Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Even in the face of budget constraints and other challenges, cities and towns around the Commonwealth are finding new and creative ways to serve their residents more effectively and efficiently.
If your municipality has been one of them this past year, the MMA invites you to submit a nomination for the Kenneth Pickard Municipal Innovation Award, which recognizes municipalities that have developed unique and creative projects or programs to increase the effectiveness of local government.
The MMA encourages nominations from communities that have:
• Launched new and unique projects
• Found new or different solutions to problems facing their communities, and possibly others in Massachusetts
• Discovered ways to improve efficiency in providing municipal services
To enter the contest, communities must complete a project summary sheet describing the initiative and provide a nomination form signed by the community’s chief municipal official. They are also encouraged to provide supporting materials, which could include photos, news coverage, brochures, maps and video links.
Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
• Project originality or novelty
• Adaptability to other communities
• Cost effectiveness
• Efficiency or productivity
• Improvement of a municipal service/administration/performance
• Consumer/community satisfaction
Any city or town that is a member of the MMA is eligible to apply, and the application form and instructions are available online.
The application deadline is Oct. 31, and the awards will be presented during the MMA’s Connect 351 conference in January 2026 in Boston.
The award is named in honor of Kenneth E. Pickard, who was the executive secretary of the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns from 1969 to 1973.
For more information, contact MMA Research and Project Assistant Daniel Yi at dyi@mma.org.