Inclusion and Diversity Prize

Key information

Deadlines

• Nominations open 15 October.
• Nominations close 14 January, 17:00 GMT.
• Reference deadline 21 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 (as an individual or as part of a team) or provide a reference:
  
  • Inclusion and Diversity Prize Committee 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.
• Nominees may nominate themselves (see below and 'Guidance for Nominators' for further information). 

Nominees:

• The prize is open to nominees based in the UK or internationally.
• Both individuals and teams can be nominated.
• There are no career stage restrictions associated with this prize.
• We will not consider nominations of deceased individuals.
• We particularly encourage nominations of disabled people, those who work part-time, or whose career has spanned a break for any reason – for example, a period of parental or adoption leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, family commitments, or other circumstances. We understand that these can impact a nominee’s career in different ways, and encourage nominators to use the space provided on the nomination form to explain the nature and impact of the nominees’ individual circumstances (see 'Guidelines for Nominators' for further details).
  • Please do not hesitate to contact the team at awards@rsc.org should you have any questions about the above.

Guidelines for nominators

General information

• When nominating previous RSC prize winners, please remember that a person cannot be awarded twice for substantially the same body of work.
• 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.

To make a nomination, please use our online nomination system to submit the following information:

• Your name and contact details. The RSC reserves the right to amend nominations if necessary to ensure the anonymity of the nominator.
• Your nominee's name(s) and contact details. 
• Any information related to career breaks taken by your nominee - for example, a period of parental or adoption leave, caring responsibilities, long-term illness, family commitments, as well as any other circumstances including long-term conditions or disabilities. We understand that these can impact a nominee's career in different ways, and encourage nominators to use the space provided on the nomination form to explain the nature and impact of the nominee's individual circumstances. This information will be shared with the committee, but before doing so RSC staff will always seek consent from the nominee in cases where special category data is mentioned. 
• A short citation describing what the nominee should be awarded for. This must be no longer than 250 characters (including spaces) and no longer than one sentence.
• Supporting statements addressing each of the selection criteria as follows:
  • Describe the nominee's approach or initiative, and engagement with their intended audience (250 words)
  • Describe the novelty, originality and innovation of the approach or initiative (250 words)
  • Describe the impact that the nominee's work has had on the community (250 words)
    
    Our guidance for nominators page has more information on writing these supporting statements.

• The name and contact details of one referee. For a team nomination, the reference should be for the team as a whole.
  • The reference should be a maximum of 750 words. Referees will be asked to state their relationship (if any) with the nominee and note any conflicts of interest.
  • All references must be submitted through the online system by the reference deadline, 21 January, 17:00 GMT. Nominations will not go forward to judging without a completed reference. Please ensure you submit your referee's details in plenty of time, to allow them sufficient opportunity to provide their reference.
  • As soon you submit your referee’s details, they will receive an automated e-mail with a link to submit their reference. Please contact awards@rsc.org as soon as possible if you experience any issues with this.
  • It is the nominator’s responsibility to ensure that the referee is aware of the nomination, that they should expect an e-mail invitation to submit their reference, and that they are aware of what is required to ensure that the reference is submitted before the deadline.
  • All referees will receive one e-mail reminder from RSC staff in the week before the reference deadline. 

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 nominee 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

Our selection committees base their evaluations on the overall quality of relevant contributions and achievements by nominees, in relation to the selection criteria listed below.

The selection committee will consider the following aspects of all nominations for the Inclusion and Diversity Prize as appropriate:

• Novelty, originality and innovation
• Extent of engagement with the intended audience
• Impact on others in the community

Inclusion and Diversity Prize Committee

• Robert Mokaya, University of Nottingham (Chair)
• Kevin Coutinho, Windsor Fellowship
• Patricia Forbes, University of Pretoria
• Don Green, London Metropolitan University
• Leonie Jones, University of York
• Steve Smith, Syngenta
• Baljit Thatti, Kingston University