The Celebrating Impact Prize is our annual opportunity to recognise and reward the successes of ESRC-funded researchers who have achieved outstanding economic or societal impacts.
The prize celebrates outstanding ESRC research and success in collaborative working, partnerships, engagement and knowledge exchange activities that have led to significant impact.
The 2018 awards ceremony took place in London on 20 June 2018:
The winners of the 2018 Celebrating Impact Prize are:
Outstanding Early Career Impact (in partnership with SAGE Publishing)
Winner
Dr Abigail Dymond, University of Exeter
Dr Dymond's research led to a new national reporting system on the use of force for all 43 police forces in England and Wales, resulting in more transparent and safer policing.
Finalist
Mr Brett Heasman, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Mr Heasman's insights into autistic people’s perspectives have challenged public perceptions of autism and developed tools to help people with autism and their family members understand each other better.
Outstanding Impact in Business and Enterprise
Winner
Dr Denise Baden, University of Southampton
Dr Baden's work in introducing sustainable practices in the service sector has led to a reduction in hair care salons' carbon footprint and running costs.
Outstanding International Impact
Winner
Professor Kevin Bales, University of Nottingham
Professor Bales' research has resulted in a new tool for estimating the true extent of modern slavery and trafficking across the world.
Outstanding Impact in Public Policy
Winner
Dr Abigail Adams, University of Oxford
Research by Dr Adams was instrumental in advocates’ cases for the Supreme Court's removal of employment tribunal fees.
Finalists
Dr John Drury, University of Sussex
Crowd psychology research by Dr John Drury has enhanced crowd management practices for over 700 local emergency specialists, improved safety for 125,000 festival goers and changed stadium safety procedures throughout UEFA’s 55 member organisations.
Dr Toby James, University of East Anglia
Government measures to encourage eight million eligible UK voters to join the electoral register were prompted by Dr Toby James' research, and helped boost voter registrations by two million in the run-up to the 2016 EU Referendum.
Outstanding Impact in Society
Winner
Professor Emma Renold, Cardiff University
Relationships and sexuality education in Wales has been transformed thanks to Professor Renold's work. Her pioneering participatory research enables children and young people to speak out about gender and sexual violence.
Finalist
Professor Penny Green, International State Crime Initiative, Queen Mary University London
Research by Professor Penny Green, Dr Thomas McManus and Alicia de la Cour Venning at the International State Crime Initiative raised worldwide awareness of the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and highlighted possible stages in a process of genocide.
Impact Champion
Winner
Professor Matthew Flinders, University of Sheffield
Over the past decade, Professor Flinders' mission has been to help UK social science researchers to reach out beyond academia. He has created not only new platforms for impact, but also helped social scientists to think differently about what they do and why they do it.
Panel's Choice: Future Promise
This year the panel made the decision to award a further 'Future Promise' prize to a finalist who showed great promise for impactful research and whose work has much potential but which could be expected to reach its full impact in future.
Mr Brett Heasman, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Mr Heasman's insights into autistic people’s perspectives have challenged public perceptions of autism and developed tools to help people with autism and their family members understand each other better.