The 2026 Anthropological Responses to Health Emergencies (ARHE) Policy Brief Award is now open for submissions.
The aim of the ARHE award is to encourage and acknowledge the contributions of anthropologists and anthropological methods in responses to health emergencies.
There are two levels for the award (student and professional), and both have a US$100 award.
Criteria for qualification and evaluation:
- Teams, not just individuals, may apply, including teams fulfilling professional contracts or consultancies.
- Instead of only accepting policy briefs in their traditional format, we will now accept written works, detailed PowerPoint presentations, or other written, audio or visual products that contribute to the development of new legislation, policies, programs or interventions using significant anthropological data and analysis. This may include long-form editorials, news articles, or other public-facing publications that include recommendations or ways forward and that draw on anthropological perspectives and methods.
- Submissions may be no more than 10,000 words total.
- All health emergencies topics are accepted.
- The work must integrate anthropological methods and insights.
- The brief does not necessarily have to report on new data, but can also analyze existing data to make recommendations or changes.
- The work must make direct reference to specific policies, practices, and/or interventions, and make explicit recommendations for ways forward, in addition to assessing and critiquing. In other words, this award goes beyond critical and/or theoretical arguments to emphasize applied and engaged work.
For examples of policy briefs please see past winners: https://arhe.medanthro.net/2025-arhe-policy-brief-award-winners/
Submission accepted at this URL: https://forms.gle/R5y4aF2FSF1Ti1eK6
All submissions due by 31 July 2026.
