Ten shortlisted entrants for this year's Bennett Prospect Public Policy Prize are in the running to win £10,000.
The ten shortlisted entrants for the Bennett Prospect Public Policy Prize Prize have been announced. Each early career public policy professional/researcher answered this year’s question, ‘Is it possible to govern well in the age of populism?’
There was a record number of short essays and films submitted from across six continents giving different perspectives, answers, and solutions to this very real worldwide inquiry.
The judges included Professor Michael Kenny, Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Professor Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, Professor David Runciman, Department of Politics & International Studies, University of Cambridge, and Tom Clark, Editor of Prospect Magazine.
Says Tom Clark: “The question this year — about the challenges of governing well in a populist age — was bound to provoke interest, and indeed the number of entries went up. From the pitfalls and potential of devolution in the English regions, to the potential role of sortition (that is, picking politicians by lot) there was plenty of food for thought. The top few entries — and the eventual winner in spades — mixed authority and urgency as they grappled with the big political question of our time: namely, how to fill in the missing link between the governing and the governed.”
Each shortlisted entrant will receive a one-year digital subscription to Prospect Magazine.
The three finalists, including one winner who will receive £10,000, will be announced on Tuesday 6 April 2021.
Congratulations to the following shortlisted entrants
- Tom Arnold, Research Associate, University of Liverpool – “Institutional shock absorbers: decentralising governance in the age of populism”
- Rachel Bruce, Civil Servant, UK Government’s Policy Lab – “Is it possible to govern well in the age of populism?”
- Nina Foster, Clerk, House of Commons, UK Parliament – “Deep Democracy: a proposal for governance in the age of populism”
- Jon Guest, Senior Economic Policy Manager, Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority – “The Doncaster Canary & Hartlepool Monkey: Local experiences of governing well under populism”
- Oliver Large, Senior Policy Analyst, Centre for Social Justice – “Closing the gap between representation and governance: the case for the random selection of party candidates”
- Keegan McBride, Postdoctoral Researcher, Hertie School, Germany – “Happiness, Equality, and Participation: What can Bhutan, New Zealand, and Estonia teach us about how to govern in the time of populism?”
- Phalasha Nagpal, Assistant Consultant, Oxford Policy Management – “Collaborating with political leaders and citizenry is the key to good governance in an age of populism”
- Rishan Sathasivam, Independent Policy Researcher / Technology and Social Policy, Sri Lanka – “Good Governance and Populism in the Developing World”
- Callum Watts, Policy Fellow, UK Cabinet Office – “Populism as a reaction to the troubles of good governance”
- Masibulele Zonyana, Head: Public Employment & Skills Development, City of Cape Town – “Is it possible to govern well in the age of populism? Yes under the following conditions”
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
