Collaboration sits at the heart of progress in the highways sector and the DfT Special Recognition Awards celebrates local authorities and supply chain partners who are achieving outstanding results through collaboration.
Entries are now open, and the Collaborative Partnership Award, sponsored by Heidelberg Materials, is your chance to showcase the impact of working together.
Whether you’re delivering large-scale infrastructure projects, tackling shared challenges, or transforming local service delivery, we encourage you to enter and share your success story.
Collaborative Partnership Award
Sponsored by Heidelberg Materials
This award provides recognition to outstanding partnerships, collaborations, or joint initiatives significantly contributing to the advancement and improvement of the highways and transportation sector.
In 2025, the category saw an overwhelming response, with 34 entries involving 131 organisations, and it was fantastic to see all the different ways that the public and the private sector are working together.
Last year’s winner: Liverpool City Council was recognised in collaboration with Dowhigh, Huyton Asphalt, Colas, Tarmac, Mott MacDonald, AECOM, Wilde and Amey, for the Highways Investment Programme (HIP1 and HIP2) – a transformative, multi-year investment in the city’s transport infrastructure.
The judges said: “Liverpool City Council’s Highways Investment Programme (HIP) is a shining example of collaborative excellence in public infrastructure delivery. It is not just a success story, it’s a blueprint for scalable, inclusive, & future-ready infrastructure.”
Why Enter?
- National recognition from peers and the Department for Transport
- Free to enter, with the chance to showcase your work on a national stage
- Raise your profile and celebrate what your partnership has achieved
Deadline to enter: 20 August 2026 at 5pm
Find out more and submit your entry
Whether you’re a local authority working with supply chain partners or a company leading a joint initiative with the public sector, this is your opportunity to step into the spotlight and get the recognition your collaboration deserves.
The awards will be presented during Strictly Highways 2026, which brings together the whole highways community and celebrates the amazing work taking place across our sector.
Find out more and book your place to join us
Thank you to our Strictly Highways 2026 sponsors
