ADIA and ESOMAR announce Australian winners of 2025 Research Got Talent award
Hamish Scott Stevenson and Sam Slamowicz (Social Research Centre) have been named the Australian winners of the 2025 Research Got Talent competition for their project addressing misinformation and disinformation.
The announcement:
The Australian Data and Insights Association (ADIA) and ESOMAR today announced the Australian winner for the 2025 Research Got Talent award.
Now in its sixth year, the Research Got Talent (RGT) Australia competition encourages young professionals to use market research and insights to support local charities and NGOs to overcome pressing social issues. Entries were required to reflect a relevant, innovative, and impactful research design project that assesses and solves a specific issue.
The RGT winners for 2025 are Hamish Scott Stevenson and Sam Slamowicz (Social Research Centre) with their entry: “Behind the Screens: Understanding Australian Men at Risk of Mis/Disinformation for the Museum of Sticks & Stones (MoSS).”
The pair looked at the proliferation of mis/disinformation as one of the most significant challenges to democratic governance, social cohesion, and individual wellbeing in the modern era. The goal of the research is to address the gap in understanding of how specific demographic groups, particularly men, experience and respond to mis/disinformation, and to build media literacy and social resilience in Australia.
Scott Stevenson and Slamowicz will now enter their final report as Australia’s entry into ESOMAR’s global Research Got Talent competition, and the winners are also invited to next year’s ADIA Leaders Forum conference, held in Sydney.
ADIA member, ESOMAR representative and RGT judge, Sally Joubert, said: “This is a really important initiative for our industry, and we continue to be impressed by the high standard and breadth of entries. This year was particularly challenging to judge given the record number of entries received and the high level of competition.
“It was also encouraging to see employers from ADIA and ESOMAR organisations supporting their teams and their charities of choice plus the RGT competition more generally. We are delighted that the initiative continues to grow in both commitment and awareness. We found it incredibly difficult to select a winner; however, Hamish and Sam’s entry really stood out.”
Scott Stevenson and Slamowicz said: “We’re very grateful to ADIA for the opportunity to be part of such a meaningful initiative, and we’re thrilled to be working alongside the Museum of Sticks & Stones (MoSS) to tackle misinformation susceptibility in Australia. A heartfelt thank you to the Social Research Centre, ADIA, and MoSS for all your support and encouragement, and a big thank you to the sponsors for making it possible. We are deeply passionate about this project and hope to demonstrate how our industry can help to address urgent issues and drive positive social change.”
The Museum of Sticks & Stones Creative & Community Lead, Urusaro Rwagaju, said: “This collaboration will be key to our next milestone projects and programming at the Museum of Sticks and Stones, helping us better understand how misinformation and disinformation may impact Australian men, particularly in relation to pressing social issues such as misogyny and digital radicalisation.”
The Australian judges for the Research Got Talent Award Competition 2025 include Sally Joubert (Luma Research/ESOMAR representative), Katie Balogh (Bright Point Research), Brian Fine (QOR), Les Winton (Winton Research & Insights), and past winners, Steph Perry (winner 2020, Department of Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business QLD) and May Chantra (winner 2021, Aesop). ADIA and ESOMAR thank the judges for their expertise and time.
ADIA also thanks its generous sponsors – Luma Research, Winton Research & Insights, QOR and CRNRSTONE for helping make this exciting initiative possible. ADIA also pays tribute to all entrants for their outstanding submissions and their respective member organisations for their support of the Research Got Talent initiative.
Source: Third Avenue Consulting
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
topics
2025 Research Got Talent
Australian Data and Insights Association
ESOMAR
Hamish Scott Stevenson
Sally Joubert
Sam Slamowicz
Social Research Centre
Urusaro Rwagaju
Have your say