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March 6, 2026
The Comparative Study of Election Surveys (CSES) invites nominations for two major international awards recognizing outstanding scholarship that makes extensive use of CSES data and advances comparative research on elections and democratic governance. Scholars at all career stages are encouraged to nominate colleagues, students, or themselves.
2026 GESIS Klingemann Prize for the Best CSES Scholarship
CSES, in partnership with the GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, is pleased to announce the 2026 GESIS Klingemann Prize for the Best CSES Scholarship.
Named in honor of Professor Doctor Hans-Dieter Klingemann, co-founder of CSES and a pioneer of comparative political research, the prize recognizes the most outstanding scholarly work using CSES data published in 2025 (article, book, dissertation, or other scholarly work broadly defined).
Eligibility
- Published in 2025 (print or online)
- Extensive use of CSES data
- Any scholarly format (paper, book, dissertation, or other scholarly work)
- Self-nominations and third-party nominations welcome
Prize
- €1,000 honorarium
- Up to €1,000 toward travel, accommodation, and conference registration to attend the award ceremony at a major political science conference
Selection Committee (2026)
- James Adams (UC Davis)
- Rosario Queirolo (Universidad Católica del Uruguay)
- Armin Seimel (GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences)
Nomination Deadline: April 22, 2026
How to Nominate
Please submit your nomination using the dedicated Google Form for the Klingemann Prize: https://forms.gle/P4bc6QQeKaddNeSX6
2026 David Howell Award for Best Conference Paper Using CSES Data
The David Howell Award recognizes the outstanding conference paper presented during 2025 that makes substantial use of CSES data. Named in honor of David Howell, former CSES Director of Studies, the award celebrates his more than 20 years of leadership in developing CSES into a premier global resource for comparative electoral research.
Eligibility
- Paper presented at an academic conference in 2025
- Substantial use of CSES data
- Self-nominations and third-party nominations welcome
Prize
- $250 honorarium
Selection Committee (2026)
- Ameni Mehrez (William and Mary)
- Dieter Stiers (KU Leuven)
- Elizabeth Zechmeister (Vanderbilt University)
Nomination Deadline: April 22, 2026
How to Nominate
Please submit your nomination using the dedicated Google Form for the David Howell Award: https://forms.gle/P4bc6QQeKaddNeSX6
Encouraging Broad Nominations
CSES seeks to recognize excellence across regions, methodologies, and career stages. We strongly encourage nominations of outstanding work by colleagues, collaborators, and early-career scholars.
Note: Both the 2026 GESIS Klingemann Prize and the 2026 David Howell Award will be presented at the EPSS conference in Belfast, June 18–20, 2026.
We look forward to celebrating the next generation of influential research using CSES data!