Monika Krause wins British Sociological Association book award for The Good Project

The prestigious BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize for the best first and sole-authored book within the discipline of Sociology has been won by a Goldsmiths, University of London academic.

Dr Monika Krause, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, was honoured for The Good Project: Humanitarian Relief NGOs and the Fragmentation of Reason, which draws on interviews with managers in aid agencies to describe the mundane routines and practical constraints that determine who gets help and who does not.

The Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths is home to a number of former Philip Abrams Memorial Prize winners, including Dr Monica Sassatelli (2010), Dr David Hirsh (2004), Dr Brian Alleyne (2003) and Professor Vikki Bell (1994).

Monika Krause joined Goldsmiths in 2011. She holds a PhD in Sociology from New York University and an MA in Political Sociology from the London School of Economics. Monika is a former Poiesis Fellow at the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University and is a member of the Junior Fellows’ network at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (ZIF) at the University of Bielefeld.

Since October 2013, she has directed the ESRC-funded research project “Triaging Values”, examining how organisations that are committed to universal values, such as human rights groups, conservation NGOs and churches, make decisions about how to allocate resources and manage their commitments.
The Good Project

The Good Project

In The Good Project, Monika dives into the intricacies of the decision-making process at NGOs and uncovers a basic truth: Relief agencies try to help people but, in practical terms, the main focus of their work is to produce good projects.

She argues that in an effort to guarantee a successful project, organisations are incentivised to help those who are easy to help, while those who are hardest to help often receive no assistance and the world’s poorest are made to compete against each other to become part of projects.

Professor David Oswell, Head of the Department of Sociology says: “Monika takes the stand in a long line of Goldsmiths sociologists who have been awarded this prestigious prize. Her research on human rights and international non-governmental organisations foregrounds the brilliant research in the department. Congratulations!”
The Philip Abrams Memorial Prize

The Philip Abrams Memorial Prize

The Philip Abrams Memorial Prize was established by the British Sociological Association in 1989, in memory of Professor Philip Abrams, whose work contributed substantially to sociology and social policy research in Britain. He is remembered for the encouragement and assistance he provided to many young sociologists at the start of their careers.

The Good Project: Humanitarian Relief NGOs and the Fragmentation of Reason was published by The University of Chicago Press in 2014. It is available as a hard copy and e-book.