Oxford awarded top Royal prize for anti-poverty work
Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Professor Louise Richardson, Dr Sabina Alkire and Chancellor Sir Chris Patten accepting the award on behalf of the University. Credit: Theodore Wood Photography

Oxford awarded top Royal prize for anti-poverty work

Oxford University has been presented with a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Her Majesty the Queen approved the award, which was presented by their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall - in recognition of the University’s research to help combat poverty.

The prize follows Oxford’s breakthrough in designing a multidimensional measure for poverty, which enables Governments, institutions and policymakers to target help and resources - beating poverty and improving the lives of poor people around the world.

Oxford designed an innovative method which calculates poverty using an index that measures the complicated reality of living in poverty. This creates a comprehensive framework for measuring and tackling poverty when used in conjunction with traditional monetary measures. The Multidimensional Poverty Index is based on a methodology developed by Dr Sabina Alkire and Professor James Foster, as part of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

Dr Sabina Alkire, who heads the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, said: ‘When poor persons, who are the real experts on this subject, explain what poverty is, they articulate multiple disadvantages such as lack of good education, joblessness, poor health, insecurity, ramshackle housing or inadequate sanitation. A multidimensional measure of poverty reflects the lived experiences of impoverished people – and enables actions that redress multiple deprivations.’

The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative is based in the University’s Department of International Development. It is the only research centre in the world that focuses on multidimensional poverty.