Four categories. Ten awards in each

The award categories

Four fields where local and regional government carries the load. Each is judged on its own rubric by its own pair of judges, and each list is balanced across sizes of jurisdiction so small agencies are not competing on budget.

One entry, one category

Choose the category where the measured outcome sits, not the one that sounds closest. A trail that was built to move commuters belongs in Mobility; a trail built to open a waterfront belongs in Public Spaces. If judges disagree with your choice, we move the entry rather than penalise it — you will be told if that happens.

Ten award winners. Three receive the Gold Award

Public Spaces & Recreation

Parks, plazas, trails, waterfronts, libraries, recreation programming and the stewardship of land held in common.

What counts here

A park, plaza, trail, campground, dock, lake, beach, waterfront, community center, historic site, or public building that improved how a place is used
Recreation programming that reached people who were not being reached
Maintenance and stewardship done well enough to be worth copying
Land or facilities brought back into public use
Innovative use of technology and AI in this category

What does not

A design competition with no built outcome
A capital project not yet open to the public

Ten award winners. Three receive the Gold Award

Mobility & Transportation

Public transit, streets, active travel, freight, curb management, road safety, congestion reduction, transport simulations, and the movement of people who do not drive.

What counts here

Transit service change with measured ridership or reliability effect
Street redesign with measured safety or mode-shift outcomes
Active travel networks, and the maintenance that keeps them usable
Curb, freight or parking management that resolved a real conflict
Fare policy, paratransit or on-demand service that improved access
Innovative use of technology, big data, simulations, and predictive AI in this category

What does not

Procurement of vehicles as an end in itself
Pilots too short to have produced data

Ten award winners. Three receive the Gold Award

Local Economic Growth

Small business, workforce, downtown recovery, programs and events, permitting reform, business improvement districts, commercial zones, industrial land and the local tax base.

What counts here

Small business or workforce programs with tracked outcomes
Permitting or licensing reform with measured time or cost reduction
Downtown or corridor recovery with occupancy, footfall or revenue evidence
Industrial land, utility or site readiness work that landed investment
Procurement policy that moved spend to local or under-represented suppliers
Events, programs, and festivals that transformed the local economy
Innovative use of technology and AI in this category

What does not

Marketing campaigns without economic outcomes
Incentive packages reported only as announced investment
Job figures that are projections rather than measurements

Ten award winners. Three receive the Gold Award

Community Engagement

Participation that changed a decision — budgeting, consultation, language access, service design and trust-building.

What counts here

Participation that demonstrably changed a decision, not just informed one
Participatory budgeting with real allocation authority
Language access and accessibility work that widened who could take part
Service redesign driven by residents rather than presented to them
Innovative use of AI chatbots and new technologies for seamless communication and service delivery

What does not

Consultation with no evidence it altered the outcome
Communications or PR campaigns
Surveys reported without any resulting change

Someone in your organization has done awesome work worth ten minutes of your time.

Nominations for the inaugural cycle close Wednesday 30 December 2026. There is no fee, and self-nomination is welcome — most good work is nominated by the people who did it.

Submit a nomination See how it is judged