PhD student scoops prestigious early career research prize

Cardiff University School of Geography and Planning PhD student, Hannah Browne Gott, has won the 2018 Housing Studies Association’s Valerie Karn Early Career Researcher Prize.

The Valerie Karn Prize is named in honour of Manchester University’s former Professor of Housing who was an advocate for the power of research to challenge and change housing policy. Awarded annually, the prize recognises the best housing-related paper by an early career academic.

Hannah is in the first year of her PhD studies and is funded by an Economic and Social Research Council Wales (ESRC) Doctoral Training Partnership studentship, the School and the Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN). Her winning paper - Housing rights, homelessness prevention and a paradox of bureaucracy? - received strong praise from the judges.

In the adjudication, the judges stated: "We had very strong competition with some exceptional submissions, but your paper emerged as the clear choice of the sub-committee based on its sound methodology, excellent engagement with theory and high quality of writing.”

Part of Hannah's prize, which was announced at the 2018 Housing Studies Association annual conference, includes support for the professional production and dissemination of her winning paper.

Responding to the news, Hannah said: “I’m thrilled, and honoured to receive the 2018 Valerie Karn Prize and to have my work recognised in this way.

“I’m only a few short months into my PhD studies, but my aim is to explore the relationship between homelessness services, health, and crime to better understand what impact the myriad of homelessness interventions have on healthcare use and criminal activity. Winning this prize and receiving such positive feedback from the panel of judges is deeply encouraging.”

Dr Peter Mackie, who is a recognised expert in the field of homelessness and rough sleeping and Hannah’s research supervisor at the School of Geography and Planning, offered his congratulations: “Hannah should be very proud of her achievement and being identified as an early career researcher with considerable promise. I look forward to supporting Hannah through her PhD studies and watching her development as a researcher and academic.”

The current working title of Hannah’s thesis is: Exploring pathways through a rights-based homelessness system: disentangling the relationship between homelessness services, health and crime.