2026 Award Categories
You're doing great work, and we want to know all about it.
For our second year of the MAVlab Innovation Awards program, we have refined our categories to present 13 awards across a variety of topics and disciplines.
As mentioned in year one, award categories will evolve from year to year to spotlight critical council topics and challenges, and you’ll discover a mix of old, updated and completely new and unique categories below.
Watch a recording of our Information Session on 6 May (YouTube)
As in 2025, there are two major 2026 Innovatio Pro Bono Awards – recognising established and emerging local government leaders - and an additional eleven awards celebrating incredible projects and programs.
Criteria will vary slightly between the two major awards and the eleven project awards.
Explore the 2026 categories below:
2026 Innovatio Pro Bono Publico Award: Established Leader
Supported by Davidson
In recognition of an individual established Victorian local council CEO, demonstrating excellence in innovation for the public good.
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This award seeks to honour outstanding leadership by a council CEO driving community and council impact. We're seeking nominations that demonstrate impact and leadership through stories and case studies across programs, projects or initiatives, or in their day-to-day work.
In 2026, we’re opening up this category to accept nominations from any representative in the local government sector – you do not need to be Victorian council staff - to help us acknowledge great leadership.
2026 Innovatio Pro Bono Publico Award: Emerging Leader
Supported by JLT Public Sector
In recognition of an individual Victorian local council staff member demonstrating excellence in leadership and innovation for the public good.
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This award seeks to honour outstanding leadership by non-CEO council staff, driving community and council impact. We're seeking nominations that demonstrate impact and leadership through stories and case studies across programs, projects or initiatives, or in their day-to-day work.
In 2026, we’re opening up this category to accept nominations from any representative in the local government sector – you do not need to be Victorian council staff - to help us acknowledge great leadership.
The Community Voice Award for Inclusive Democratic Engagement
Supported by the Australian Resilient Democracy Network (ARDN)
In recognition of innovative and impactful community engagement programs that strengthen democratic outcomes, build trust, address disinformation, and amplify diverse and often unheard voices.
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Example projects include:
- Deliberative democracy or citizens’ panel programs
- Youth engagement and civic participation projects
- Culturally inclusive engagement initiatives
- Digital engagement and online participation programs.
- Community education and civic literacy initiatives
- Programs addressing misinformation and strengthening public trust
- Programs supporting community in the electoral process.
The Connector Award for Inclusion and Community Cohesion
Supported by Ylab
In recognition of an innovative council-led program that brings communities together in creative ways, strengthening connection, social cohesion, and equitable spaces for people of all backgrounds, genders, ages, and abilities.
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Some examples of projects include:
- Activities that recognise and respect cultural diversity
- Projects supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and fostering cultural awareness
- Inclusive services leading to community cohesion
- Social connection through community engagement activities or that build community life and cohesion through ongoing engagement programs
- Inclusion and connection programs focused on a specific age or stage of life
- Partnerships and innovative collaborative models.
The Dollars and Sense Award for Impactful and Innovative Business Operations
Supported by SenSen Networks
In recognition of innovation in council procurement, finance and business systems that deliver greater value for money, revenue generation, strengthen community and local industry outcomes, and improve financial sustainability.
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This includes initiatives that use council buying power, financial systems and business processes to create positive economic, social and environmental impact - not just efficiency.
Examples of projects include:
- Social or environmental-impact procurement (local, sustainable, ethical, social enterprise, Indigenous)
- Digital procurement transformation
- Strategic bulk purchasing or procurement alliances
- Revenue recovery or optimisation
- Energy-efficiency or solar investment initiatives
- Smart asset management systems
- Community grants or investment initiatives
- Council-owned commercial property revitalisation
- Digital customer service or online payments upgrades
- Budgeting and financial management system improvements
- Waste-to-resource or circular-economy initiatives.
The Horizon Award for Future Climate Leadership and Action
Supported by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council
In recognition of an innovative council-led program or project that advances climate adaptation, climate resilience, or emissions reduction through sustainable, circular and regenerative approaches, including energy systems, design or retrofit, and community partnerships.
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Examples of projects may include:
- Renewable energy and emissions‑reduction initiatives (including transport, building upgrades, and EV infrastructure such as e‑bikes and e‑scooters)
- Community climate resilience initiatives
- Nature‑based solutions
- Circular, regenerative and resource‑recovery systems in council facilities, public spaces and amenities
- Community composting and FOGO initiatives
- Infrastructure and building retrofits that improve energy efficiency and reduce waste compared to demolition and rebuild
- Innovation, entrepreneurship or investment initiatives that strengthen local capability in climate and energy transition
- Collaborative projects between councils, communities and industry to accelerate climate resilience
- Projects that share knowledge and build community capability in regenerative design and sustainability.
The Resilient Infrastructure Award for Emergency-Ready Community Systems
Supported by Matter
In recognition of innovation in the planning, delivery and management of resilient infrastructure - including risk mitigation and insurance-informed approaches - that supports communities before, during and after emergencies.
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Examples of projects include:
- Emergency-ready infrastructure planning initiatives
- Climate adaptation and resilience projects
- Critical asset resilience upgrades
- Community evacuation and shelter infrastructure projects
- Flood mitigation initiatives
- Footpath management
- Tree and canopy mapping and management
- Disaster recovery and reconstruction improvements
- Smart monitoring and early warning system projects
- Risk management, insurance optimisation or resilience financing initiatives
- Sector partnerships.
The Skilled to Serve Award for Capability Uplift
Supported by Datascape
In recognition of initiatives that strengthen council workforce capability, foster leadership, learning and development, and prepare teams to deliver innovative, adaptive services to the community.
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Examples of projects may include:
- Innovation programs
- Learning and organisational development initiatives
- Leadership development programs
- Workforce planning initiatives
- Digital capability uplift initiatives
- Mentoring and knowledge-sharing programs
- Change and transformation capability initiatives
- Employee reward and recognition initiatives
- Diversity and inclusion initiatives related to capability building
- Collaborative council capability projects.
The Smooth Operator Award for Service and Systems Optimisation and Transformation
Supported by Atturra
In recognition of innovation in council service systems, demonstrating impact through new approaches to drive better experiences for the community and staff.
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Examples of projects may include:
- Customer service systems and service‑experience improvements
- Waste and circular‑economy systems
- Initiatives that improve access to data and insights
- Service innovation and technology‑enabled improvements
- Transformation and change management initiatives at all scales (for example, adaptations supporting the Best Start Best Life Reform agenda)
- Website and broader digital service improvements
- Community engagement systems and services.
The Storytelling Award for Inclusive and Engaging Council Communications
Supported by RMIT Regenerative Futures Institute
In recognition of an innovative council-led program that uses creative storytelling to drive community engagement, understanding, and trust.
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Examples of projects include:
- Events, campaigns, activations or exhibitions for community designed to inform and engage on a particular topic
- Publications, print media, campaign material, council media campaigns or new channels that help communities to connect or build understanding about council services
- Co-designed stories with community, or stories created with community data
- Creative and impactful storytelling demonstrating inclusion and accessibility
- Digital storytelling including data visualisations
- Ongoing council storytelling practices that demonstrate innovation
- Partnerships with artists and/or creative practitioners.
The Stronger Together Award for Council Collaboration
Supported by Davidson
In recognition of demonstrated council-led collaboration - across councils, teams, or with industry partners - that drives community resilience and local outcomes.
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Collaborations might be among multiple councils, with the community or sector partners. There is no minimum number of partners, teams or councils for this award – a collaboration between two or 10 stakeholder groups will be equally considered against the criteria.
Examples of projects include:
- Shared service for community members across minimum two or more councils
- Program or project that enables and drives collaboration
- Collaborations between several internal teams at a council that is a new and novel approach to a council service or challenge
- Partnerships with community organisations focused on a specific community challenge for instance:
- homelessness
- food security
- emergency preparedness, or other.
- New council system or process that invites input from several other councils to drive scalability and bigger impacts.
The Thriving Places Award for Design and Planning Excellence
Supported by JLT Public Sector
In recognition of council-led innovation in urban, housing and transport planning and design that creates vibrant, connected and resilient communities.
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Examples of projects may include:
- Precinct, municipal and regional plans and strategies
- Affordable housing projects
- Urban design projects
- Transport planning
- Local and active transport solutions
- Community consultation and partnerships related to planning and design projects
- Data-driven approaches to planning and design.
The Wellbeing Award for Community Health Impacts
Supported by Choosewell and the Local Government Employees Health Plan
In recognition of an innovative council-led program that delivers measurable improvements in community health, wellbeing and quality of life.
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Examples of projects may include but are not limited to:
- Maternal and child health
- Health initiatives supporting children and families beyond maternal and child health
- Positive ageing
- Public health and safety initiatives, including food safety and tobacco education and enforcement
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Immunisation
- Fitness and physical activity
- Arts and culture
- Collaborative partnerships with community and organisations
- Health and wellbeing education initiatives that improve access to health information.
