The Harding Prize for Trustworthy Communication
...for communication that helps
Coming soon: 2022’s Harding Prizes for Trustworthy Communication
To be announced Spring 2023
When we have a decision to make, or we want to understand someone else’s decision, we often look for a source of trustworthy evidence on the subject. Yet balanced, useful evidence can be hard to find.
In association with Sense About Science and the Science Media Centre, the Winton Centre for Risk & Evidence Communication celebrates those who tackle the communication of evidence well, with the annual Harding Prize for Trustworthy Communication.
2021's Winners
The Harding Prize for 2021 was jointly won by the ONS Covid Infection Survey and the Cochrane Review of Hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19.
Helen Boaden, Chair of the judging panel, commented:
“It's never been more important for the public and policy makers to have access to the best possible evidence before they make significant decisions for themselves or others.
Both our winners set the gold standard for clearly communicating accurate, trustworthy, transparent data without frills or spin. The panel is delighted to jointly award them the inaugural Harding Prize.”
The ONS Covid Infection Survey are using their prize money to support lectures, presentations and events in Universities, themed around ‘statistics for the public good’. They are targeting universities with a high proportion of students from under-represented backgrounds to highlight the importance of our data for shaping government policy and therefore encourage them to take up a career in statistics.
For the 2022 prize, there will be two categories: communication of evidence for a general audience, and for a specialist audience.
We believe that everyone has a right to balanced evidence on issues important to them; evidence presented in a transparent way, to inform but not persuade. So often, communication is focussed on giving people a ‘take home message’, telling them what to think or do.
These prizes are designed to reward those who are trying to help their audiences make up their own minds on the basis of the best evidence available: communication purely for the benefit of the audience.
What kind of evidence?
The Harding Prizes are specifically for those who try to gather together the information that helps someone make a decision, or make their mind up about a subject, without trying to tell them what to do.
It might be designed for a general audience, to help people make a significant decision in their own daily life: about their personal finances, their health, their education, or a big life change.
It might be designed for a more specialist audience, to help those making a decision on behalf of others: perhaps if they’re policymakers, head teachers, or business leaders.
Maybe it will help people make a decision about what to think: on the pros and cons of a big issue - like nuclear power, tax policies or drugs laws.
What subjects and formats?
Those above are just examples. The range of eligible subjects, audiences and media is wide, and could include almost anything involving a significant decision. For the 2022 prize, there will be two categories: one for communications of evidence to a specialist audience, and one for communications to a broader, general public audience.
‘Communication' might mean a news article, a social media posting, a website, a leaflet, a report, original research in a journal, a podcast, TV, a speech... As long as it can be taken in within ten minutes (e.g. not a book), and you can provide it to us in full for judging.
Communications must be in English but can originate from any country, worldwide. Entries must have been placed in the public domain during 2022.
How is ‘good’ judged?
To aid decision-making, good communication should, above all, be trustworthy. It should primarily serve the interests of the audience, not the communicator. It will present evidence in a balanced and clear way, and it should include uncertainties and limitations of the evidence.
Information should be appropriate for its audience in content, length, depth and format. And it should be clear about what it’s trying to achieve: for example, does it mainly inform, or does it try to persuade?
The prize
Each Harding Prize is worth £3,141.59
Judging panel
Entries will be shortlisted by: Sir David Spiegelhalter, Dr Alexandra Freeman, Sir John Aston, Michael Blastland, Prof Sander van der Linden and Dame Theresa Marteau.
The final Harding Prize winners will be chosen by a panel, including: Helen Boaden, Helen Jamieson, Fraser Nelson and Professor Onora O’Neill.
Who can enter?
Anyone can submit an entry – which can either be a piece of your own work, or something that you have seen and appreciated.
In order to be awarded the Harding Prize, the originator of the communication must be correctly identifiable.
Closing date: 31st December 2022.