A DSPI student has said he is ‘excited and grateful’ after his project was selected for a prestigious research grant by The Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy.
Ertuğrul Polat, DPhil student and Barnett Scholar, hopes his research can be used by policymakers and advocates to improve the social rights and welfare of children in Europe.
He is among 25 scholars who have received the grant in recognition of their work pursuing innovative and urgent policy research addressing contemporary issues in social sciences.
His project, Understanding the Variation in Social Policies for Vulnerable Children in Europe: Policies, Politics, and Outcomes, has also been awarded the Robert K. Merton Award, for an outstanding project addressing the relationship between social theory and public policy.
Ertuğrul, who is supervised by Mary Daly, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, said:
'I am very excited and grateful to be selected as one of the scholars working on some of the most crucial challenges facing our world today, and honoured to also receive the special Robert K. Merton Award.'
Ertuğrul’s research investigates the conditions suitable for the development of social policies for disadvantaged children in European welfare states, where they have emerged as one of the most vulnerable groups in recent years.
He aims to grow understanding around the pathways to child-friendly policies by revealing the opportunities as well as obstacles which exist to social justice for children.
