Awards 2025

In 2025, we continued to celebrate original and outstanding contributions to research focused on the analysis of regional issues. This year, all of our award ceremonies will be held online.

You can watch the recordings of the online ceremonies below.

2025 Sir Peter Hall Contribution to the Field Award

2025 Regional Leadership Award for Policy and Practice – Individuals or organisations in policy and practice who work at the interstices with academia and other forms of research to develop the field and practice of regional studies and science.

2025 Distinguished Service to Regional Studies – This award recognises those who have made an important contribution to the field, either through long-lasting service or a brief but impactful intervention.

2025 Paul Benneworth Award – This award is for registered PhD students who have not yet received their PhD certificate.

2025 RSA & Routledge Early Career Award – This award is for early career researchers (defined as being within five years of the date on their PhD certificate or equivalent).

2025 Nathaniel Lichfield Recent Master’s Award – this award is for recent Masters graduates who have graduated within the previous year.

2025 Best Book Award

2025 Regional Studies Best Paper

Social Infrastructure and ‘Left Behind Places’

John Tomaney, University College London, UK
Lucy Natarajan, University College London, UK
Dimitrios Panayotopoulos-Tsiros, University College London, UK
Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, University College London, UK
Myfanwy Taylor, University College London, UK

2025 Regional Studies Policy Debates Best Paper

A Capability-approach Perspective on Regional DevelopmentA place-based system? Regional policy levers and the UK’s productivity challenge

Maria Abreu, University of Cambridge, UK
Flavio Comin, Ramon Lull University, Spain
Calvin Jones, Cardiff University, UK

2025 Regional Studies Urban and Regional Horizons Best Paper

Absorptive Capacity, Complexity and Regional Renewal: A Developmental Psychology PerspecitveLevel with us, regional development is still ‘man shaped’: feminism, futurity and leadership

Lance R. Newey, University of Queensland, Australia

2025 Spatial Economic Analysis Best Paper

To use or not to use the Spatial Durbin Model? – that is the QuestionThe digital layer: alternative data for regional and innovation studies

Malabika Koley, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA
Anil K. Bera,University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA

2025 Territory, Politics, Governance Best Paper

Indigenous People and Paradiplomacy: Confronting the State-centric Order from Latin American Transborder SpacesIndigenous People and Paradiplomacy: Confronting the State-centric Order from Latin American Transborder Spaces democracy as a game changer?

Gonzalo Álvarez,University of Tarapaca, Chile
Cristian Ovando, University of Tarapaca, Chile

2025 Regional Studies, Regional Science Best Paper

Untangling Regional Development Traps through NarrativesGreen and just regional path development

Max Roessler, University of Greifswald, Germany

2025 Area Development and Policy Best Paper 

2025 Finance and Space Best Paper

Private Institutions in Infrastructure Geoeconomics: Limits to the Rise of Emerging Economies in Global Finance

Andreas Noelke, Goethe University, Germany

2025 Regional Studies Best Referees

Helen Lawton Smith, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
Nicola Cortinovis, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Andrew Beer, University of South Australia, Australia

2025 Spatial Economic Analysis Best Referee

Monoru Osawa, Institute of Economics, Japan

2025 Territory, Politics, Governance Best Referees

Andrés Rodriguez-Pose, London School of Economics, UK

2025 Regional Studies, Regional Science Best Referee

Ilaria Mariotti, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

2025 Area Development and Policy Best Referee

2025 Finance and Space Best Referee

Fabio Contel, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

2025 Regions eZine Best Paper

2025 Best Blog