RSAI NEWS

The RSAI aims to continue promoting the development of Regional Science by nurturing new talent in 2016. The council has therefore pledged resources to co-finance workshops and summer institutes intended to provide substantive training to pre-doctoral researchers, including the presentation of their work and receiving feedback from senior scholars and their peers. It is expected that the selected workshops and institutes will have considerable international geographical coverage. 

Organisers of workshops and summer schools fulfilling the above aims are invited to submit a two-page case for support by December 11th 2015 to Elisabete Martins (rsai@apdr.pt).

All applications will be reviewed by the RSAI Executive, who will make a decision on the candidates to fund. Their decision will be final.

The RSAI will facilitate the participation of researchers from low-income and lower-middle-income economies (as defined by the World Bank:  http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups#Low_income) at the three largest Regional Science Conferences in 2016: World Congress (May), PRSCO( July),  ERSA (August) and NARSC (November).

The RSAI will provide a subsidy of USD 500 (or the equivalent in other currencies) to selected researchers. This is likely to cover the conference registration fee and some local travel costs. Alternative means of financing will have to be sought for international travel and accommodation.

Only one author of a submitted paper presentation proposal can apply for a subsidy.

Interested researchers should upload a two-page CV plus a one-page motivation –  including a budget with proposed sources of funding of the conference-related registration, travel and accommodation costs – within 30 days of receiving confirmation of the acceptance of the researcher’s abstract by the conference organizers.

Applications can be uploaded using the following link.

Applicants should have had a paper accepted for presentation at the conference.

All applications will be reviewed by the RSAI Executive, who will make a decision on the candidates to fund. Their decision will be final.

The Founder's Medal was established to recognize lifetime contributions to the field of Regional Science and to the Association. It is still the only honour conveyed by the Association as a whole. Previous recipients include Walter Isard, Martin J. Beckmann, William Alonso, Jean H. P. Paelinck, David E. Boyce, Peter Nijkamp, Antoine Bailly and Arthur Getis.

Individuals are invited to submit nominations/self-nominations for the RSAI Founder’s Medal. The nominations should be sent to the RSAI Selection Committee (e.tranos@bham.ac.uk), which consists of Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Antoine Baily, Arthur Getis, Jean-Claude Thill and Emmanouil Tranos. The Committee will select three (3) nominees recommended as potential recipients of the Founder’s Medal based on the below criteria. Then, past recipients of the Founder’s Medal will be invited to recommend the recipient from the list of three nominees compiled by the Committee. The announcement of the recipient will take place during the next World RSAI Congress in Istanbul (25-28th April, 2016).

A written nomination/self-nomination of a candidate for consideration for the RSAI Founder’s Medal should articulate the merit of the nominee for receiving the Founder’s Medal. It must include a detailed statement of the nature of the lifetime contribution a candidate has made to RSAI. The nomination/self-nomination must explain how and why that contribution of the nominee meets the criteria of the RSAI Founder’s Medal outlined below:

The recipient should be a senior scholar who has contributed in an important way to the field of Regional Science in a scholarly sense;

The recipient should have been active in the RSAI for a sustained period, but not necessarily active at the time of the award; also, the award is not given posthumously;

The recipient should be a person with whom many members can identify; his/her contributions could be a major work in one area or many works in several areas;

The contribution need not be limited to one type of contribution; it might be theory, method or policy, for example;

It is recognized that the native country and language of scholars affect the extent to which they are known by the membership, and an effort should be made to take this into account.

More information about the Founder’s Medal can be found on the RSAI web page.

Call for Papers

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) and the Turkish Regional Science Association (Bölge Bilimi Türk Milli Komitesi – BBTMK) invite regional scientists, economists, economic geographers, urban planners, policy makers, and researchers of related disciplines to participate in the 11th World Congress of the Regional Science Association International. The Congress will be hosted by the Turkish Regional Science Association.

The Congress will feature several world-renowned keynote speakers on cutting-edge urban and regional science and policy issues, expert panels, research presentations and posters. It will be attended by 500 delegates from the worldwide community of regional scientists.

A new prize, 'RSAI Young Researchers Prize' will be given for the first time at the RSAI World Congress 2016 in Istanbul. . Please find attached a document about this Prize. This information can be also found on the RSAI website: http://www.regionalscience.org/~r1114egion2da0alh/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1529%3Arsai-young-researchers-prize&Itemid=876.

The conference will be open to different research topics within the broader contours of the regional science, urban and regional studies, geographical sciences and planning, and development. Anticipated sub-themes of the congress include the following:

We invite formal paper presentations as well as posters (deadline of November 29th, 2015). Organizers of special session are also welcome. The abstract submission portal is now open. Full information on the venue, abstract submission, registration, schedule of events, accommodation and travel information is posted at www.2016worldcongress.regionalscience.org.

Feel free to contact the secretariat of the Congress at 2016worldcongress@regionalscience.org and to the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee tbaycan@itu.edu.tr for further information.

We look forward to welcoming you in the dazzling city of Istanbul in April 2016.

With warmest regards,

Tüzin Baycan

Chair of the Local Organizing Committee

More News at www.regionalscience.org