We are delighted to announce that Priscilla Samey and Karen Torres Alarcón are the winners of the 2021- 2022 George and Teresa Smith Awards. The annual awards acknowledge academic achievement on the Comparative Social Policy and Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation Master's courses.
George Smith Award
The George Smith Award for the best Comparative Social Policy thesis in the academic year 2021-22 has been awarded to Priscilla Samey for the thesis: “A Refuge for Refugees? A Cluster Analysis of United States’ Refugee Resettlement Policy”.
Priscilla said: “This thesis was the culmination of not only a year of learning, but also, the many ways the department has supported me. It is a privilege and honour to see that support lead to the George Smith Award."
Teresa Smith Award
The Teresa Smith award for the best Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation thesis in the academic year 2021-22 has been awarded to Karen Torres Alarcón for the thesis “A School for Democracy: Citizens' experiences of political empowerment in Latin American participatory budgeting processes - a qualitative evidence synthesis”.
Karen said: "I am honoured to receive this award for my thesis on the transformative effect of participatory budgeting on citizens’ political empowerment in Latin America. The department’s support, and in particular that of my supervisor Dr. Ben Verboom, was essential throughout this challenging and rewarding process. The idea for this research originated from my belief in the potential of deliberative spaces to form empowered and critical citizens, ultimately strengthening our democracies. I am grateful to the department for the opportunity to write about this."
Find out more about the history of the George and Teresa Smith Awards
