The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) annual Innovation Awards program has been acknowledging creative approaches to regional community and economic development since 1986. Since the program’s inception, more than 1,300 projects have been honored.

The 2012 Innovation Award winners are making a difference in their regions through a variety of program areas. These include business and economic development, emergency planning, sustainability, technology, and workforce development programs. The award winners’ projects are profiled according to various categories; contact information for each awardee can be found in the project descriptions.

Click here to view this year’s booklet with descriptions of the winning projects.