The MRS President’s Medal 2024 – Finalists announced
15 November 2024

The MRS President's Medal is awarded annually to organisations and individuals that have made an extraordinary contribution to research but does not have the institutional framework to be recognised by the standard MRS Awards programme.

This year’s finalists are:

Professor Michelle Morris, Dr Emily Ennis, Dr Francesca Pontin, Dr Victoria Jenneson & Stephen Clark, University of Leeds with Asda and Sainsburys for ‘Enhancing retailer knowledge and building capacity using consumer data to make healthier and more sustainable food choices.’

Research by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC based at the University of Leeds) is changing how supermarkets promote products to customers and how they deliver their services. This is helping shape buying behaviour and encouraging people to make healthier and more sustainable food choices in their supermarket shop.

The team of researchers from the CDRC were awarded an ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize for supporting healthier consumer habits. They won in recognition of the work they are doing to improve access to healthy and sustainable diets for customers of major food retailers. They collaborated with Asda and Sainsbury’s to analyse their data, for example from shopping transactions and loyalty cards to test interventions that promote healthy and sustainable diets.

On winning the award, Professor Michelle Morris who led the research said

‘Our work in the Business and Enterprise category has delivered impact within business but importantly to communities that are most in need of support to access healthy, sustainable, and affordable food. This work has been a result of effort from a diverse team at the University of Leeds and our partners. We hope that it inspires others to play their part in research that makes a difference.’

Professor Sharron Hinchliff, University of Sheffield Nursing and Midwifery, School of Allied Health Professions & Pete McKee for ‘Sex lives of the over 50s: Ending the Stigma’.

Tackling the long-ignored topic of sexual health in older adults, this research has led to the development of the UK's first sexual rights charter for people over 50, challenging societal taboos and fostering a more open discussion about aging and sexuality.

Dr Sharron Hinchcliff’s research is the first in the UK to identify sex and intimacy as two key components of quality in life of older adults and has been used by the World Health Organisation. Helping to bring Sharron’s work to life is Pete McKee, an artist from Sheffield.

The resulting Sexual Rights Charter, aims to help health and social care professionals, service providers and the community to develop inclusive practices and policies, and ensure that people are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve, whatever their age. It can be used in different environments, such as GP surgeries and community spaces to raise public awareness of this sensitive and much neglected issue. The Charter was created as a result of extensive consultation with the public, professionals, and organisations in Sheffield. It is supported by a suite of materials including guidance notes, FAQs, and a problem statement. 

Professor Richard Moorhead, Dr Rebecca Helm & Dr Sally Day, University of Exeter, Dr Karen Nokes, University College London & Paul Gilbert, LBC Wise Counsel for ‘The Post Office Scandal: lawyers’ ethics and ruined lives’.

Prof Richard Moorhead and Dr Rebecca Helm (SSIS) were awarded ESRC IAA funding to investigate the legal judgements around the Post Office scandal. They worked with LBC Wise Counsel and an expert Advisory Group during this project. They liaised with Sub-postmasters, a range of lawyers, and journalists engaged in reporting on the scandal.

Their work has ensured professional misconduct by lawyers is a primary focus of the ongoing public inquiry, demonstrated the devastating mental health impact of unfair accusations on sub-postmasters, and aided their search for compensation and justice.

The team’s research into why innocent people plead guilty to crimes they did not commit helped lay the groundwork for the blanket exoneration for all convicted sub-postmasters rather than forcing them to each battle a complex appeal process to prove their innocence.

The experts won “outstanding societal impact” category at the Economic and Social Research Council’s Celebrating Impact Prize 2024. The prizes recognises and rewards ESRC-funded researchers who have achieved impact through exceptional research, knowledge exchange activities, collaborative partnerships and community engagement.

Their formal submissions in writing and in person to the opening hearing of the Inquiry were described as powerful by the judge, leading to the Inquiries’ terms of reference being broadened to encompass lawyering for the PO. The judge also decided, following their urging, to deepen the Inquiry by ensuring that legal professional privilege was waived by PO, Fujitsu, and the relevant Government Departments. Legal Professional Privilege is a particularly strong form of confidentiality that would have prevented the Inquiry from looking at legal advice and documents pertinent to its work. Without this lifting of privilege, the Inquiry would have been like Watergate without the tapes.

A ginger group looking to strengthen regulation to ensure independence and ethicality in the face of commercial pressure was set up and, with the authors assistance, produced a paper aimed at In-house lawyers taking charge of their independence in business. The professional regulators are taking a keen interest in the Inquiry and the policy implications of the work. Professional misconduct investigations are underway, and the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority has announced a thematic review into risks around the in-house lawyer role.

Professor Reidun Norvoll, YouCount, European Union Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Programme for ‘Empowering youth and co-creating social innovations and policymaking through youth-focused citizen social science’.

 
YouCount is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme and aims to address one of Europe’s most pressing challenges: How to increase social inclusion for young people?

From previous studies we know that social inclusion is experienced when three main criteria are met: participation, belonging, and citizenship. But do young people understand social inclusion that way? They may agree that participating in social life in a meaningful way or feeling connected to others is important, but there may be other dimensions of social inclusion that are relevant for them. Young people also know better than anyone else, what their daily lived experiences of inclusion and exclusion are.

Hands-on citizen science involves researchers and young co-researchers creating local living labs, doing interviews, developing dialogue forums, organising local and national workshops, and using and app specifically created to gather and share daily lived experiences of inclusion and exclusion. It also involves co-evaluating our impact and how co-created citizen social science worked across the cases as well as within each case.

We call this type of research Youth Citizen Science.

The project has contributed to more knowledge of the processes and outcomes of citizen social science through evaluation data. YouCount has also supported Responsible Research and Innovation and contributed to strengthen the science-society relationship, by engaging young people, stakeholders, and the scientific community in research and innovation. The project has developed new methods for interaction, communication, and science education, demonstrating advancements in science communication and education. Dissemination efforts have reached over 6,000 people, exceeding expectations.

The winner will be revealed at the MRS Awards in London on the 2 December