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Criteria and Judging

The criteria and judging process has been designed so that the awards can spotlight people, places, programs and projects that are innovative, impactful and scalable.

We will recognise innovation, initiative, bravery and leadership across all scales from service tweaks to council-wide programs, in single municipalities to sector wide change.

All entries will be carefully assessed against a criteria specific to the award category. Submissions will be required to respond to criteria through short responses (less than 300 words per criteria) and submit supporting attachments.

Preview of Entry Form (PDF - 101KB)

Criteria

Project awards criteria

  1. CHALLENGE + CONTEXT – 20%
    Submit details about the challenge and the context in which you innovated; what was the problem to be addressed, and what were the factors that made it challenging and required innovation? You might share details about constraints or challenges related to time, location, stakeholders, trust, engagement or other. Please also share any specific challenges for diverse and vulnerable cohorts. (300 words or less)
  2. SOLUTION + INNOVATION – 30%
    Share what you did – the approach or activity – and why it was innovative. Describe how your solution responded to the challenge and context. You should share the main steps you took, designing and implementing your project, as well as how you engaged with stakeholders. You should describe why this is different to previous approaches and how it might advance local government practices. Please use this criteria to highlight how your solution was designed to be accessible and inclusive.
  3. IMPACT + OUTCOME – 30%
    Tell us what happened as a result of your project or program. What were the impacts or outcomes, and how did you measure these? It is anticipated that impacts will continue to grow over time? You should use this criteria to share any specific outcomes related to accessibility and inclusion. (300 words or less)
  4. SCALABILITY – 20%
    Share how your innovation could scale (or be replicated) to create further impacts. This criteria highlights the importance of transferring knowledge and thinking at council and network scale for greater benefit beyond municipal boundaries. Share any thoughts about how this idea or approach can be integrated with or transferred to other councils or teams within your council to leverage the collective power of your council and our council network to scale up the value of your project or initiative.   You should also use this section to share how your idea drives towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (either on a global scale or your localised SDGs). (300 words or less)

People awards criteria

  1. LEADERSHIP + EXCELLENCE – 40%
    Tell us how this person or team has demonstrated incredible leadership and bravery through operations, projects or programs relevant to the award (i.e. change management, data-driven decision-making or leadership). This includes resilience and innovation in the face of challenges.
  2. IMPACT + LEGACY – 30%
    Share how this person has created impact for the organisation and the community, demonstrated through data or feedback from others.
  3. COLLABORATION – 30%
    Explain how this person has driven a more collaborative or empowering workplace, helping to break down silos through behaviours and actions, encouraging others and supporting workplace cohesion.

First Nations + Diversity

Across all our awards categories we expect to see nominations for projects that demonstrate excellence in First Nations engagement and prioritisation of First Nations voices and input, as well as programs that demonstrate excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Our submission form invites entries to address how they're addressing this as part of several criteria. We look forward to reading about how councils are engaging with and supporting needs of our diverse communities through stories of innovation across all people and project categories.

Judging

The Awards have been designed to have a rigorous and thorough evaluation process that enables representation of innovation across our diverse range of councils.

The Awards uphold an in-depth review of each entry, ensuring each project receives the time and evaluation it deserves. Judging is carried out across four total stages:

  • Pre-assessment: MAVlab team assess all entries against eligibility and T&Cs and will remove and notify ineligible submissions in August.
  • Round 1:Independant online assessments by MAV Advisory Board members and selected council staff – each submission will receive at least three scores. Council staff who are selected to be a part of entry assessment will sign a conflict of interest statement and will not be involved with assessing any categories where their council is an entrant.
  • Round 2:Group moderation workshop – to determine finalists and a ranked top three.
  • Round 3: Final Assessment of top three by multidisciplinary MAVlab panel comprising of sector experts.

Submit Your Nomination