Federal Innovation Award
A digital platform that grows with each edition
A multilingual awards website with a verifiable voting process and building blocks for the next edition.
Client
FPS Policy and Support (BOSA) / Nido, the federal government’s innovation lab
Zenjoy services
Digital architecture, development, CMS setup, voting module, advice on future editions and launch support
Sector
Federal government and public sector innovation
Design
Indian Dribble (2023 design concept) and ProFirst (2026 design)
Editions
2023 and 2026
Technology
Nimbu CMS, Liquid, Nimbu Cloud Code, TypeScript and Alpine.js
Status
2026 edition completed; the website features the winners
Visit the awards website
The challenge
Through the Federal Innovation Award, Nido highlights innovative initiatives within the federal government. The first edition took place in 2023. The 2026 edition introduced new categories and a new visual direction. The website needed to give calls for entries, candidates and winners a clear place, in both Dutch and French.
There was also a voting process for the Innovation Initiative award. Five finalists were presented to federal civil servants, who could each cast a vote. Voting needed to feel straightforward while following clear rules: only approved email domains, one vote per email address, no voting for your own initiative, and confirmation by email.
Zenjoy’s challenge was to turn the new design into a working whole without starting from scratch each time. The content and voting mechanism needed to remain useful for future editions and accommodate new requirements. This also included support when the website and voting went live.
From a single edition to a reusable foundation
For the 2026 edition, we built a new website drawing on our experience from 2023. We could reuse the voting module, while the page structure made room for additional award categories, candidates, jury members and winners. In Nimbu, we built the website from adaptable components, allowing the team to assemble and update pages as an edition progresses. Every decision took future plans into account: leaving enough room for new requirements without building unnecessary features in advance.
The same digital foundation can support every stage: the call for entries and applications, the presentation of finalists, voting and the announcement of winners. The previous edition received its own retrospective on the new website. For Nido, this meant that much could be reused, with new features added where needed.
Bringing design and development together
Indian Dribble created the design concept for the 2023 edition; ProFirst designed the 2026 edition. Zenjoy handled the digital architecture, development, launch and support for both editions. We translated the visual direction into working pages, forms and reusable building blocks. Project discussions made room to refine graphic elements and create new components when the awards content called for them.
That collaboration required flexibility: the new design needed to come into its own while the logic behind categories, entries and votes remained reliable. Working with Sven was clear and enjoyable. He asked questions proactively, challenged ideas constructively and kept a close eye on quality. Together, we could make decisions that also worked technically and organisationally. Zenjoy supported the team around the launch and continued to advise on a future edition.
Checking and confirming every vote
The voting process is linked to five nominated initiatives. The application checks whether the email domain is eligible, whether the address has already been used to vote and whether it belongs to the nominated initiative. Voters receive a confirmation email and confirm their vote through a personal link. Only confirmed votes count towards an initiative’s total.
The Dutch and French versions follow the same rules. Reminder emails are also available for votes that have not yet been confirmed. This keeps the voting process clear for participants and manageable for the organisers.
From a choice to a valid vote
Choose
One of the five nominated initiatives.
Email check
Approved domain, one vote per address and no voting for your own initiative.
Confirmation email
The voter receives a personal confirmation link.
Valid vote
Only confirmed votes count.
Ready for future editions and a potentially wider audience
The website is built around categories and content blocks that can be reused or adapted. The voting logic is also sufficiently separate to allow the rules to be revised for each edition. If Nido wants to invite a wider audience to vote in a future edition, the participation rules and communications can be adapted accordingly. This is a possibility for the future, not a feature that was open to everyone in 2026.
The result
The 2026 edition brought candidates, judging, voting and winners together on one multilingual website. The public results show the scale of the programme:
- 1,231 valid votes for the Innovation Initiative award, cast by federal civil servants;
- 27 innovative initiatives, from which five finalists were selected for the vote;
- 66 nominations for the Possibility Manager award;
- 33 student projects and 9 candidate organisations for Strategic Anchoring.
These figures relate to the award edition. The website and voting module helped organise the process digitally; we do not attribute participation solely to the website.
The project’s value also lies in what remains. Nido could reuse components from 2023 and add new features for 2026. The extensible architecture leaves room for new categories, a different visual direction and, potentially, a broader voting process. The award makes innovation within the federal government visible and shows how teams are working towards better public services.
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