The David N. Kershaw Award and Prize was established to honor persons who, before the age of 40, have made distinguished contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management. This award seeks to recognize original contributions to research-based knowledge that have advanced the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies. Eligibility is not contingent on disciplinary background, policy focus or academic credentials.
This prize is among the most prestigious and largest awards recognizing contributions to public policy and social science. Funding for the award comes from a memorial endowment established following the death of David N. Kershaw and managed by independent trustees. The precise age cut-off is having a 40th birthday no earlier than Dec 31 of the year prior to the award. For example a candidate for consideration of a 2025 Kershaw award would need to have been 39 on Dec 31, 2024.
The 2025 Award and Prize will be presented prominently at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management’s (APPAM’s) 2025 Annual Conference, which will be held in Seattle, WA on November 13-15, 2025. The recipient will receive a cash prize of $20,000 at the Awards Reception & Presidential Address.
Nominations are open now through June 16, 2025.
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2024 David N. Kershaw Recipient
Katherine Michelmore
Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School, University of Michigan
Katherine Michelmore, associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School, is the 2024 recipient of the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize. Dr. Michelmore was chosen for her leading scholarship on the social safety net, education policy, and labor economics.
Michelmore’s research has found children from families that receive the Earned Income Tax Credit go on to experience higher educational attainment, lower teen fertility rates, and less poverty in adulthood. Her work on the Child Tax Credit has been critical in helping policymakers better understand its impact on various populations and consider the costs of potential expansions. And her evaluations of new approaches to promote access to higher education have produced several key insights into what types of interventions work best to increase enrollment of low-income students at selective institutions.
Learn more about her contributions here.
Prior Award Recipients
The prior winners and their institutional affiliations at the time they won the award are as follows: