries recognise the extraordinary, behind-the-scenes contribution of control room staff in serving society, keeping the public safe and secure, and responding to the most difficult and harrowing situations and emergency incidents."
Managing director of the company Mike Isherwood said: “As these are the inaugural Control Room Awards, we didn’t quite know what to expect, and we have been absolutely bowled over by the tremendous response. We want to thank every individual and organisation that has submitted nominations.
“The entries have been truly extraordinary – I don’t mind saying I shed a few tears when reading quite a few of them. Selecting the finalists has been a challenging and humbling experience."
Award partners include Telent Technology Services, Sopra Steria, Red Box Recorders, and Seed Software. British APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials) and the International Critical Control Rooms Alliance (ICCRA) are also backing the awards.
Categories include award for services to the public, lifetime achievement award, control room dispatcher of the year, leader of year, control room call taker of the year, community champion award, young achiever of the year, special recognition for bravery and courage award, and team of the year.
The winners will be announced at the APD Control Room Awards ceremony on March 8, at the De Vere Orchard Hotel in Nottingham.