The prize is awarded annually by Prospect magazine’s Think Tank Awards to celebrate and reward the work of think tanks of global significance and to “give credit to the most original and rigorous work on the most pressing challenges facing people, governments and businesses today,” according to the organizers.

Prestigious winners

The awards have four categories: economic and financial, social policy, energy and environment, and international affairs, and separate awards are given for think tanks in the UK, US and Europe respectively. Among last year’s winners were renowned institutions such as Brookings and RAND Corporation. The winner in the European category of energy and environment was the acclaimed Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

Ever since the award was established in 2001, the jury has consisted of people in the spheres of politics, business, science and major media outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Washington Post and Financial Times.

Nomination criteria include a "coherent selection of topics of importance, innovative and plausible policy prescription, rigour of analysis, influence on politics, influence on media and wider impact and convening power".

“We are of course honoured and happy to be nominated for the awards. Previous winners are among the most renowned and prestigious research institutions both in Europe and the US, and we are pleased to see that our work is highly valued internationally,” says FNI’s director Geir Hønneland.

This nomination is but the latest of several recent events recognizing the work of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Earlier this year, FNI was declared the highest ranking Norwegian research institute in terms of publications – a position it has held three years in a row.

Update: The Think Tank Awards were presented in the House of Commons in London on Monday 28 November. The winner in the category for energy and environment in Europe, was the Institute for European Environmental Policy. FNI was praised for "excelling" in its work on environmental questions in the polar regions. You can read more about the awards and the winners in each caterogy here.