Do government notices have to look dull and boring? What message does it send, when City Councils make no effort to inform residents about what's going on?

The Dazzling Notice Awards recognize municipal governments who actively encourage citizen participation.

Citizen engagement is an important part of inclusive decision-making. Residents can offer a local perspective, a diversity of circumstantial experience and creative solutions. While the final decision for any project or policy belongs to City Council, the consultation process can greatly improve the outcome.

But before citizens can engage, they need to be informed. Inspired by a 2010 TED talk about barriers to public participation and a 2011 exhibit about municipal engagement, the Dazzling Notice Awards recognize municipalities who've made a substantial effort to inform the public about opportunities for citizen participation and actively encouraged residents to get involved.

The inaugural award was given to the Village of Pemberton, BC, in 2012.

Six awards were handed out in 2014, to  the cities of Vancouver, Ottawa, Hamilton, Niagara Region, Middlesex County and the District of North Vancouver!

Four awards were earned in 2017, by Brampton (Ont), Lake Country (BC), Oakville (Ont) and Toronto.

In collaboration with the International Association for Public Participation, two awards were handed out in 2018, to the District of Squamish (BC) and the Region of Warterloo (Ont).

The 2019 award was given the City of Nanaimo.