How to nominate for the Lush Prize

The Lush Prize is a global initiative aiming to bring forward the day when safety testing takes place without the use of animals. It’s the largest global prize fund of its kind and every two years we provide £250,000 funding across five prize categories, in addition to two non-financial prizes.

Since our launch in 2012 we have given £2.4 million in funding to 120 projects in 28 countries

Whether you are a scientist developing non-animal testing methods, a campaign organisation raising awareness about animal experiments, or a young researcher requiring financial support or recognition for your efforts to avoid animal use, We encourage you to submit a nomination to the Lush Prize 2022.

This is a global prize fund – we encourage submissions from anywhere in the world.

There are six main categories of award:

Public Awareness – rewarding individuals or organisations raising public awareness of ongoing animal testing (£50,000). Part of the funds are provided to help finance a future project, in addition to rewarding past/current work.

Science – individuals, research teams or institutions conducting work on relevant toxicity pathways (£50,000).

Lobbying – rewarding the work of individuals, groups or organisations pushing for change, focusing on policy interventions promoting the use of non-animal methods (£50,000).

Training – individuals, teams or organisations involved in training others in non-animal methods (£50,000).

Young Researcher – young scientists (up to 35 years at the time of application) with a desire to fund the next stage of a career focussed on an animal-test free future (£10,000 each to 5 young researchers)

Political Achievement – open to elected political officials in any country. This award recognises the essential work politicians do to create lasting legal change for animals and science. It is a non-financial award.

An additional prize, for which nominations cannot be submitted, is given at the discretion of the Lush Prize organisers and Judges:

Black Box – offers, in any one year, the full £250,000 Lush Prize fund for projects most likely to lead to practical non-animal tests which could be accepted by regulators. So far, this has only been awarded in 2015.

Finally, another non-financial award for which nominations cannot be submitted (this is awarded at the discretion of the Lush Prize judging panel):

Andrew Tyler Award – for outstanding contribution towards ending animal testing.

Making a nomination is easy:

  • First of all, think about your project / team / individual – does it match what the Lush Prize is about? Does it conduct outstanding work to end animal testing, particularly in toxicology / safety testing?
  • Which category of award does your nomination fit into? For example, a campaign group persuading companies to stop testing cosmetics on animals should be nominated for the Public Awareness award
  • In the About the Prizes section of the website click on the relevant award category. Here you will find some information about the category and the sorts of work that are eligible
  • The nominations forms are designed to be simple – provide as much information as possible but ensure it is relevant to the questions asked
  • Write a draft nomination first and think about the kinds of work carried out and how they fit in with the Prize. Give specific examples of work and outcomes and dates. It is this evidence that the Lush Prize Team rely on during shortlisting of nominations. The work should have been conducted in the previous two years, except for Young Researchers and Public Awareness – Future, which includes proposed work which the Prize money can fund
  • The Lush Prize focusses on the 1R of complete replacement rather than reducing or refining animal experiments, so ensure the project you nominate fits this criteria
  • For any of the science categories, read the eligibility guidelines to ensure the nominated project meets the scientific and ethical criteria of the Prize
  • Complete your nomination!

 

What happens next?

  • You will receive an automated notification confirming we’ve received your nomination
  • After the deadline of 17 June 2022, the Lush Prize Team meets to discuss all nominations and select a shortlist
  • This shortlist then goes to an international and independent panel of judges. They are experts in all areas of lobbying, campaigns and science in relation to animal testing. They alone decide the winners
  • Winners are informed and invited to attend the Lush Prize Awards Ceremony (which will be held online in November 2022) to receive their prize

 

Don’t forget – all nominations must be received by 17 June 2022. Good luck!

Any questions? Then feel free to contact us.

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25 April 2022