Pagabo names shortlist for first Community Impact Awards ahead of Manchester ceremony

Pagabo has published the shortlist for its first Community Impact Awards, filling 41 shortlist places, with GRAHAM, Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure, Willmott Dixon and AtkinsRéalis among the firms named ahead of the ceremony in Manchester on 19 November.

The public sector procurement specialist, which operates frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems, published the shortlist on 5 October. It said an independent judging panel had reviewed the nominations and chosen the finalists in each category.

The awards recognise projects, organisations and individuals that Pagabo said are making a lasting difference to communities across the UK. All proceeds from the event go to the Pagabo Foundation, which works to improve mental health awareness and wellbeing, and money will also be raised on the night for three charities to be named before the ceremony.

Karen Carter, Public Sector Director at Pagabo, said: "Great procurement and delivery should leave communities better than it found them. These awards exist to prove it does."

A new event

The Community Impact Awards are being held for the first time in 2026. Pagabo launched them on 16 June as a new awards platform. The company's previous awards event, the Pagabo Awards 2025, was held on 5 June 2025 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Hull, the company's home city.

Pagabo described Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, the venue for the first ceremony, as having a strong community focus and industrial heritage.

The judging panel listed on the awards page includes Amanda Pilgrim (CIOB), Alison Nicholl (Constructing Excellence), Joanne Williams (NFB), Antoneta Horbury (CIHT), Michelle Walker (YPO), Helena Stannard (Hull City Council) and Ethan Campbell (Loop). Pagabo has measured its social value figures through Loop since 2017, and reported in January 2024, after what it said was its 10th year in business, that works and services procured through its frameworks had enabled £6bn of social value.

The shortlist

The project of the year award is split into four value bands. In the up to £3m band the finalists are St Giles Community Centre (Stem Architects), Peterborough Key Theatre (Lindum Group) and Blakenall Community Centre Refurbishment (CBES).

The £3m to £10m band shortlists Cradley Heath Skills Campus (Speller Metcalfe), Unity Centre (Kier), and Leeds City Academy and Northgate Community Diagnostic Centre, both from Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure. Leeds City Academy is a returning name: it won Best Collaboration Project Between Frameworks for Morgan Sindall Construction at the 2025 Pagabo Awards.

In the £10m to £50m band are the Thorpe Hesley mining water treatment scheme in South Yorkshire (Kier Group and The Mining Remediation Authority), The Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA) by AtkinsRéalis, Walsall Household Waste Recycling Centre & Waste Transfer Station (Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure) and Chiswick Health Centre and Key Worker Accommodation (Willmott Dixon Construction).

The £50m+ band shortlists Millers Quay (GRAHAM), Millennium Lodge (Willmott Dixon) and the University of Gloucester City Campus in the former Debenhams building (Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure).

Several schemes appear in more than one category. GRAHAM's Millers Quay is shortlisted three times, for £50m+ project, Social Value in Action and Outstanding Legacy. HICSA is also up for three awards, adding Sustainability & Net Zero and Outstanding Legacy to its project band nomination. Thorpe Hesley, Millennium Lodge and VINCI Building's Blackpool Government Hub at Talbot Gateway each appear twice.

Four individuals are shortlisted for the Future Leader Award: Alice Dudley of Speller Metcalfe, Chris Godfrey of Beard, Jamie Hodkinson of M Group and Owen Bush of Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure.

The shortlist for the Collaboration Excellence Award is being held back until the night. The full list of finalists is set out in the table below.

Mental health focus

Pagabo said at launch that the awards are led by the Pagabo Foundation, and that the Mental Health Award is judged separately by the Foundation's trustees. Its two finalists are Millennium Lodge (Willmott Dixon) and the Seddon Mates in Mind Champion Model (Seddon Construction).

Jason Stapley, chief procurement officer at Pagabo and chairman for the Pagabo Foundation, said: "Global stigma around mental health is slowly dissipating, but it remains a prominent issue within the construction sector."

He said money raised from the awards would give financial support, particularly to SMEs, to access mental health training and support services. The Foundation was set up under his leadership and marked its fifth anniversary in October 2024.

What happens next

The ceremony runs from 5pm to 11pm on 19 November at Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, M17 1AB, with a smart casual dress code. Pagabo said tickets are still available, with proceeds going to the Foundation, and that the three charities benefiting on the night will be announced ahead of the event.