Entry and judging criteria

Six award categories

Investing in our industry’s future	A team, individual or organisation making a bold investment in engineering or technology to deliver high-value outcomes for the future of the industry. Nominations should address how investment will enable a future different from today such as through investment in education, workforce capability, technology change, or smarter processes.
Partnering for success	An engineering or technology initiative that delivered significant value, where partnering was essential to achieving a successful outcome. Nominations should clearly demonstrate why the partnership was critical to the success achieved and how these results could not have been achieved alone.
Innovating for outcomes	An engineering or technology initiative that has redefined how things are done, delivering valuable and enduring impacts. Nominations should address how value was defined and who was impacted.
Engineering for value	A team, individual or organisation that has applied best‑practice design and value principles to improve outcomes, as demonstrated by the greatest whole‑of‑life net benefits.
Solving complex challenges	A team, individual or organisation that tackled a complex engineering or technology challenge and delivered an elegant solution, embedding both the solution and lessons learned into practice.
Supreme Award	Overall winner, selected from the five category winners. The entry that best demonstrates driving change that supports growth for the sector, our customers and the people we serve.

Judging criteria

The judging panel will consider:

Applicability	How well the entry fits the selected category.
Presentation and detail	How clearly the application is written and the work explained, particularly in regard to the detail and technical aspects.
Impact	Evidence provided that supports claims of outcomes and impact. Is ‘future impact’ clearly explained?
Process	Evidence provided for how the following were identified: problem definition and need, stakeholders, constraints, alternatives and solution development and positive long-term impacts.
Quality execution	Evidence provided for how the following were addressed: complex criteria or unique issues; context challenges (eg location, conditions without compromising safety); thinking ahead; the need for bespoke technology or ingenuity; delivery on time and on budget; meeting stakeholder needs.
More than needed	Evidence the work shows how engineering and technology knowledge is applied; does it change engineering and technology thinking or approach, does it change public awareness of engineering, does it provide wider secondary benefits to the organisation, public, or community?

Nomination process

Use this nomination form for all categories and indicate which category the nomination is for.

Once the form is complete, convert it to .pdf format before submission. Supporting imagery, charts, figures must be included in the .pdf. Each .pdf submission must be <10MB.

All nominations must be submitted before 3pm, Wednesday 1 July 2026, to [email protected].

We will acknowledge receipt of your nomination.

Recommendations when considering your nomination

This is your chance to tell the story of the people you think have delivered engineering and technology solutions that have led to change and created real and lasting impact - the nominees.
Telling this story is important and often takes time and teamwork. Winning nominations will be strategic, well-written and succinct, accurate, and will outline impacts. They will reflect the professionalism of those nominated.
These awards are designed to incapsulate brilliant engineering and technology work out in the field as well as in the office There is no ‘type’ of engineering or technology work that suits best.
Collaboration is cornerstone to our success, so be sure to consider cross-team and cross-organisational work. For all categories, entry nominees should be the core people who created the clever solution. They may come from several teams and/or organisations.
- Please note: Nominators will not be included as an invitee to the Awards dinner. If you are a nominator who contributed to the work and should be included in the recognition of the nominated work, please ensure your name is also in the nominee field.
The focus is on appreciation of the technical outcome, which may be just one aspect or component of a wider project (that may not yet be complete) - it’s about recognising the impact of original solutions to engineering and technology challenges.
Some nominations may include both engineering and technology specialists, while others are engineering or technology specific.

Entry criteria

Transpower is the organiser and sponsor of the Transpower Engineering and Technology Excellence Awards which are open to any Transpower team or individual employee and any Transpower engineering consultant, contractor or service provider regardless of company size, provided the Transpower engineering and or technology they have been engaged or employed on has been carried out within the last three years*.
Third party award nominations must be made with the full knowledge and co-operation of the nominated organisation/nominee.
Organisations can nominate more than one entry in each category. Separate nomination forms must be completed for each entry.
The judges reserve the right to request additional material to support claims made in any nomination.
Transpower reserve the right to publish information contained in the nomination at the time of finalist and winner announcements. We will advise finalists of any planned publicity in advance. Information companies do not wish publicised should be clearly marked, in which case it will only be viewed by those involved in the judging process and they will treat it as confidential.
All finalists are required to submit and/or participate in the production of communication and publicity material including audio-visual material supporting their entry for broadcast at, and following, the awards ceremony.
Nomination material should include the applicant’s logo in high resolution as a JPEG file. Transpower will be granted permission to use this logo in association with the event.
Finalists will be notified by 2 September 2026.
Should the entrant be announced as a finalist, the entrant agrees to attend the formal awards presentation at the Public Trust Building in Wellington, 14 October 2026 and meet the costs of attending.
The entrant accepts that the judges’ decision is final and no subsequent correspondence will be entered into.
The judges undertake to observe the confidentiality of entries where required and to declare or avoid any potential conflict of interest.
Only the nomination form provided will be accepted. The material must be accurate and complete (i.e. not misleading by omission), and this must be certified by the person signing the nomination form. There is a limit of around 1,000 words, over no more than 10 pages for each entry. Note: the Nomination title, Nominator details and Nominee details, is counted towards the page limit but is excluded from the word count.
Each entrant will be judged on the material in the nomination form. The applicant must complete the nomination form and its content counts toward the page limit.
Any and all nominations are to be submitted electronically to [email protected] addressed to: Chair of the Judging Panel, Transpower Engineering and Technology Excellence Awards, By 3pm, 1 July 2026.

*This may include work that started prior to the three-year period provided some or all of the work falls within the three-year period and was not previously nominated for the Engineering and Technology Excellence Awards.