Eleven shortlisted research projects are competing for the public’s vote, with ballots closing at midnight on 15 November 2026.
The Office for National Statistics has opened public voting for its 2026 Research Excellence Awards People’s Choice Award, with 11 entries drawn from the top-scoring eligible submissions. Each person may cast one vote. The awards recognise research carried out using secure data owned or managed by the ONS, and this year’s theme is “Enabling research for the public good”.
Voting covers entries across four subject areas: education, employment, crime and justice, and population and social insights. An independent panel of experts from the research community assessed all applications before the highest-scoring eligible entries advanced to the public ballot. Applications closed at midnight on 6 September 2026.
One shortlisted project, led by Dr Paul Garcia, examines links between early socio-emotional and cognitive difficulties, school exclusion and adolescent offending — drawing on linked education and criminal justice records across three national cohorts of pupils in England. It’s the kind of research that relies on access to administrative data that wouldn’t otherwise be available to individual academics.
The People’s Choice Award is one of five categories in the 2026 programme, alongside Impact of Analysis, Government-led Impact of Analysis, Administrative Data Research UK Excellence in Methods, and Data Creation. Winners will be announced at the ONS Secure Research Service Conference in central London on 24 November 2026.
Key information
- Vote deadline: midnight on 15 November 2026
- One vote per person is permitted
- 11 entries are in the public ballot, drawn from the four subject categories
- Awards ceremony: 24 November 2026, ONS Secure Research Service Conference, central London
Source: @ONS
Public vote opens for ONS Research Excellence Awards 2026 People's Choice Quiz
5 questions