Annual Awards nominations
Nominations can be put forward on behalf of your cooperative, yourself, or another cooperative or individual. You can nominate across as many award categories as you wish so long as your nominee meets the eligibility criteria of each category.
The 2026 Annual Awards are taking place 29 October 2026 in Christchurch.
Timeline for 2026 Annual Awards nominations, judging and finalists’ announcement is pending.
Helpful guided prompts to get you started
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Cooperative/Mutual of the Year
This award will be presented to a Cooperative Business NZ Full Member (organisation) that has made a significant and positive impact within the cooperative community over the previous 1 June – 31 May.
The award is about celebrating the success of the cooperative business model. The winner will have clearly demonstrated the value of the model in returning benefits to members and to their local communities.
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Leader of the Year
This award will be presented to an individual who has shown significant cooperative leadership either within a members’ cooperative or the cooperative sector more generally, over the previous 1 June - 31 May. The nominee must have clearly demonstrated:
*Cooperative leadership
*Vision and courage for the cooperative model
*Successful initiative(s) that have benefited their cooperative or the cooperative sector
*Commitment & support of well recognised and accepted cooperative principlesThis award is open to all members of Cooperative Business NZ: Full Members; Provisional Members; Corporate Associate Members; Individual Members and Honorary Members.
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Emerging Leader of the Year
This award will be presented to an individual (aged 35 and under) who is making their mark within their member organisation. It aims to recognise contribution through innovation, driving best practice, collaboration or cooperation.
This award is open to individuals working within or a member of an organisation that is a Full, Provisional or Corporate Associate Member of Cooperative Business NZ.
To recognise the vital role that governance plays in the ongoing success of cooperatives, the winner of the Emerging Leader of the Year award is invited to join the Cooperative Business NZ board as a Board Observer for the following calendar year, to develop their governance skills and deepen their cooperative networks.
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Cooperative Innovation
This award recognises one or more Cooperative Business NZ members that have championed fresh ways of working – whether by teaming up with other cooperatives to create shared value or by giving members a new voice, service or platform. Your innovation might be a brand‑new product, service or technology; a creative business model or member‑engagement initiative; a pioneering partnership; an operational or governance improvement; or an inventive response to social, environmental or economic challenges.
The winner or winners will have clearly demonstrated how their initiative lives out cooperative values, delivers measurable benefits to members or communities, or has broken new ground in a way that others could learn from or replicate.
This award is open to Full Members of Cooperative Business NZ, and joint entries are encouraged if the innovation is a shared initiative.
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Lifetime Achievement
This Award will be presented to individuals that over the long term (10 plus years) have contributed significantly to the success of the cooperative model either to a Cooperative Business NZ member (of any type) or to the wider New Zealand cooperative sector.
This award is not intended to just recognise long service but is to also recognise significant contributions made to developing the cooperative business model and/or to the broader New Zealand cooperative sector. It ensures appropriate recognition is given to individuals who give of themselves freely, often over the course of their careers, to the member-owned community.
This award is open to anyone in the cooperative or mutual sector in New Zealand, regardless of membership status with Cooperative Business NZ.
[ FAQ ]Common questions
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Absolutely. We encourage it. Each specialist category has different criteria and requires a separate entry – so choose wisely, focus your efforts, and make sure you really stand out before committing to additional entries.
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We know that entering an award is a major undertaking! Recognising that some co-ops may have limited people resources, we have created guided prompts for each award category, to help streamline your entry and offer suggestions on where you might find the information for each section. The judges are keen that you have the flexibility to choose how to best describe your nomination against these. Prompts for each category are found above.
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Yes, there are page limits. Lifetime Achievement Award entries have a 2 A4 page limit and all other awards have a 5 A4 page limit.
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Yes! You can include supporting images or graphs in your application. If you want to include video or online content, please include a link. Don’t forget to provide passwords if needed for download links.
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If you have any issues with the online entry, or questions about the awards themselves, please contact us on info@nz.coop
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Your job is to convince the judging panel that the organisation or person you’re nominating is the best in your chosen award category. Here are some handy tips.
Be yourself, be compelling, and make sure you can back your claims up with evidence.
Read the criteria carefully and make sure you address them.
The judges will only have the information you provide in your entry, so make sure you provide all the important information that supports your application.
Make sure your claims are clear and supported. Award-winning submissions always include data and evidence because doing so ensures credibility.
Feel free to use bullets, short sentences or narrative, whatever feels easiest for you.
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No worries! Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us – we’d be happy to help.
Nomination form
The nomination form contains a set of 7 questions and will be live once the 2026 timeline is confirmed, along with confirmation of entry closing date.
We would like to know more about yourself, which category you are nominating for, and who you are nominating.
The last question requires you to upload your application in PDF format that convinces the judging panel that the organisation or person you’re nominating is the best in your chosen award category. No messy text boxes, just a single pdf.
Please refer to the FAQs above or reach out if you need further support.
