Newton Prize 2020 Chair’s Prize category announced

An additional prize category with funding of up to £500,000 has been confirmed for this year’s Newton Prize. The 'Chair’s Prize' will be awarded to one project from this year’s application pool of research partnerships between the UK and Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa and Turkey.

Applicants for the Chair’s Prize will need to demonstrate in detail how their research addresses one of three United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals:

• Goal 3 Good Health & Well-Being - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
• Goal 5 Gender Equality - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Goal 11 Sustainable Cities & Communities - Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Newton Prize 2020 Committee Chair, Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London said: "In a year with so many challenges, I am happy that we will award the additional Chair’s Prize to recognise the significant impact pioneering collaborations have on improving the world. The prize will support innovative research across borders that is making a profound difference to people’s lives and bringing lasting and positive change. It will be an honour to be able to present a Chair’s Prize to the impressive Newton Fund grant holders who epitomise the sustainable development goals."

The Chair’s Prize has featured in the Newton Prize since 2016, but this is the first year that the criteria for applying and winning has been directly linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.

How to apply

Newton Prize 2020 applicants who were successful at Part A will be invited to submit their Part B proposals on Tuesday 2 June 2020 (12 midday BST UK time). At this point, any applicant successful at Part A can now choose to apply and compete for the Chair’s Prize or their Country Prize. Applicants cannot apply for both; they must choose one category to apply for at Part B.

Visit our Newton Prize pages for more information including frequently asked questions.