The BSHS Outreach and Engagement Committee is delighted to invite nominations to the BSHS Ayrton Prize 2021. This prize is awarded once every two years to recognise outstanding digital engagement in the history of science, technology and medicine (HSTM).

We interpret the term “digital engagement” broadly to include:

  • publicly accessible websites, or clearly defined contributions to existing web-based projects
  • podcasts and audio or video projects created for online delivery
  • online forums for public dialogue and discussion
  • social media initiatives (the nomination should be for a well-defined and publicly identifiable campaign or series of activities, rather than a general engagement presence)
  • smartphone apps
  • citizen science-style public engagement projects delivered online
  • virtual/augmented reality environments
  • simulations and models based on historical sources or data
  • projects using digital methods to make source materials more accessible to a wider audience (for example, 3D imaging of historical objects)
  • research projects which apply digital humanities approaches to HSTM sources or metadata, provided they have a public engagement element
  • digital tools and utilities to aid the work of public engagement professionals.

If you are interested in nominating a project which seems to fall outside these categories, please contact the organisers for clarification.

To be eligible, entries should

  • have been created or updated with substantial new content within the last two years (since early- to mid-2019)
  • directly or indirectly support engagement or dialogue between specialists in the HSTM community and non-specialists
  • Reflect current best practice in both HSTM and digital engagement.

Judging

The projects will be evaluated using the following criteria:

  • Does the project reflect current scholarship in HSTM?
  • Does the project display good digital design principles? Is it easily navigable and accessible?
  • Is it innovative in its technical and/or scholarly approach?
  • Does it make effective use of the medium?
  • Is the content accurate and, where appropriate, supported by appropriate references to scholarly sources or further material?
  • Is it useful to HSTM practitioners and/or is it informative and interesting to public audiences? Is this well evidenced in the application?
  • Are there clear and feasible plans to secure the longer-term future of the project?

Previous Winners of the BSHS Ayrton Prize

Entering

Nominations should come from representatives of the projects themselves. If you feel that a project you did not work on directly should be nominated, please encourage the project developers/managers to apply.

Entrants should complete this short form and send it to ayrton@bshs.org.uk. All queries should also be sent to this address.

The closing date for entries is 30 July 2021.

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