How the Royal Society of Chemistry is reshaping recognition in the chemical sciences

Recognition through prizes plays a vital role in advancing the chemical sciences. It inspires scientific achievement, supports career development and showcases how chemistry contributes to solving global challenges, covering everything from energy and the environment to health and education.

I remember attending a prize lecture as a PhD student and being introduced to a whole new area of science that both broadened my perspective and directly strengthened my own research. It’s a reminder of how recognition can spark curiosity, foster collaboration and inspire the next generation of scientists.

Traditionally, scientific recognition has focused on individual academic achievement. But in today’s collaborative research landscape, this model no longer reflects how science is done. The reality is that breakthroughs more often than not emerge from diverse, multidisciplinary teams and collaborations working across institutions, sectors and borders, building on work and discoveries done by others.

Yet, recognition systems still tend to spotlight people often in senior roles. This narrow focus risks reinforcing hierarchies and overlooking vital contributions that may be less visible but are no less essential. That is why at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) we have sought to evolve and change how we recognise excellence in the chemical sciences. Our actions over the past five years are outlined in our new Reshaping Recognition report.

Evolving, clarifying and expanding

Preserving the legacy of the RSC’s prestigious 150-year-old prize portfolio is also important, with many awards established in memory of individuals who made significant scientific contributions. Rather than replacing these prizes, we decided to evolve them, clarifying what each one is for to ensure they remain relevant and meaningful in a modern context while honouring history.

Organisations that give recognition often face criticism for only honouring certain types of people. Transparency in the selection process and encouraging nominations from underrepresented groups is key to achieving an inclusive pool, from which selection panels can select winners based on the prize criteria and supporting evidence.

We must continue to break down barriers to nomination, tackle misperceptions as to who prizes are for, and ensure nomination pools reflect the full breadth of our community. Open nominations with clear, transparent processes and excellence measures beyond scientific publications are key to engaging a wider audience and truly reflecting the most significant scientific achievements.

We must also not forget to recognise and celebrate the other facets of excellence vital to the chemical sciences ecosystem: technical excellence, education initiatives, volunteering and those delivering impact in inclusion and diversity. No one prize can achieve everything; it’s important to provide a holistic set of prizes that reflect the full spectrum of excellence in our sector.

It’s also important to recognise that science is achieved through teamwork and collaboration, and everyone part of this deserves to be recognised for their contribution. But recognising teams and collaborations isn’t a simple case of making an existing prize open to teams/groups. Many scientific achievements are cumulative, involving numerous people both formally and informally over time. Recognising specific recent scientific discoveries, advances or impactful initiatives, is one way to recognise everyone behind that achievement.

Nurturing future success

None of this is to say that individual recognition does not still have an important part to play. Celebrating those leading in their field or sector can progress their careers resulting in further development in research, innovation, technical expertise and education. I have seen firsthand how winning a prize early in one’s career, especially when celebrated through community events, can help a prize winner build networks and amplify their work and visibility amongst the community, and go on to become excellent role models and ambassadors within and beyond science.

Prizes are complex and far from perfect. For every winner, there are many other individuals and teams whose contributions are equally valuable but go unrecognised. We will always be limited by the number of opportunities available, but the benefits to prize winners and the wider scientific community outweigh the drawbacks of not providing recognition.

Change takes time and effort, and it requires bringing the whole community along on the journey, but it’s worth it.

It is a journey we’re still on. Misconceptions persist that RSC prizes are only for certain academic researchers or that only senior academics can nominate, neither of which are true, so we have more to do.

But we’re moving in the right direction in reshaping how excellence is recognised across the chemical sciences, and we’ll continue this journey in partnership with our scientific community.