The Dorothy Bishop Prize 2025
Celebrating the contributions of early career researchers to research improvement
Have you, or someone you know, achieved or contributed something special to improve research or promote open research practices?
UKRN are seeking nominations for the Dorothy Bishop Prize, which recognises and rewards the achievements of early career researchers based in the UK.
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
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 for this prize, you need to be based in the UK and consider yourself an “early career researcher” (ECR).
We consider an early career researcher to be someone who has completed their PhD within the last 7 years. If you have had gaps in your research career, or faced other challenges, such as long-term illness, disabilities, or caring responsibilities, we may consider you as an ECR for a longer time period.
If you are an ECR, you may hold a post-doctoral position, early career fellowship, lectureships/assistant professorship, or equivalent. Nominations of candidates who hold a permanent academic position (e.g., a tenured position) will not be considered.
We encourage nominations of and from individuals that belong to underrepresented groups or groups that have historically been excluded from research.
Self-nominations are explicitly welcome.
How to Nominate
Nominations open 11 December 2024 and close at midnight GMT on Sunday 26 January 2025.
Nominations will be made via an online form. This form asks for the following information:
- the name and email address of yourself and the person you are nominating
- the academic field/discipline of the nominee
- for PhD-holding nominees: the year of obtaining the PhD and any time periods since obtaining the PhD that should not count towards their ‘academic age’ (e.g., due to long-term illness, disabilities, or caring responsibilities; optional)
- whether the nominee belongs to groups that are underrepresented or have historically been excluded from the field of open scholarship (optional)
- whether the nominee has previously received any prizes or awards recognising their contributions to improving research quality or promoting open scholarship, and if so, which ones
- the nomination letter (max. 3,000 characters), which should focus on the nominee’s contribution(s) to efforts to improve research quality or promote open scholarship
Nominations received before midnight GMT on Sunday 26 January 2025 will be considered.
The UKRN Dorothy Bishop Prize Task Force will shortlist based on:
- Evidence of a contribution to the promotion and delivery of activities that have served to improve research or promote open scholarship. Contributions will be evaluated relative to opportunity and access to opportunity.
- Alignment with the mission and values of UKRN.
A task force consisting of members of the UKRN Advisory Committees will evaluate the nominations and create a shortlist. The winner(s) will then be chosen by the Supervisory Board.
Nominees will be notified about whether they have been shortlisted in February 2025.
The winner or winners will be announced at the UKRN Annual Meeting in March 2025.
Link to the nomination form: https://tinyurl.com/UKRN-Dorothy-Bishop-Prize-2025
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns: contact@ukrn.org.
For information on previous award winners: