See our 2022 awards brochure.
Winners
Outstanding business and enterprise impact
Winner: Professor Susan Durbin, University of the West of England
Project: Mentoring support for women through an industry-wide mentoring scheme
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
Research into the under-representation of women in the UK aviation and aerospace industry has led to the introduction of a unique, industry-wide mentoring scheme which supports women to build their careers in a traditionally male-dominated profession.
Outstanding early career impact
Winner: Dr Pamela Buchan, University of Exeter
Project: Prioritising marine citizenship for ocean recovery in policy and practice
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
Research into what promotes a willingness to preserve the marine environment has led to a range of initiatives by local authorities, conservation charities and marine organisations which are changing people’s relationship with the ocean.
Outstanding international impact
Winner: Professor Michael Bruter, London School of Economics
Team application: Electoral Psychology Observatory with Dr Sarah Harrison, London School of Economics
Project: Optimising citizens’ electoral experience
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
Research on the psychology of election participation has shaped understanding of electoral best practices internationally. It has led to more accurate election polling, improved election processes, and a better electoral experience for citizens, especially for those who are electorally under-represented, such as disabled people, minority ethnic groups and first-time voters.
Outstanding public policy impact
Winner: Professor Lorraine Dearden, University College London
Team application: Project 2.5: Issues in the financing of higher education, Centre for Global Higher Education with Professor Bruce Chapman, Australian National University
Project: Transforming student loans for higher education in Colombia
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
A research collaboration has supported radical reforms to Colombia’s university student loan system. From 2023, up to 10,000 extra poorer students annually will be able to access higher education, while the Colombian government will secure higher revenues from loan repayments over the long term.
Outstanding societal impact
Winner: Dr Daisy Fancourt, University College London
Team application: UCL COVID-19 Social Study Team with:
- Jess Bone, University College London
- Alexandra Bradbury, University College London
- Dr Feifei Bu, University College London
- Dr Alex Burton, University College London
- Dr Meg Fluharty, University College London
- Dr Karen Mak, University College London
- Dr Tom May, University College London
- Dr Alison McKinlay, University College London
- Dr Elise Paul, University College London
- Professor Andrew Steptoe, University College London
- Dr Katey Warran, University College London
- Dr Liam Wright, University College London
Project: Providing real-time insight into the psychological impact of COVID-19 nationwide
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
The COVID-19 Social Study provided real-time insight into the psychological and social impacts of the pandemic. These insights shaped national and local COVID-19 policies, helped charities and health organisations support individuals, and informed the public as to how best to protect their own mental health and wellbeing.
The John Hills Impact Prize 2022
Winner: Professor Heather Joshi, University College London
Project: Informing policy by documenting generational change in social and gender inequality
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
As a leading architect of ESRC’s prestigious longitudinal studies infrastructure, Professor Heather Joshi CBE has made an outstanding contribution to social science. Her influence on government policies relating to women, employment, working families and pensions is evident in the everyday lives of British people across multiple generations.
Finalists
Outstanding early career impact
Finalist: Mr Winfred Dotse-Gborgbortsi, University of Southampton
Project: Geospatial analysis for Ghanaian maternal healthcare delivery and international policy
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
An ESRC-funded PhD project has increased the quality and accessibility of birthing services for 1.8 million women living in Eastern Ghana and its nearby regions. It has also provided new methods for using health and survey data to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in developing countries around the world.
Outstanding public policy impact
Finalist: Professor Laura Bear, London School of Economics and Political Science
Project: Introducing a social calculus of disadvantage to UK COVID-19 policy
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
Research into the impact of COVID-19 on families, neighbourhoods and communities influenced policies on the right to say goodbye to loved ones, social bubbles for extended family networks, the prevention of racialised stigma, and the UK’s first national community health initiative.
Finalist: Professor Philip McCann, The University of Manchester
Team application: Productivity Insights Network with Professor Tim Vorley, Oxford Brookes University
Project: Productivity Insights Network & RM UK Regional and Urban Inequalities
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
The Productivity Insights Network has offered new perspectives on the cause and effect of comparatively low productivity in the UK. These insights are informing policy debates and strategy at the devolved, regional, and national levels.
Finalist: Professor Nicola McEwen
Project: Strengthening UK inter-governmental relations in an era of constitutional change
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
Research has highlighted fundamental weaknesses in the relationships between the UK government and the devolved administrations and shaped new reforms that promise more transparent and effective intergovernmental processes and practices. The research has also influenced UK government legislation designed to help protect the outputs of effective joint working between the UK and devolved governments.
Outstanding societal impact
Finalist: Professor David Gadd, The University of Manchester
Project: Shaping national and regional domestic abuse policy and practice
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
Research into why some young men subject women to coercive control and violence has shaped new interventions by charities and support services and influenced domestic abuse policy at national and regional levels. It has also fostered the introduction of preventative domestic abuse education in secondary schools, which is helping to reduce the number of young men who become perpetrators of domestic violence, as well as protecting women.
The John Hills Impact Prize 2022
Finalist: Professor Jane Millar, University of Bath
Project: Helping UK’s benefits system deliver financial security and stability
Video credit: ESRC
On-screen captions and an autogenerated transcript are available on YouTube.
Professor Jane Millar OBE has drawn on her deep understanding of social policy to inform the social security provisions on which the lives of millions of people in the UK depend. From her influential ESRC-funded research on lone parenthood to her contribution to debates about Universal Credit and its design, she has made a profound contribution to recent developments in the welfare state in the UK.