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Malcolm MacLachlan MRIA

Image caption: Malcolm MacLachlan MRIA, 2017 RIA Gold Medallist in the Social Sciences.

Citation on the awarding of the 2017 RIA Gold Medal in the Social Sciences to Malcolm MacLachlan MRIA

Written on 23 March 2018

Professor Malcolm ‘Mac’ MacLachlan is a world leader in developing the interface between psychology, social inclusion and global health. His work is strongly informed by human rights, social and organisational justice perspectives and focusses on the practical and psychosocial needs of vulnerable, marginalised groups in underserved areas and it has informed the work of major global institutions such as the UN, WHO and UNESCO.

Professor of Psychology and Social Inclusion and Director of the ALL (Assisted Living and Learning) Institute at Maynooth University, Malcolm’s research has developed a stronger understanding of the importance of psychosocial factors in social inclusion, particularly the determinants and responses to disability and use of assistive technology, the process of effectiveness of international aid, and inclusion in the process and content of policy development and implementation. His work particularly addresses people with disabilities, marginalised cultural groups, people living far from services and women and girls; particularly in low- and middle-income contexts. Uniquely, his research spans individual, group and societal perspectives; with greater emphasis on organisational, systems and policy issues in recent years.

Professor MacLachlan is recognised by the United Nations not only as a leading authority to consult, but as a global expert to lead important UN initiatives. He is the Research & Innovation leader for the World Health Organisation’s Global Collaboration on Assistive Technology Programme, which involves over 800 people and operates across all continents. He is the Knowledge Management Lead for the United Nations Partnership for the Rights of People with Disability (UNPRPD), the largest disability intervention programme in the world, covering over 20 countries. He also led the research component of the Inclusive Asia Project, with UNESCO’s Management of Social Transformation programme. This programme has culminated in the development of UNESCO’s Inclusive Policy Lab; which uses EquiFrame and EquIPP – two policy analysis instruments which he led the development of – and has now been used with governments and civil society globally.

Professor MacLachlan’s scholarship has been recognised for its academic excellence and by awards and Fellowships from professional organisations: among them the American Psychological Association’s (APA) International Humanitarian Award in 2014. An extract from the citation reads ‘Collaborating with academics, civil society, United Nations organisations, and national governments, his world-leading and agenda-setting research programme spans two decades and over 20 countries, stimulating the development of radical new health policy and practice in Africa and Asia’. He is the only European academic to have been so honoured by the APA.

Malcolm MacLachlan is ranked as a leading scholar in several related domains; and is especially distinguished in his ability to combine exemplary scholarship with policy impact and social change globally.

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