LSE researcher awarded NIHR Impact Prize 2026
Dr Michela Tinelli, Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC) at LSE, has been awarded an NIHR Impact Prize 2026 for her work leading the Care Quality Evaluation (CQE) Homelessness Team.
The NIHR Impact Prizes celebrate researchers and teams who have made an outstanding contribution to health and social care research and improved outcomes for people across the UK and internationally.
In addition to saving lives and improving quality of life, the winning studies also highlight how health and care research contributes directly to economic growth. By easing pressure on NHS services, supporting public health and workforce health, and stimulating life sciences supply chains, NIHR research reinforces the vital link between a healthy population and a thriving UK economy.
Dr Tinelli leads the Care Quality Evaluation Homelessness Team at LSE, which has developed the CQE approach to strengthen decision-making and support innovation in services for people experiencing homelessness and multiple disadvantage.
The approach brings together data, shared learning and lived experience to help organisations understand the impact of their services, identify areas for improvement and make better-informed decisions about future investment and implementation.
The research has helped build evaluative capacity among local authorities and third-sector organisations in England. For example, working with The People’s Recovery Project, CQE provided evidence of the impact of its recovery pathway supporting people experiencing homelessness and addiction.
The research has been supported by the NIHR School for Social Care Research and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North Thames, with funding also provided through the NIHR Public Health Research programme, the Department of Health and Social Care and LSE Innovation.
Commenting on the award, Dr Tinelli said: “I am deeply honoured to receive the NIHR Impact Prize 2026. For me, this award recognises the power of combining evidence, lived experience and continuous learning to improve outcomes across health, housing, social care and other areas of public spending. It reflects the importance of moving beyond one-off studies and pilots towards systems that generate and use information continuously to support better decision-making. It also highlights the broader societal value of helping organisations use resources more effectively and ultimately improve productivity and wellbeing.”
The award ceremony was hosted by Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care.
Commenting on this year's NIHR Impact Prize winners, Professor Chappell said: “I offer my warmest congratulations to all the excellent winners and commended teams of this year’s NIHR Impact Prizes, who have all made a crucial contribution to changing lives through research.”