Dublin's employee-driven Culture Playbook has won a national award from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), a professional association for local government managers.

ICMA selected Dublin for its Strategic Leadership and Governance Award, recognizing the city's effort to build a shared set of workplace values through employee engagement, according to a city announcement. The award was presented during ICMA's annual conference in Long Beach, California, which ran Saturday, Oct. 17, through Oct. 21.

Lindsay Weisenauer, the city's chief communications and public relations officer, and City Engineer Jeremy Hoyt accepted the award on Dublin's behalf. Weisenauer also presented a conference session on civic trust, fiscal transparency and public engagement, sharing examples of Dublin's approach to communication.

"Our Culture Playbook gives us a shared language for who we are and how we work together," Weisenauer said in the city's announcement. "Its value is not simply in articulating our culture, but in helping us live it every day …"

The playbook grew out of a 2023 employee engagement survey completed by nearly 70% of city staff. Five focus groups involving 40 employees and a collaborative workshop helped define the framework. It centers on three core beliefs: Better Together, Driven by Excellence and Dedicated to Service.

All full-time employees went through an eight-hour training session on those principles in 2024. The rollout introduced a concept called "20 Square Feet," encouraging each employee to take ownership of their immediate sphere of influence at work.

The city said the playbook has since been woven into onboarding, leadership development, department meetings and recognition programs such as the Strongest Link award and Celebration Stations. In a 2025 post-implementation survey, 74% of employees said the city operates according to strong values. Seventy percent reported feeling a sense of inclusion among coworkers.

ICMA received more than 200 nominations across five Outstanding Local Government Program Award categories. Awards are given in three population tiers: fewer than 10,000 residents, 10,000 to 49,999 and 50,000 or more.

Award recipients are featured in the October 2026 issue of PM magazine.