The Doctoral Award Guidelines


1) Introduction

The society has introduced an award for the "Most Distinguished Body of Research leading to the Award of a Doctorate in the field of OR".

2) Eligibility

The first award will be made at The OR Society Annual Conference in September 2009. This is an annual award with the qualifying period being the calendar year during which the PhD (DPhil) was defended / approved. The qualifying period for nominations runs from 1 January until 31 December for each specific year. The thesis being submitted for consideration must have been examined at a UK University within the relevant time period. The PhD student is NOT required to be a member of the society.

3) Award

The winner of the award wins a cash prize of £1500. There could also be up to two runners up who would receive £500. In addition, the successful candidates would be expected to present their work at the annual conference of The OR Society. A significant contribution towards to cost of the conference would be available to all prize winners. The winner would also have their name engraved on the George Paterson shield as a permanent record of their achievement.

The Committee may decline to make an award if it considers that none of the entries is of sufficient merit.

4) Entry

There are three elements to this:

  1. A nomination from the External Examiner of the thesis. This should be about 750 words in length and illustrate how the work done meets the criteria for this award.
  2. An extended abstract written by the student. This should be about 1000 words in length and contain a summary of the work done and how it contributes to the academic development of the subject area. The abstract should be clearly understandable to an informed lay reader. A list of published (including those submitted for publication) works as a result of the research should be included as an Appendix.
  3. A report from the supervisor of the student. This should contain a list of people involved in the viva along with five potential advisors who are able to comment authoritatively on the quality of the research.

All submissions should be to Carol McLaughlin, Head of Professional Services [email protected].

5) Selection

The Doctoral Prize Selection Committee will meet to produce a shortlist from the entries submitted. The Selection Committee select a winner and up to two runners-up based on refereed reviews of the shortlisted dissertations.

The criteria for the award are as follows:

  • How conceptually robust the research is, in terms of all relevant theory from all relevant disciplines
  • The level of originality in terms of the synthesis provided, and the new insights it has developed
  • How relevant the work is in terms of potential implementation
  • Why the methodology adopted during the research is better when compared to alternative approaches to the issues addressed
  • The clarity of explanation with appropriate links to all relevant literature
  • The extent to which it provides a platform for further related developments

6) Conditions

Conditions of the award are that:

  • finalists will present their work at The OR Society’s annual conference.

7) Procedures

The award will be advertised each year in Inside OR. The closing date for the receipt of submissions will be 31 May. The Doctoral Award Selection Committee will meet in September to produce a shortlist from the entries submitted. If judged necessary, each dissertation may be sent to two independent referees, selected for their expertise in the particular field of research.

The Selection Committee meet in October to select a winner and up to two runners-up, based on the submitted document and any reports of the referees.

The winners will be notified of the requirement to present their work at the annual conference. The overall winner will be announced at the annual conference and the award will normally be presented at the Blackett Lecture.

Current Awards Panel practices

The publicity programme is determined at the Award Panel meeting in September. Relevant copy is submitted for inclusion in Inside OR. After 31 May, the Head of Professional Services acknowledges receipt of entries. Members of Doctoral Award Selection Committee review entries to select a shortlist in September. Referees are selected to review the full dissertations of the shortlist. The Selection Committee meet in October to review the referees’ reports and to select the winners.

The winner is invited to present their work at the society’s Beale Lecture.

Citation is sent to Research & Publications Coordinator. The George Paterson shield (plus individual shield) is engraved for presentation at the Blackett Lecture.

It is current practice that announcements relating to the Doctoral Award shall be published on the society’s website as well as in Inside OR.