Rangitikei and Wanganui district councils have been named as finalists in the inaugural Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) Excellence awards.
Rangitikei is among six finalists in the community impact category while Wanganui is one of three finalists in the local economic contribution category.
A health collaboration that has engaged 95 agencies has earned Rangitikei its spot.
LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said Rangitikei's "Path to well-being initiative" began in 2010 after the council convened a conference of government agencies and community groups to identify services gaps in its rural community.
"The council recognised agencies largely worked in isolation from each other, meaning people could get lost between them," Mr Yule said.
"It also realised that no single agency, working on its own, could know or answer all the issues facing this rural community. And, with a population of only 14,000, it was difficult to get on the radar of big agencies."
He said the judges were impressed that the Rangitikei council took the lead on involving wider agencies and the community to come up with ways to better connect services in the region.
"It has meant the council has become a focus for the wider region's agencies and the large number of collaborative projects that have resulted have attracted an extra $1 million in non-ratepayer funding to the region," Mr Yule said.
Mayor Andy Watson said this initiative was brought to fruition by a team of council staff, led by senior policy analyst Denise Servante.
"While winning an award would be appropriate recognition for the project and all who have been involved in it, the reality is that the initiative is already a winner for the district. It has its own momentum and delivers real benefits, including bringing in an extra $1 million in non-ratepayer funding to the district," Mr Watson said.
In Wanganui's case it was the ultra-fast broadband roll-out which earned it a finals spot.
Mr Yule said the council saw that fast, accessible and affordable internet was essential for creating a broadband economy.
"Our judges considered the council showed leadership by ensuring the Government's fibre optic network was built in urban areas as soon as possible, then setting about rolling it out to rural Wanganui, even to quite remote settlements," he said.
He said the council had shown what a small city can achieve in terms of ensuring affordable access to a community. It had shown vision and a recognition that fast internet connection for all is a major economic driver.
This and other well-delivered initiatives had been recognised internationally with Wanganui selected as one of the world's 21 Smartest Cities.
Mr Yule said the judges had also given a special mention to the Wanganui Alliance, an approach to infrastructure maintenance involving a public-private partnership.
While that did not reach the finals, the judges were impressed with the initiative that has resulted in an integrated, lower-cost approach to maintaining footpaths and roads. This has allowed the council to reinvest the money saved in its roading network.
These awards have been run across five categories and recognise outstanding leadership and local success stories led by councils around New Zealand across events, community engagement, infrastructure and economic development.
Winners will be announced at the LGNZ conference in Nelson on July 20-22.