Celebrating the contributions of Early Career Researchers to research improvement

UKRN are seeking nominations of Early Career Researchers to recognise their achievements and contribution to open research.

We particularly encourage nominations of individuals whose work has perhaps not yet achieved the recognition it deserves and would benefit from the recognition associated with this award.

The Award

This year there will be up to three awards. The winners will each be awarded a prize of £500 (in the form of an Amazon voucher) and a “Doscar” (a Lego minifigure of Dorothy Bishop).

Who is Eligible?

You can nominate yourself, or nominate another person with their permission.

To be eligible of this prize you must be a resident of the UK. We will also consider previous UK residents who have recently moved out of the UK, for activity primarily conducted whilst in the UK.

We define “Early Career Researcher” as a person in a post-doctoral position or early career fellowship, having completed a PhD within the previous 7 years; however, we will also consider nominees with gaps in their research career. We include early career faculty (i.e., those with the position of lecturer / assistant professor or equivalent) in this definition.

If you feel like you’re an Early Career Researcher, please consider yourself eligible to apply.

How to Nominate

Nominations open Tuesday 15th November 2022 and close on Friday 27th January 2023.

Please send an email to contact@ukrn.org with the subject line Dorothy Bishop Prize 2023 Nomination.

  1. Include in your email a short (1 page) letter explaining your nomination, with a focus on the contribution to efforts to improve research quality – broadly defined – made by your nominee
  2. Please ensure that you sign your nomination letter (an electronic signature is acceptable)
  3. Include a contact email address for your nominee, so that we can let them know they’ve been nominated

Nominations received before midnight GMT on Friday 27th January 2023, will be considered.

The UKRN Advisory Board will shortlist based on:

  • Evidence of a sustained contribution to the promotion and delivery of activities that have served to improve research quality in the UK.
  • Evidence that the award will raise the profile of the work of the nominee in a way that will improve, for example, uptake and adoption of the activity.
  • Alignment with the mission and values of UKRN.

Examples might include, but are not limited to, innovative approaches to training, community building, good citizenship, and advocacy.

Nominations of / from individuals that belong to groups that have historically been excluded from research are particularly encouraged.

Nominees will be notified that they are shortlisted in February 2023.

The winner will be announced at the UKRN Annual Meeting in March 2023.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns: contact@ukrn.org