Essex Business School Awarded the WRDS-SSRN Innovation Prize for Academic Research

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) and SSRN are pleased to announce the Essex Business School at the University of Essex as the 2020 WRDS-SSRN Innovation Award winner for the EMEA region.

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Essex Business School is named the winner of the 2020 WRDS-SSRN Innovation Award for EMEA region. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Together, WRDS and SSRN are advancing impact-focused research, changing policy and practice on a global scale. The WRDS-SSRN Innovation Award series elevates the visibility of impact-focused research and the institutions that conduct it. Each year, awards are presented to rising business schools from North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions to highlight innovation and research excellence. As a part of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, WRDS enables comprehensive thought leadership, historical analysis and insight into the latest innovations in research.

Bob Zarazowski, managing director of WRDS, and Gregg Gordon, managing director of SSRN, presented the award to Neil Kellard, Dean of Essex Business School, during the virtual AACSB EMEA Annual Conference.

"WRDS is pleased to honor the Essex Business School for its commitment to growth and innovation in academic research," said Bob Zarazowski. "Supporting and advancing research is at the heart of what we do at WRDS, and we are excited to continue to partner with SSRN and provide greater visibility to business schools."

"It's a real privilege to be given the award, in particular because of the high standard of previous awardees and the repute of the two awarding organisations," said Professor Neil Kellard, Dean of Essex Business School. "The award itself is a testament to the hard work, growing research base and expertise at Essex Business School."

"Congratulations to Dean Kellard and Essex Business School for this achievement," said Gregg Gordon. "SSRN is excited to continue to partner with WRDS and provide greater visibility to business schools doing important research, like Essex Business School, through this innovation award and the WRDS Research Paper Series on SSRN."

About SSRN

SSRN is a worldwide collaborative of 460,000 authors and more than 2.2 million users that is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of research. Founded in 1994, it has grown to over 50 discipline-based research networks. Each of SSRN's networks encourages the early sharing of research by reviewing and distributing submitted papers from scholars. SSRN encourages readers to communicate directly with authors concerning their own and other's research. SSRN serves authors and readers in approximately 140 countries around the world.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps scientists and clinicians to find new answers, reshape human knowledge and tackle the most urgent human crises. For 140 years, we have partnered with the research world to curate and verify scientific knowledge. Today, we're committed to bringing that rigor to a new generation of platforms. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support and professional education; including ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, 39,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com

About WRDS

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is the leading business intelligence, data analytics, and research platform for global institutions — enabling comprehensive thought leadership, historical analysis, and insight into the latest innovations in academic research.

WRDS democratizes data access so that all disciplines, Accounting, Banking, Economics, ESG, Finance, Healthcare, Insurance, Marketing, and Statistics, can easily search for concepts across the data repository. Partnering with global vendors, WRDS hosts 350+TB of data — the broadest collection of data on the most robust computing infrastructure to give users the power to analyze complex information at speeds of up to 400MB per second.

Flexible data delivery options include a powerful web query method that reduces research time; the WRDS Cloud for executing research and strategy development; and the WRDS client server using SAS, Python, R, Stata, Matlab, and more. Our rigorous data review and validation give users the confidence to tailor research and create a wide range of reliable data models.

WRDS' unique array of Services include access to a suite of Analytics tools and Learning Pathways — providing curated, guided resources for Researchers, Instructors, and Information Professionals. Through data, analytics, research and technology, approach your research using real world examples and advance your analysis to answer the most critical questions with your data.

WRDS is a leader in impactful research. Through a partnership with SSRN, WRDS is elevating the visibility of universities and researchers working across an array of fields. The WRDS Research Paper Series is a searchable repository of all papers submitted to SSRN that cite WRDS in their work. In addition, the two organizations have launched the WRDS-SSRN Innovation Award™ to honor rising business schools in the North America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA regions.

WRDS is more than just a data platform. Supporting over 75,000 commercial, academic, and government users at 500+ institutions in 35+ countries, WRDS is the global gold standard in data management, innovative tools, analytics, and research services — all backed by the credibility and leadership of the Wharton School.

About the Wharton School

Founded in 1881 as the world's first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With a faculty of more than 235 renowned professors, Wharton has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education's individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 99,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. For more information, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.