AUSTRALIAN WINNER ANNOUNCED FOR RESEARCH GOT TALENT AWARD 2025

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 significant 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."

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