ACEC/MA Workplace Belonging and Engagement Award 2026

ACEC/MA Workplace Belonging and Engagement Award 2026 Application Process Is Open

Download the application in MS Word to use as a guide. (opens separately)

Open to ACEC/MA Full Member Firms – Applications Due February 11, 2026

ACEC/MA is committed to an open and inclusive business environment in consulting engineering, land surveying, and A/E firms statewide. The 2026 ACEC/MA Workplace Belonging and Engagement Award process is now open. This award honors a firm’s ingenuity, leadership, and commitment to advancing belonging, fairness, and opportunity within the profession.

The award aims to elevate the significant impact of an organization that has demonstrated value beyond expectations and requirements, serving as a representative of new standards of excellence to advance belonging, fairness, and opportunity within the industry.

Applicants will be evaluated on their commitment and progress in building meaningful partnerships across their organization and the profession, their impact in the community, and the opportunities they provide for advancement of their employees and stakeholders.

Applications are due by February 11, 2026. All applicants will be recognized on the ACEC/Massachusetts website. Eligibility, application requirements, and evaluation criteria information appear below. Award winners will be evaluated by the criteria below. ACEC/MA will present two total awards, each to one firm in each of the following categories:

1. Small/Medium: Less than 500 employees (firmwide)
2. Large: 500+ employees (firmwide)

Awardees will be announced and recognized at the Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on April 14, 2026. The person listed as the author of the application will be invited to the Gala as the firm representative to receive the award.

Eligibility

Any ACEC/MA Full Member firm with a Massachusetts office can apply.

Application Requirements

Provide complete anonymity for the firm by removing references to your firm’s name in the response to questions below, except for the boxes at the end. The submitter may identify the client, owner, prime, and any projects.

ACEC/MA Workplace Belonging and Engagement Award Application (text from the Download Application above)

Provide a narrative that describes the firm’s history of commitment to belonging, fairness, and opportunity, along with a detailed description of current initiatives, programs, and projects, and the firm’s current demographics. The maximum word count is 500 words for each question. We understand that some firms do not have extensive experience across all these topics, but please provide the most complete answer possible.

Background – Describe the firm’s background and history, focused on commitment to community service, industry collaborations, and advancement (STEM), and belonging, fairness, and opportunity.

What Sets You Apart – A strong workplace brings together people with different skills, work histories, education paths, and regions. The goal is clear. Everyone contributes. Everyone supports shared results.

These differences help teams make better decisions and avoid groupthink. For example, someone with long-term experience offers historical insight. Someone early in their career brings new ideas. Someone from a rural community approaches challenges differently than someone from a city.

A winning firm supports people with the tools they need to do their best work:

• A retiring worker might need support with updated software.
• A new worker might need focused training on core practices.
• A remote worker might need stronger technology to stay connected.

A winning firm also invites people with different strengths to share ideas and lead work. A team member with hands-on training might join a problem-solving effort because their practical thinking improves outcomes.

External Commitment – Demonstrate the firm’s external commitment in Massachusetts to belonging, fairness, and opportunity.

• Provide examples of where your employees and firm have made an impact on supporting belonging, fairness, and opportunity in professional organizations, with external stakeholders, and within the community.

Project Delivery – Demonstrate commitment to belonging, fairness, and opportunity within Project Delivery in Massachusetts. Describe the work your firm has done in support of advancing belonging, fairness, and opportunity on a project or projects, including:

• Descriptions of types of projects and EJ/community outreach
• Demonstrated commitment to meaningful participation in projects, including inclusion of DBE/Small Business Enterprises
• Examples of project experience

The information below (on page 3 of the application) needs to be provided on a separate page from the application for the judging process. 

Application Submission:

• Deadline: February 11, 2026.
• Use this Subject Line for your email: ACEC/MA Workplace Belonging and Engagement Award Application
• Email your firm’s application to ACEC/MA in MS Word. Do not include the first two pages of the generic application with your application. Use your firm’s name in the filename; we will duplicate each application with an anonymous filename for the judges.
• Using the downloaded Application as your guide, as a separate attachment in your email, copy and complete the Demographic Table into MS Word, give it a filename that includes your firm’s name, and attach it to the email as a separate file. This file will be separated from your application during the judging process.

Questions? Contact ACEC/MA staff at 617-227-5551 or email ACEC/MA.