Apply for the QoG Institute Best Paper Award 2026 at University of Gothenburg - fully funded 1-week visiting scholar residency in Sweden.
Nominations and applications are officially invited for the prestigious Quality of Government (QoG) Institute Best Paper Award 2026. Hosted by the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden, this annual international academic prize honors outstanding empirical and theoretical research advancing scholarly understanding of the quality of government, public integrity, and institutional impartiality.
The award recognizes scholarly contributions addressing how public power is exercised impartially - and how that impartiality is distorted by systemic corruption, clientelism, favoritism, discrimination, patronage, nepotism, or capture by special interest groups. Winning author(s) receive a fully funded one-week guest scholar residency at the QoG Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden. All round-trip international travel costs and hotel accommodation in Gothenburg are fully covered, offering the laureate an exceptional platform to present their findings, receive peer feedback, and collaborate with leading global governance scholars.
Eligible papers include journal articles, book chapters, or institutional working papers published or presented at an academic international conference between September 2025 and September 2026. The submission deadline is December 9, 2026, with official laureate announcements scheduled for January 2027.
Quick Facts - QoG Institute Best Paper Award 2026
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Convening Institution | The Quality of Government (QoG) Institute, University of Gothenburg |
| Host Location & Landmark | Gothenburg, Sweden 🇸🇪 (Historic University of Gothenburg Main Building in Vasaparken) |
| Award Prize | Fully Funded 1-Week Guest Scholar Residency at the QoG Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Travel & Lodging Support | 100% round-trip international airfare/travel to Gothenburg + hotel accommodation covered |
| Target Candidates | Enrolled PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows, assistant professors, and senior scholars worldwide |
| Eligible Research Scope | Impartiality of public power, anti-corruption, clientelism, patronage, nepotism, civil service integrity |
| Methodological Scope | Open to all empirical and theoretical methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, experimental, comparative) |
| Publication Window | Papers published or presented at an international conference between Sep 2025 and Sep 2026 |
| Submission Format | Anonymized PDF, maximum 12,000 words (exclusive of references/appendices) + 1-page motivation statement |
| Nomination Type | Both self-nominations and third-party nominations warmly accepted (1 paper per author) |
| Application Fee | $0 (Completely Free to Submit) |
| Submission Deadline | December 9, 2026 (23:59 CET) |
| Winner Announcement | January 2027 |
| Official Gateway | gu.se/en/quality-government/opportunities/the-qog-best-paper-award |
About the Quality of Government (QoG) Institute & University of Gothenburg
Founded in 2004 by political scientists Bo Rothstein and Sören Holmberg at the University of Gothenburg, the Quality of Government (QoG) Institute has emerged as the premier global research centre on good governance, public corruption, and administrative impartiality. The Institute investigates a fundamental societal question: how to create and maintain high-quality political and administrative institutions, and how the quality of government affects human well-being, social trust, economic development, public health, and environmental sustainability.
The QoG Institute is globally renowned for producing the QoG Standard and Time-Series Datasets, widely cited by international bodies including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the European Commission. The annual QoG Best Paper Award celebrates pathbreaking scholarship that deepens theoretical conceptualizations and empirical insights into how political institutions function.
Award Prize & Scholar Residency Benefits
- Fully Funded 1-Week Visiting Scholar Residency: The winning author (or co-authors) is hosted for one week as an honored guest scholar at the QoG Institute, Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
- 100% Covered International Travel: Round-trip economy flight or train tickets from the laureate’s home institution to Gothenburg are paid by the University of Gothenburg.
- Accommodation in Gothenburg: Full hotel or university guest lodging expenses in Gothenburg are covered for the duration of the residency.
- Research Presentation & Academic Seminar: The laureate delivers a featured departmental seminar presenting the winning paper or related research trajectory to international faculty, researchers, and doctoral fellows.
- Collaborative Research Networking: Dedicated office workspace, direct access to QoG researchers and comprehensive institutional data resources, and informal networking for future co-authorship.
- Global Prestige & Citation Visibility: Prominent feature announcement on the University of Gothenburg website, QoG Newsletter, and international political science networks.
Core Thematic Scope: Impartiality in Public Power
The QoG research agenda centers firmly on the norm of impartiality in the exercise of public power. Impartiality dictates that when implementing laws and policies, public officials must not take into consideration anything about the citizen or case that is not stipulated in the law or policy itself.
Submissions are invited on any topic where this core norm is compromised, analyzed, or reinforced, including:
- Public Corruption & Bribery: Petty corruption, grand corruption, state capture, collusive favor exchanges, and procurement fraud.
- Clientelism & Patronage: Vote buying, partisan distribution of public resources, political cronyism, and civil service politicization.
- Favoritism & Nepotism: Kinship networks, elite entitlement, discretionary licensing, and unequal bureaucratic access.
- Discrimination & Unequal Public Service Delivery: Biased law enforcement, selective welfare provision, and marginalization of minority citizens.
- Special Interest Capture: Undue lobbying influence, regulatory capture, opaque campaign financing, and policy distortions.
- Institutional Design & Anti-Corruption Reforms: Accountability mechanisms, whistleblowing systems, transparency mandates, and bureaucratic autonomy.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for the 2026 QoG Best Paper Award, nominations must satisfy the following conditions:
- Academic Status: Author(s) must be currently enrolled in an accredited PhD program or hold a higher academic rank (e.g., postdoctoral fellow, assistant professor, associate professor, or full professor). For co-authored papers, all contributing authors must meet this benchmark.
- Eligible Publication Window: Papers must have been:
- Published as an academic journal article;
- Published as a chapter in an edited volume;
- Published in a university or recognized working paper series; OR
- Presented at an academic international conference between September 2025 and September 2026.
- Limit on Submissions: Submissions are strictly limited to one (1) paper per author.
- Nomination Format: Both self-nominations (by the author) and nominations by colleagues/supervisors are eligible.
- Open Methodological Approach: The award welcomes all methodological frameworks - including formal theory, observational econometric analysis, survey experiments, field experiments, comparative historical analysis, and mixed qualitative methods.
- Geographic Scope: Open to scholars and research institutions from all countries globally.
Submission Requirements & Paper Specifications
Submissions must adhere to strict formatting and anonymity requirements:
- Length Limit: The manuscript must not exceed 12,000 words (exclusive of references and online appendices).
- Complete Anonymization: The paper must be fully anonymized. Author names, institutional affiliations, contact emails, and obvious self-identifying acknowledgments must be stripped from the title page and main text.
- Standard Citation Style: References, citations, tables, graphs, and figures must be formatted consistently within the body of the paper.
- One-Page Motivation Statement: A separate one-page statement outlining why the paper makes an outstanding theoretical and empirical contribution to the Quality of Government literature (mandatory for both self-nominations and third-party nominations).
- File Format: All documents must be uploaded in clean PDF format.
Past Laureates & Award-Winning Research
- 2025 Laureate: David Cerero Guerra (PhD Candidate, Yale University) for “When Criminals Help the State: Winning Hearts and Minds through Facilitation of State Service Provision” (analyzing selective gang facilitation of public services in Medellín, Colombia).
- 2024 Laureate: Gustavo Guajardo (PhD Candidate, Rice University / Assistant Professor, San Diego State University) for “The Political Calculus of Anticorruption Reform” (evaluating strategic legislative sponsorship of anti-corruption bills in Mexico).
- 2023 Laureate: Paweł Charasz (Assistant Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen) for “Burghers into Peasants: Political Economy of City Status in Congress Poland”.
- 2022 Laureates: Gustav Agneman, Kasper Brandt, Christoffer Cappelen & David Sjöberg (Lund & Copenhagen) for “The Uneven Reach of the State: A Novel Approach to Mapping Local State Presence”.
Step-by-Step Submission Guide
- Review the official guidelines on the University of Gothenburg QoG Award Portal.
- Ensure your paper was published or presented at an international conference between September 2025 and September 2026.
- Check that the manuscript does not exceed 12,000 words and remove all identifying author information to ensure a blind review.
- Draft a concise 1-page motivation statement highlighting the paper’s theoretical originality, methodological rigor, and empirical findings.
- Access the official submission form at form.jotform.com/262702540504044 and upload your anonymized PDF and motivation statement before December 9, 2026.
- For any procedural questions, contact the QoG Institute directly at
infoqog@pol.gu.se.
Official Links & Application Gateway
Submit Your Paper - Official QoG Best Paper Award Form
University of Gothenburg Quality of Government Institute Portal
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - QoG Best Paper Award 2026
What is the submission deadline?
Submissions close on December 9, 2026. The winning paper will be formally announced by the QoG selection committee in January 2027.
What is the prize for the winning paper?
The winner receives an all-expenses-paid one-week visiting scholar residency at the Quality of Government Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden, with 100% round-trip international travel and accommodation covered, plus a seminar presentation.
Can PhD students apply?
Yes. Enrolled doctoral students are fully eligible, as are postdoctoral fellows, lecturers, and professors. Past winners include PhD candidates from Yale, Rice, and Lund universities.
Can I submit an unpublished working paper?
Yes, provided the paper was presented at an academic international conference between September 2025 and September 2026, or is published in a recognized university or departmental working paper series.
Can I nominate someone else's paper?
Yes. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations by senior colleagues, supervisors, or peers are eligible. In all cases, a 1-page motivation statement must accompany the paper.
Are quantitative and qualitative methods equally accepted?
Yes. The QoG Institute welcomes papers utilizing any rigorous methodological approach - including econometric models, experimental trials, comparative qualitative fieldwork, or mixed methods.
