ESRC Announces Finalists for Celebrating Impact Prize
Ranging from jurisprudence to autism, the loss of a baby to the growth of equality in science education, the work of the finalists in the seventh annual Celebrating Impact Prize competition —announced today
— represent a broad cross-section of meaningful work from Britain’s social and behavioral researchers.
The Economic and Social Research Council’s Celebrating Impact Prize rewards ESRC-funded researchers who have achieved impact through outstanding research, knowledge exchange activities, collaborative partnerships and engagement with different communities. The ESRC, a public body, is the United Kingdom’s largest funder of research on social and economic questions.
Winners in the four award categories – Outstanding Public Policy Impact, Outstanding Societal Impact, Outstanding International Impact and Outstanding Early Career Impact – will be revealed in a ceremony at the Royal Society on July 9. (SAGE Publishing, the parent of Social Science Space, cosponsors the Early Career award.)
All finalists will see a professionally made film created around their work and its impact, while each winner receives £10,000 to spend on their work or furthering that work’s impact.
Finalists, and their research focus, are:
Louise Archer, Julie Moote, Emily Macleod, Jennifer DeWitt and Becky Francis (University College London) | Improving equity in science participation: impact of the ASPIRES and ASPIRES2 research
Nic Cheeseman, Susan Dodsworth (University of Birmingham), Justin Willis (University of Durham) and Gabrielle Lynch (University of Warwick) | Strengthening elections and accountability in new democracies
Chloe Holloway (University of Nottingham) | Improving the support of autistic individuals detained in police custody
Steve Martin, Dan Bristow and James Downe (Cardiff University; Wales Centre for Public Policy) | Enabling ministers to access and apply evidence that improves policy decisions and delivery
Susan McVie and Lesley McAra (University of Edinburgh) | Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime: increasing the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland
Shona Minson (University of Oxford) | Delivering guidance on the sentencing of mothers: safeguarding children’s rights and wellbeing
Kate Reed, Elspeth Whitby (University of Sheffield) and Julie Ellis (University of Huddersfield) | Challenging taboos and changing practice: the case of baby-loss and post-mortem
Entrants’ applications were reviewed by academics, engagement and knowledge exchange experts and research users, and shortlisted applicants were invited to an interview, along with non-academic supporters who helped describe the impact of the work.
