Palladium Science Award Opens Call

The inaugural 2025 Palladium Global Science Award honored five scientists for innovations in green chemistry, medicine, and environmental technology. Winners, hailing from Canada, Japan, India, the US, and Saudi Arabia, shared the $350,000 prize for projects that included converting greenhouse gases into methanol and a novel system for wastewater purification. The award is divided into three categories: Best Scientific Development, with a top prize of $120,000; Best Scientific Article, with an $80,000 prize for first place; and a $50,000 prize for the Best Applied Concept. The competition, supported by partners like the China Precious Metals Industry Committee, attracted nearly 100 entries from over 30 countries in its first year. Palladium's unique properties, such as its catalytic activity and high conductivity, make it a critical component in catalytic converters, electronics, and fuel cells. The award seeks to spur research that uncovers new applications beyond these traditional uses, pushing the boundaries of what the metal can achieve in high-tech and green industries. For designers in public sector funding, the UK’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government offers a case study in service design for grant funding. They built two linked services, "Access grant funding" for recipients and "Deliver grant funding" for internal teams, on a single platform to standardize and streamline the process. This approach mirrors principles from the GOV.UK Design System, which provides reusable components and patterns for creating consistent, user-focused government services. European public sector bodies must adhere to specific digital accessibility standards to ensure services are usable by everyone. The harmonised European standard EN 301 549 incorporates and expands on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Public websites and apps are required to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards and publish a detailed accessibility statement. The EU-funded inGOV project provides a framework for designing user-centric digital public services, tested through pilots in several countries. A key output was the use of "co-creation agreements" to formalize collaboration between government agencies and stakeholders, ensuring services are designed *with* citizens, not just *for* them. Across Europe, AI is being deployed to enhance public services, from automating document workflows to managing smart city infrastructure. A report from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre identified 686 AI use cases in the public sector, highlighting a focus on improving data analysis and service efficiency. The key to successful implementation is investing in data foundations and building AI literacy within public institutions.