02RB Excellence in Impact Awards 2021 – Wolfson Winner’s announced

The Excellence in Impact Awards, supported by the University of Oxford’s ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, recognise and reward social scientists whose research has achieved excellent economic and social impact. This year’s winners have collaborated with policymakers, industry partners, academics and NGOs around the globe to impact a wide range of complex and urgent societal challenges; from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on rates of parenting stress and child abuse, to European cities’ policies and practices towards irregular migrants, and the imperative to educate drivers on the dangers of hands-free phone use. The Chair of the Awards panel, Professor Heather Viles (Associate Head of Division (Research) for the Social Sciences Division, University of Oxford) said, ‘I am delighted to announce the winners of the O2RB Excellence in Impact Awards 2021. We received an exceptionally strong set of applications this year, demonstrating the incredible breadth of impact that social sciences researchers are having across society. I am looking forward to the Awards ceremony on 19th October and the opportunity to hear our winners speak live about their collaboration and impact journeys.’

Dr Jamie Lachman and Professor Lucie Cluver (Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford), have received the award for their Scale-up of evidence-based parenting programmes for more than 196 million people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Jamie Lachman and Professor Lucie Cluver’s COVID-19 Playful Parenting Resources have reached more than 196 million people around the world since March 2020, helping to reduce violence against children and improving child wellbeing during the pandemic.

 The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented stress for families around the world, with the pressures of lockdowns, economic crises, and mental health distress corresponding to a significant increase in violence against children. With school closure leaving some 1.8 billion children out of school, Dr Lachman and Professor Cluver pivoted rapidly to form an interagency emergency response: in collaboration with international partners, they adapted their evidence-based Parenting for Lifelong Health programmes into easily accessible ‘playful parenting resources’, which were swiftly endorsed by multinational agencies including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UNODC, USAID, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Early Childhood Development Action Network, and the Global Partnership to End Violence.

Soon translated into over 100 languages, disseminated in 192 countries and territories, and adopted by 33 governments as part of their national COVID response, the resources have been shown to have significantly reduced child abuse and parenting stress, as well as improving parent-child relationships and coping strategies amongst families around the world.

Reacting to their award, Dr Lachman and Professor Cluver said, ‘We are delighted to receive this recognition for the impact of our research that was made possible by an unprecedented global collaboration across sectors in such a time of crisis. The impacts of COVID-19 will continue to affect the lives of children and families for many years. Our research teams continue to work together with partners to make sure that every parent, everywhere has access to evidence-based parenting support that is accessible, informative, and useful.’

Hear Dr Lachman and Professor Cluver reflect on their impact journey at the Awards ceremony on 19th October