Professor Phil Tomlinson, Co-Director of the School of Management's Centre for Governance, Regulation and Industrial Strategy was nominated for The Conversation’s prestigious 2024 Sir Paul Curran Award in academic journalism.

Each year the award is handed out to an academic who has shown exceptional skill, dedication and engagement in communicating their knowledge to readers of the site – which is an online news analysis and opinion outlet written by academic experts.

Professor Tomlinson said:

"I was deeply honoured and humbled to receive this nomination and to be recognised in this way. The Conversation is a fantastic outlet for disseminating academic research, and I enjoy writing for it. Many thanks to all of my co-authors and editors who have helped me along the way."

Professor Tomlinson was one of six finalists for the award, celebrated at an event on 1 May 2025. He was the only nominee from the website's Business and Economics section.

During 2024, Phil authored nine articles on topics including industrial strategy, the Grangemouth crisis and the British steel industry. He was also on hand to give expert running commentary on the UK budget and general election.

Economic expertise

Luke Salkeld, Commissioning Editor (Business and Economics) at The Conversation, explained that he was "delighted" to make the nomination:

"Phil has been writing for The Conversation for over a decade now, contributing to 38 articles so far. He is a regular on our expert reaction pieces to major economic events, and he is one of our ‘go to’ commentators for economic analysis and insight. He can digest complex ideas and convey them for our readership. Phil values what The Conversation does, and the economics desk is hugely appreciative of his efforts."

Professor Steve Brammer, Dean of the School of School of Management, added:

"The School highly values the contribution of our faculty to the media. The Conversation is a very important media outlet, since it enables us to disseminate our world-leading research and expertise to a wider audience. Phil has been at the forefront of the School and University’s contributions to The Conversation over the years. I was delighted that he has been recognised nationally in this way."