1. Aim

The Mzia Mikeladze PhD Thesis Award aims to promote research by young scholars on public administration and public policy in the NISPAcee region and to acknowledge outstanding work and a significant contribution in the field. The award was created in recognition of Mzia Mikeladze’s contributions to the discipline, professionalism, and organisation of NISPAcee. 
More about Mzia Mikeladze.

2. Description of the award

The PhD Thesis Award is a recognition which is announced and presented during the annual NISPAcee conference. It comprises a certificate, together with a waiver of NISPAcee conference fees for three consecutive years. The recipient of the award is also invited to present his/her PhD thesis at the annual conference. The recipient of the award also has the possibility to publish an overview of the dissertation in the NISPAcee journal.

3. Submission process

• Deadline for nominations for the year 2024: December 1, 2023

The award is announced to NISPAcee members on the NISPAcee website. Nominations have to be submitted by 1st December of any given year. Nominations can be made by the institution where the thesis has been defended. Each institution can submit one nomination. Nominations should be sent to e-mail: nispa@nispa.org

4. Award Committee

The award committee will be appointed by the NISPAcee Steering Committee for a three-year term. The committee comprises a Chair and two additional members.

5. Eligibility Criteria

• Nominations can be made by the NISPAcee member institution where the thesis has been defended.
  
• The PhD thesis should have been defended during the 18 months prior to the nomination deadline.
• Eligible for the award would be: 1) monographs written in English; 2) cumulative theses written in English; 3) theses written in mother tongue with the condition that at least part of the thesis has been published in an international peer-reviewed journal.

6. Documents to be submitted with the nomination

(a) An overview of the thesis in English. The overview should be 4000-5000 words and describe the work done (research questions, theoretical basis, findings, implications).

(b) A letter of recommendation from the institution.

(c) The nominee’s CV.

(d) Indication of whether – and if so, when and in what form the dissertation or parts thereof have already been published.

(e) A copy of the PhD diploma.

7. Criteria for selection

(a) Contribution (theoretical, methodological, practice-related) to public administration and public policy.

(b) Innovativeness of the work.

(c) Theoretical soundness and appropriate research strategy.

(d) Relevance of the conducted research for the NISPAcee region (theoretical and/or practical).

The committee’s recommendation is announced to the NISPAcee Steering Committee and the Chair of the committee announces the decision to the candidate. The Chair of the committee announces the award, the rationale of the selection and the laudation during the opening ceremony of the NISPAcee conference.

Awards

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