Prize Information
Davidson Gwatkin Equity Measurement Prize
The Davidson Gwatkin Equity Measurement Prize recognizes the application of the EquityTool and its data to assess and improve services that reach the poor or to gain insight into wealth equity in low- and middle-income countries. A jury of experts will award up to two prizes for practical or research applications of the EquityTool to an individual author or a team of co-authors, as well as up to three honorable mentions. The two prizes will be valued at up to USD $7,500. The top prize winner will also receive a USD $5,000 travel stipend to participate in the Health System Research Conference to present their work at a sponsored side session. Practitioners, students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty are eligible to participate. Application forms for the Gwatkin Prize will be open from July 8, 2024 to August 11, 2024.
About Davidson Gwatkin
Davidson (Dave) Gwatkin is a leading global voice on how to apply pro-poor policies and programs to make health systems more equitable and advance progressive universalism.
As an advisor to the World Bank, the African Development Bank, WHO, UNICEF, the Rockefeller Foundation, and other agencies, he has worked to assure that the poor are the focus of development efforts and that they remain at the center of measuring development success.
In doing so, he has inspired two generations of experts in health, agriculture, education, and economics, guiding them to understand that development success should be measured by the effects on individuals and families, not on national statistics.
In addition, Dave champions measurement as central for all development work and believes that the measurement of wealth can play an important role in all equity-focused efforts. He has advised the development of the EquityTool since 2010, and has served as a Global Advisor to Metrics for Management since 2015. With Dave’s help, the EquityTool has grown into an efficient and valid tool, easy and fast enough to serve the needs of a national government, international donor, or local school, NGO, or clinic. Application Steps
- Complete applications must be submitted through the application portal by the deadline of 11:59 pm EDT on August 11, 2024.
- Only one submission per project is permitted. Multiple applications may result in disqualification for all applicants.
Nominee Eligibility
- Author or co-author of a study or implementation project that uses EquityTool questions.
- Either:
- Full-time staff at a public or private organization such as a government agency, non-governmental agency, or technical firm. Independent contractors are not eligible unless the contractor can demonstrate a dedicated and prolonged relationship with the organization through a contract of, or series of contracts totaling, at least one year of continuous engagement.
- A student, postdoctoral scholar, or faculty affiliated with a university or similar research organization.
- The individual applying has not received, or been part of a team that has received, a Davidson Gwatkin Prize in the previous submission cycle.
- Nominees representing collective work must certify that all team members or co-authors support the submission at the time of application. Letters of agreement and support from collaborators will be requested at the time of application.
- Nominee, or a representative from their team, is able to travel to Nagaski, Japan during the Health Systems Research conference (November 18-22,2024) to present the work in-person at a conference side session on November 19, 2024.
- Commitment to participate in promotional activities related to your submission, such as a webinar, social media posts, written case study, interviews, or presentation of your work at the Health Systems Research Conference.
- Winners are responsible for prize receipt and management, as well as travel stipend (if awarded). Prize winners are responsible for any applicable taxes.
Nominated Work
- Primary data collected/application of the EquityTool questions between 2019-2024.
- Provide a clear implementation link for how wealth measurement can be used to better target or serve the poor, such as examples, recommendations, or guidance for application or data use in practice.
- Work is, or can be made, publicly available.
- Submissions should be anonymized to remove identifying individual and organizational names.
See previous examples of Gwatkin Prize winners in 2022 and 2021.
Selection Process
A panel of three experts will use a blinded process to assess the methodology, rationale, and impact (or potential impact) of the submitted work. All three criteria are equally weighted.
In the case of a tied score, a fourth judge will be invited to assess the submission. Experts affiliated with the project or institution will recuse themselves from assessment.
Selection Announcement
Prize winners will be notified by email and announced on Metrics for Management’s website in September 2024.
Evaluation criteria
