TLDR: What’s New with IBM Rising Champions
The IBM Rising Champions Program has evolved to better reflect how real advocacy works.
We are moving beyond a numeric‑only model to recognize meaningful, credible advocacy through a balance of clear activity guidelines and qualitative evaluation. Minimum activity expectations still apply, but progression is guided by intent, consistency, and the IBM tech community impact, not volume alone.
Advocacy must be voluntary, sustained over time, and extend beyond job responsibilities or business promotion. Badges are earned through assessment, not automatically awarded.
Read the full blog below to understand what’s changing, what’s staying the same, and how progression works at each level.
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From Counting Activity to Recognizing Meaningful Advocacy
The IBM Champions program has always recognized people who go beyond the scope of their day jobs to share knowledge, strengthen communities, and influence the extended IBM ecosystem in real, lasting ways.
We created the IBM Rising Champions Program in 2023 to support that journey. As advocacy itself evolves, so does the program.
This updated Rising Champions model reflects a simple truth: not all advocacy looks the same, and not all value can be measured by volume alone. Our goal is to bring greater clarity, balance, and intention to how advocacy is recognized on the pathway to Champion.
What’s Changing (and What Isn’t)
What’s not changing
Rising Champions is not abandoning structure. There are still minimum participation expectations at each level. These provide a shared baseline and help answer a very practical question:
Am I doing enough to be considered?
What is changing
We are looking more deliberately beyond the numbers.
Rather than focusing only on activity counts, evaluation places greater emphasis on:
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The quality and intent behind activities
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Consistency over time, or exceptional contributions that reflect extensive impact; but not one‑off bursts
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The value created for others
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Contributions to a healthy, trusted technology community
Simply put, we are shifting from counting activity to understanding contribution.
Minimum Activity Expectations (Clarity Still Matters)
To be transparent, there are still defined participation guidelines for early and mid‑stage levels:
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IBM Contributor: Completion of at least three (3) eligible advocacy activities.
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IBM Advocate: Completion of at least six (6) eligible advocacy activities, including both core activities and a meaningful mix of extended activities.
As advocates progress, expectations evolve to include a greater proportion of extended activities, which typically require more intention, preparation, leadership, or responsibility.
For example, Core activities often include:
For example, Extended activities may include:
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Speaking or presenting
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Publishing deeply technical, thought leadership, or in-depth content - this applies to social advocacy as well, where we look for original content and goes beyond re-sharing
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Leading communities or user groups
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Providing structured or strategic feedback
Importantly, no single format is required. For example, advocates who primarily contribute on LinkedIn may fully meet (or exceed) expectations when their posts or articles demonstrate depth, insight, reflection, or guidance rather than simple amplification.
To see the full range of evaluated activities, please visit the Understanding Activities article, where we list the Champions Activity roster.
Influencer: Competitive and Evaluation‑Ready
At the Influencer level, expectations intentionally shift.
Rather than publishing numeric thresholds, the Influencer designation reflects advocates who demonstrate:
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Sustained, visible leadership
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Deep IBM-product focused expertise
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A strong mix of core and extended activities
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Clear influence on communities, conversations, or ecosystem direction
Influencer is not equivalent to Champion.
Instead, Influencers are considered evaluation‑ready for Champion consideration. Progression at this level is competitive, selective, and based on demonstrated impact over time. There are no guarantees: only alignment, consistency, and readiness for deeper trust and responsibility.
Numbers Enable Eligibility, Not Automatic Progression
Meeting minimum participation expectations makes an individual eligible for evaluation. It does not guarantee a badge or progression to the next level. Rising Champions are intentionally evaluated because advocacy is contextual and highly variable. Two people can complete similar activities and create very different outcomes.
Evaluation helps us understand:
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What changed because of the advocacy
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Who was helped, informed, or influenced
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Whether contributions reflect genuine effort and care
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How activities fit into a longer‑term pattern
Badges that are earned…not handed out…remain meaningful.
Consistency Over Time Is a Real Signal
As participants move from Contributor to Advocate to Influencer, the program looks more at:
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Consistent engagement (or, exceptional contributions)
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Intentional advocacy
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A recognizable, trusted presence
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Ongoing commitment, not one‑off moments
This applies equally to aspiring candidates, current Rising Champions, and experienced Champions.
Advocacy Must Go Beyond Your Job or Your Business
Advocacy must extend beyond:
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Day‑to‑day job expectations
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Employer‑directed marketing
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Sales motions for your organization
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Pure self‑ or company promotion
Any reported activities reflecting these may affect eligibility or progression. Trusted tech ecosystems grow when people contribute because they care—not because they are required to.
What does count is advocacy done because you choose to:
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Share lessons learned using IBM technologies
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Help others navigate technology or careers
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Build and support community
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Offer thoughtful, relatable perspectives
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Improve the IBM tech community as a whole
Advocacy for this program must also explicitly include IBM products or technologies, or open source initiatives or developer activities in which IBM is invested. When you contribute activity around products sitting on top of, or in conjunction with, an IBM stack — that activity may not count as advocacy under our definition.
A Program for the Whole Pathway to Champion
Rising Champions is not a race; and the levels are markers along a pathway many IBM Champions know well.
The program exists to:
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Support aspiring advocates
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Recognize meaningful contributions at all levels and throughout the year
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Encourage sustainability over performance
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Create a clearer, stronger path toward Champion
Wherever you are on your journey, this model is designed to meet you there and support where you’re going.
Learn more about each level: Contributor, Advocate, and Influencer.
Get started today!
If you are new to the IBM Rising Champions get started by applying today by filling in our Candidate Application. Once you’ve applied, you (along with other Rising Champions and Champions) will report advocacy activities using the Activity Reporting Form. Credible evidence and context are essential to support the thoughtful evaluation across all program levels. For more information and guidance about what to report and what we evaluate, please visit the Understanding Activities article, where we list the Champions Activity roster.
As always, the program reserves the right to update categories and badge/program definitions.
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