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.

Each year, a jury of experts will award up to four prizes for practical or research applications of the EquityTool to an individual author or a team of co-authors. Practitioners, students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty are eligible to participate. Each prize will be valued between $5000-$10,000. See detailed eligibility criteria.

Application forms for the next Gwatkin Prize will open in 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.

Eligibility Criteria

 
  • Complete applications must be submitted by the deadline.
  • Only one submission per project is permitted. Multiple applications may result in disqualification for all applicants.
 

Nominee

  • Author or co-author of a study that uses Equity Tool 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.
  • Has not 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 collabora- tors may be requested prior to prize award.
  • Winners are responsible for distributing prize awards among team members.

Nominated Work

  • Primary data collected between 2016 and 2023 using EquityTool questions.
  • Provide a clear implementation link for how wealth measurement can be used to better target or serve the poor, such as examples, recommen- dations, or guidance for application or data use in practice.
  • Work is, or can be made, publicly available.
  • Submissions that have not been published must have passed an organizational or institutional review. Acceptable formats include peer reviewed article, PhD dissertation chapter, Master’s thesis, practicum report, capstone project report, white paper, organizational report, case study, or best practices report.
  • Submissions should be anonymized to remove identifying individual and organizational names.

Selection Process

A panel of three experts will use a blinded process to assess the methodology, rationale, and impact (or potential impact) of the work. All three criteria are equally weighted. See evaluation criteria. 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 themselvesfrom assessment. 

Selection Announcement

Prize winners will be notified by email and announced on Metrics for Management’s website in 2024.

Evaluation criteria