Innovation Through Partnership Prize

Deadlines

• Nominations open 15 October.
• Nominations close 14 January, 17:00 GMT.

Eligibility

Individuals named in any of the following roles during the nomination and judging period are not eligible to nominate, be nominated or provide a reference:

• Technical Excellence, Partnerships and Professional Development Selection Panel members
• RSC Subject Community Presidents
• RSC Prize Committee members
• Trustees of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Royal Society of Chemistry staff 

Nominators:

• Both RSC members and non-members can nominate for this prize.
• Self-nomination is permitted (see below for details of who and what can be nominated).

Nominees:

• This prize is open to partnerships where at least one contributor is based within the UK and Ireland.
• The prize is open to teams and collaborations of any size, comprising at least two different organisations working together in partnership to deliver impact for the chemical sciences.
• Any form of partnership between organisations can be nominated, working either between or across sectors (government, industry, education, research institutions, third sector, etc.)
• Partnerships will not be awarded more than one RSC prize for the same work.

Guidelines for nominators

General information

• Nominees should only be nominated once for this prize in any given prize cycle. In cases where we receive more than one nomination for the same nominee, only one nomination will go forward to judging.
• Since 2023, we have been trialling a process where all unsuccessful nominations will automatically rollover once, to be considered for the next round of the prize, unless the nominee's circumstances have changed to make them ineligible. This means that:
  • All nominations submitted for the first time for a 2024 prize will be considered for a 2025 prize. We strongly encourage nominators to update their nomination between cycles when the nomination window is open.
  • The RSC Prize Committee will review the outcomes from the trial in July 2025.

Submitting your nomination

Please use our online nominations system to submit the following information:

• Your name and contact details. The identity of nominators is not made known to our judging panels. The RSC reserves the right to amend nominations if necessary to ensure the anonymity of the nominator.
• Details of your nominated partnership, including details of an individual who can act as a point of contact for the nomination.
• A short citation describing what the partnership should be awarded for. This must be no longer than 250 characters (including spaces) and no longer than one sentence.
• Supporting statements, addressing the selection criteria:
  
  • How and why did this partnership come about? What has each partner contributed to this partnership, and how does each partner add value? (max. 500 words)
  • What has the partnership achieved to date, and what is the impact and legacy that this partnership has had on the chemistry community (and beyond)? How have the achievements been disseminated? (max. 750 words)
• References are not required for this prize and will not be accepted.

Our guidance for nominators page has more information on writing these supporting statements.

The RSC reserves the right to rescind any prize if there are reasonable grounds to do so. All nominators will be asked to confirm that to the best of their knowledge there is no impediment, relating to professional conduct, to their nominees receiving this prize. All prize winners will be asked to sign the RSC’s Code of Conduct Declaration for Recognition.

Selection Criteria and Judging Panel

Partnership and collaboration are essential to tackle many of the challenges we face in the 21^st century. The purpose of this prize is to highlight and celebrate examples where people have come together to drive impactful initiatives with positive outcomes for the community.

The selection committee will consider the following aspects of nominations for this prize:

• Scope of partnership – the rationale behind the partnership and the contributions made by each partner
• Achievements, impact and legacy – including the technical, environmental or societal benefits arising from the partnership

Technical Excellence, Partnerships and Professional Development Selection Panel

• Paul Brewer, National Physical Laboratory (Chair)
• Berceste Beyribey Price, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
• Joanne Copping, Climax Molybdenum UK Ltd
• Paul Holland, Cranfield University and Loughborough University
• Lucy Kavanagh, National Nuclear Laboratory
• Katty O'Brien-Quilty, AWE
• Chris Workman, Luminate Education Group