What is the MENA MIKE Award?
Background
The MENA MIKE Award builds on the prestigious Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) Award, founded in 1998 by Teleos in association with The KNOW Network.
For nearly two decades, the MAKE Award served as the world's leading benchmark for knowledge management excellence, recognizing organizations that successfully cultivated and converted knowledge into superior products, services, and solutions.
Following the retirement of Mr. Rory Chase, Managing Director of Teleos, the Global MAKE Award formally concluded in 2017. To continue its legacy while responding to a rapidly evolving global landscape, the Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise (MIKE) Award was launched — extending the framework from knowledge preservation to innovation, activation, and impact.
The MENA MIKE Award represents the regional expression of this global evolution.
Purpose
The MENA MIKE Award recognizes organizations that innovatively manage, activate, and evolve knowledge to drive:
- Strategic alignment
- Innovation and continuous learning
- Sustainable value creation
- Human and leadership capability
- Digital and AI-enabled transformation
- ESG and societal impact
The focus is not on tools, reporting volume, rankings, or compliance alone, but on how knowledge is mobilized, embedded, and scaled across people, processes, systems, projects, ecosystems, and communities.
Our Approach
The MENA MIKE Award adopts a practice-driven innovation model based on Intellectual Capital, examining excellence across three interdependent dimensions:
- Human Capital – skills, leadership, culture, learning, adaptability, and empowerment
- Structural Capital – governance, processes, systems, digital platforms, data, and organizational capabilities
- Relational Capital – partnerships, stakeholder trust, ecosystems, collaboration, and societal engagement
Rather than comparing outputs alone, the MIKE methodology emphasizes the practices and capabilities that enable organizations to sustain innovation and impact over time.
This approach supports meaningful benchmarking and benchlearning across industries, sectors, and regions.
What Does the MENA MIKE Award Evaluate?
Organizations are assessed using eight globally recognized MIKE criteria, forming a strategic roadmap for building resilient, high-performing, future-ready institutions:
- Empowering People
- Guiding Transformation
- Focusing on Stakeholders
- Building Strategic Networks
- Fostering Innovation
- Investing in Knowledge
- Embedding Knowledge Management Practices
- Creating Digital Value
These criteria are examined across multiple award categories, including:
- General Organizational Excellence
- Project Management & PMO Excellence
- ESG & Sustainability
- AI & Technology
- Academic & Knowledge Institutions
The Process
The MENA MIKE Award follows a rigorous, independent, and confidential evaluation process conducted by regional and international experts in knowledge management, innovation, intellectual capital, academic, and practice.
- Applications are reviewed by 2–3 expert judges per submission
- All judges operate under strict NDAs
- Organizations receive in-depth feedback and benchmarking insights
- Awards are granted at Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels
- Top Gold winners may qualify for Global MIKE Award recognition
The assessment methodology is continuously refined to reflect:
- Emerging technologies (AI, data, digital platforms)
- Evolving talent and leadership models
- Sustainability and ESG integration
- New forms of value creation and innovation
Why Apply
Participants benefit from:
- Expert evaluation and strategic feedback
- Benchmarking against leading organizations
- Global recognition and visibility
- Official MIKE Award logo usage
- Access to global MIKE learning and events
- Contribution to a growing knowledge excellence community
Apply now for the 2026 MENA MIKE Award — Applications for the 2026 MENA MIKE Awards are open.
