Since 2012 EASST has been celebrating collaboration and cooperation in our field through a set of awards presented at the biennial conference.
Rationale
The tension between the recognition of individual achievement and the appreciation of collective contribution is a long observed dilemma of the academic endeavour. Although there is some evidence in the wider knowledge system of a shift toward team efforts and greater collaboration, the institutional career reward system has increasingly favoured individually authored publication outputs as the prime measure of performance. This is accompanied by a growing tendency toward competitive point-scoring between institutions.
As an organisation representing a broad collection of professional scholars and researchers, the EASST Council believes there is a need to restore a healthier balance within the reward system between individual achievement and collective contribution. There is a need to recognise more explicitly significant types of collaboration or leadership that has contributed to the cohesion of, and community within, our field. EASST awards are designed to reward outstanding activities, which have significantly developed interactions between individuals and resulted in novel and influential collaborative results. There is a significant potential of STS scholarship in Europe for influencing politics and public dialogue, which is not sufficiently exploited. The creation of awards can help to remedy this by creating more visibility of STS insights.
The three awards were named in the honour of individuals who are no longer with us, yet have left an enduring imprint on our distinctive European scholarly identity over the last 30 years. The awards, however, are not exclusively intended for single individuals but can also be given to an organization, a community or a group of people.
Freeman Award
In honour of Chris Freeman this award will be made for a publication which is a significant collective contribution to the interaction of science and
Amsterdamska award
In honour of Olga Amsterdamska this award will be made for a significant creative collaboration in an edited book or special issue in the broad
Ziman Award
In honour of John Ziman this award will be made for a significant innovative collaborative activity to promote public interaction with science and technology. This
General conditions for the awards
The three awards of €1000 will be presented at the EASST conference. EASST requests prize-winners to be present if at all possible, clarifying their availability in the application.
- An underlying criteria for all awards is evidence of collaboration
Collaborations should have a distinctive European dimension - The award process will be managed by the EASST Council
- Self-nominations are accepted
- Submissions for one award may be considered for another if deemed appropriate
- Council members are not eligible as leaders of collaborative awards during the time of their service
- Submissions will only be accepted if they include a completed nomination form.
- Submissions must include a copy of all materials (PDFs or links), which the nominator wishes to be considered.
- For the Amsterdamska and Freeman awards, contributions must have been published in 2022 or later. For the Ziman award, current impact/influence should be demonstrated.
Nominations should be submitted via this online form by 15 January 2024.
