Applications close in…
Applications close: 5pm, Tuesday 26 August
We have a distinguished panel of judges, chosen for their deep knowledge of policy and how it works in practice, as well as to provide a balanced jury from across the political spectrum.
Chaired by the Rt Hon David Gauke, former Cabinet Minister and recent lead for the government review into prison sentences, our panel includes Kanishka Narayan MP, Yuan Yang MP, Katie Lam MP, Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, Rachel Wolf and Polly Mackenzie.
Applications will open on Monday 23rd June 2025 and applicants will have until close of play Tuesday 26th August to submit their entries. There is no limit on the number of individual awards UK-based think thanks can enter and there is no cost to submit an entry.
An initial review of entries will take place in September with the final judging session to be held in October.
Supported by Lloyds Bank, the awards ceremony will take place at the British Academy, 10-11 Carlton Terrace, on Wednesday 12th November, 7 – 9pm. The ceremony is invite-only.
There are 8 award categories and each think tank may apply for each category once.
The highest honour! The judges are looking for the think tank that has demonstrated excellence across a number of areas and outperformed over the year. This is the top prize – how have you captured the policy zeitgeist this year and really driven impact or change?
Aimed at think tanks that are less than five years old but are offering a new and exciting voice in the policy sphere. This award seeks to reward excellence as well as recognise a think tank’s potential to become a driving voice and institution in the future.
Each think tank may nominate one member of staff, in any role, for this award. The recipient will need to demonstrate excellence in their day to day job as well as making an outstanding contribution to their think tank that goes beyond that.
Each think tank may nominate one research member of staff. The judges are looking for examples of excellent research skills and high quality outputs that have had an impact outside of their organisation. The winner will also be able to demonstrate how they bring extra value to their organisation.
Each think tank may submit one publication. The judges are looking for publications that have made a strong argument, grounded in evidence, with rigorous research at its core. The winning publication will be one that demonstrates originality, has persuasively argued for a change or for a new policy focus and is well-written and engaging.
This award recognises think tanks that have used their convening power to have impact and achieve momentum on a policy issue. It is not about having one big high-profile event or being able to secure senior politicians as speakers, it is about being a place where you bring together different groups to help move the policy debate forward.
Think tanks are increasingly being more proactive in advocating for change to a wider audience. The Best Campaign award is about recognising those campaigns that tell a compelling story and advocate for change, and have built a campaign around a coherent workstream that delivers and advocates for real impact.
This category is to reward those who have taken risks to try and do something better in the future. The innovation can be in research, a new policy area, communications, operations or fundraising. The judges are looking for innovations where you can show us that you have done something differently or tried something new.
And for a bit of fun we will also be taking nominations for the following three categories
which will be decided by a vote from the attendees at the awards ceremony:
Killer Stat of the Year
Niche Report of the Year
Report Title of the Year
