Social Sciences shine at O2RB Excellence in Impact Awards
Congratulations to the 5 winners of the O2RB Excellence in Impact Awards which were announced on Thursday 19thApril in a ceremony at St Anne’s College, Oxford.
These awards recognise and reward those who have achieved significant economic and social impacts in society. They include projects which have worked to support HIV prevention in Africa, made substantial improvements in operational practices in the Chinese healthcare system, overturned Supreme Court judgement on employment tribunal fees, and improved legal practitioner awareness of the implications of maternal sentencing.
The overall Impact Champion award was presented to Dr Rachel Condry (Centre for Criminology, Faculty of Law, Oxford) for her work to prevent Adolescent to Parent Violence (APV).
Dr Condry's research included the first large-scale study of APV in the UK and provided systematic evidence of the size and the scale of the problem. Findings from the research have enabled agencies to justify and evidence the need for a coherent response to APV, and have been instrumental in raising public awareness of this form of violence. The involvement of a multi-agency group including government departments, statutory bodies and third sector services led to the first recognition of APV in UK government policy and subsequently to publication by the Home Office of official guidance for professionals. This guidance has been widely used by statutory and voluntary agencies across the UK, leading to local changes in practice and to date, remains the only government guidance on the problem of APV.
Chair of the O2RB Excellence in Impact Awards panel, Professor Mark Pollard (Associate Head of Division (Research), Social Sciences Division, Oxford) said: 'The award winners have achieved some truly exceptional impacts from their research, and the panel are delighted to reward their successes and look forward to seeing how these initiatives continue to grow. Judging was extremely competitive and it was a pleasure to see the breadth and depth of entries, and the strong partnerships that have been supported by the O2RB partnership.'
The O2RB Excellence in Impact Awards are supported by the Oxford ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), the O2RB regional impact partnership (the University of Oxford, University of Reading, Oxford Brookes University and The Open University) and Taylor & Francis.
FULL LIST OF AWARD WINNERS
Impact Champion
- Dr Rachel Condry, Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford
Forging public awareness and developing policy responses to adolescent to parent violence
Dr Condry created the first and only (to date) large-scale study of adolescent to parent violence (APV) in the UK, and provided systematic evidence of the size and scale of the problem. Guidance created for the Home Office based on the research has now also been used by statutory and voluntary agencies across to the UK, leading to changes in local practice.
Excellence in Impact Award Winners
- Professor Abigail Adams and Professor Jeremias Prassl, Department of Economics and Faculty of Law, University of Oxford
Access to Justice and the Economics of the Rule of Law
Research by Prof. Adams and Prof. Prassl was instrumental in the overturning of employment tribunal fees at the Supreme Court. Adams, an economist, and Prassl, a lawyer, had explored whether adverse economic barriers could constitute a barrier to justice in UK and EU law. They collaborated directly with the senior barristers on the case, which was won in July 2017.
- Professor Lucie Cluver & the Young Carers team, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford
Making Impact Matter for Vulnerable Adolescents Across Sub-Saharan Africa
Professor Cluver and team have used their research to demonstrate that a combination of economics and social support (‘Cash plus Care’) in Sub-Saharan Africa has a strong impact on reducing adolescent HIV risk behaviours. Partners including UNICEF, USAID, the World Bank and governments are now supporting the roll-out of this programme, benefitting 2 million adolescent girls.
- Dr Weizi Li, Henley Business School, University of Reading
Integrated healthcare information system for medical and care quality improvement
Dr Li’s research on information sharing and integration has led to a collaboration with senior hospital managers in China to develop and implement and integrated data platform. Since the first pilots, the platform has become a digital health company and is listed on the Chinese stock exchange. The platform has reduced medical errors, waiting and enquiry times, and duration of stay for inpatients.
Early Career Impact Champion
- Dr Shona Minson, Centre for Crimonology, University of Oxford
Safeguarding Children when Sentencing Mothers
Dr Minson has brought significant attention to the need to consider children whose mothers are imprisoned: her research has shown how little they are considered at sentencing. She has produced films and briefing papers which have been embedded across the justice system and had led to changes in sentencing processes, as well as outcomes in individual cases.
