Policy@manchester in line for national impact award
11 May 2016
The annual ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize is an opportunity to recognise and reward researchers and professional staff whose work has made a real difference to society or the economy
A member of professional support staff working in our policy engagement arm has been shortlisted for a prestigious prize in the ESRC Celebrating Impact Awards.
Engagement Manager Alex Waddington is on a two-person shortlist in the Impact Champion category, which recognises an individual who has a significant personal track record in supporting and enabling others to achieve impact.
The prize is awarded to ESRC-funded social science researchers who have achieved impact through outstanding research, collaborative partnerships, engagement or knowledge exchange activities.
There are many different ways in which social science can change our society for the better, for example through contributing to the development of UK public policy; improving management practices of businesses; or helping a particular group in society. To reflect this there are five different categories, as well as a prize for the Impact Champion - an individual who has a significant personal track record in supporting and enabling others to achieve impact.
A prize of £10,000 is awarded to the winner of each category, whilst a further prize of £10,000 is awarded to the Impact Champion.
The awards ceremony will take place at Central Hall, Westminster on the evening of 22 June 2016, where the winners will be announced.
The shortlist for the 2016 Celebrating Impact Prize are:
Nominees for Impact Champion
Ms Briony Turner, King’s College London
Mr Alex Waddington, University of Manchester
Nominees for Outstanding Early Career Impact (in partnership with SAGE Publishing)
Mr Martin Hearson, London School of Economics & Political Science
Dr Kath Murray, University of Edinburgh
Nominees for Outstanding Impact in Public Policy
Dr Rachel Aldred, Westminster University
Dr Rachel Condry, University of Oxford
Dr Nick Gill, University of Exeter
Nominees for Outstanding Impact in Society
Dr Jo-Anne Bichard, Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design
Professor Theresa Gannon, University of Kent
Professor Jane Oakhill, University of Sussex
Nominees for Outstanding International Impact
Professor Melissa Leach, University of Sussex
Professor Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics & Political Science
Dr Cathy Zimmerman, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Commenting on the shortlist, Professor Jane Elliott, Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council, said:
"The 2016 Celebrating Impact Prize provides an opportunity to reward those individuals who have achieved the best possible impact from their work, and through outstanding social science research have made a great difference to society. I look forward to hearing about the winners on 22nd June."
The shortlist was selected by a panel of experts from a wide range of submissions which included written evidence from organisations that have used the research to shape their policies and practice. This year’s panel consisted:
- Professor Annette Boaz, Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Kingston University
- Martin Coleman, ESRC Council Member and Global Head of Antitrust, Competition and Regulatory Practice at Norton Rose LLP
- Vanessa Cuthill, ESRC Deputy Director Evidence, Impact and Strategic Partnerships (Panel Chair)
- Professor Tim Dafforn, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Professor of Biotechnology, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham
- Graeme Nicol, SME Consultant
- Andrew Shaw, Evaluation Advisor, Department for International Development (DfID)
- Jane Tinkler, Head of Social Science, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)