Engagement Excellence Awards 2026 Now Open: The Awards You Know, Reimagined

EXCELLENCE AWARDS

If you’ve been searching for the Core Values Awards… you’re not alone. Let’s clear it up.

The Core Values Awards are now the Engagement Excellence Awards — and entries for 2026 are officially open.

A New Name, A Clearer Focus

From 2026, the Core Values Awards have evolved into the Engagement Excellence Awards.

This isn’t a new program — it’s the same prestigious Awards, redefined to better reflect what they recognise: excellence and impact in engagement practice.

The name change aligns with the Engagement Institute’s broader evolution and makes it clearer than ever what these Awards celebrate — the work shaping better decisions, stronger relationships and real outcomes across Australasia.

What The Engagement Excellence Awards Recognise

The Engagement Excellence Awards celebrate leadership across the full spectrum of engagement practice.

That includes:

• Projects delivering meaningful outcomes with communities and stakeholders
• Organisations embedding engagement as a strategic capability
• Research advancing the future of engagement practice

From infrastructure and energy to policy, planning and community development, the Awards spotlight the work setting the benchmark across Australasia.

What’s New For 2026

The 2026 Engagement Excellence Awards introduce several updates reflecting the growth of the profession:

• The Research Award returns, recognising work that advances engagement practice.
• New categories include Policy & Reform, Transport, Water and Property & Development.
• The Disaster category has been updated to reflect planning and response.
• The Smart Budget Award has been retired.
• The Organisation of the Year Award will now be selected from Gold EngageMark recipients.

These changes ensure the Awards continue to reflect where engagement is heading — more strategic, more embedded, and more impactful.

Entries Are Now Open

Entries for the 2026 Engagement Excellence Awards are now open.

If you’ve been waiting for the Core Values Awards — this is it.

Same legacy. Same recognition.
A clearer, stronger platform to showcase excellence in engagement.

Enter The Engagement Excellence Awards

Ready to share your work and be recognised for excellence in engagement?

Explore categories, review the Entry Kit and submit your application via the Awards portal.

👉 Enter the Engagement Excellence Awards here.