RSAI NEWS

Synopsis

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) aims to hold a world congress at least once every four years. Unfortunately, the last two planned congresses – in Bangkok in 2014 and in Istanbul in 2016 – had to be cancelled due to security concerns in the host cities at the time. RSAI considers world congresses an important instrument for furthering its mission of global advancement of regional analysis and related spatial and areal studies for the benefit of society. RSAI therefore calls for proposals to host a world congress in 2018. Potential hosts are RSAI Supra-Regionals, Sections or Members that have a proven track record of hosting conferences and related events. A world congress may be held concurrently with another event or as a standalone event. Proposals must be submitted by Friday December 16, 2016, 23:59 GMT.  Proposals are evaluated by a Committee of RSAI Council. Based the Committee’s recommendation, Council will make a decision by Friday January 20, 2017, 23:59 GMT. This document outlines the application process, organisation and expected outcomes regarding the 2018 world congress.

28 October 2016

Preamble

The World Congress of the RSAI was initiated in 1980, at a time when the organization had already established a tradition of annual supra-regional conferences in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim through the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC), the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) and the Pacific Regional Science Conference Organization (PRSCO) respectively.  The purpose of the world congress is twofold: firstly, to create an opportunity for bridging the networks established by the supra-regional organisations (which since 2016 also includes the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Science Association, LACRSA), and, secondly, to provide a scientifically and socially attractive event for first entry into the RSAI networks for postgraduate students and scholars from parts of the world where the supra-regionals and their constituent sections have little or no representation.

RSAI congresses until 2012 have been held four-yearly since 1980 (with the exception of the one held in Israel in 1989 rather than 1988). The years and venues have been:

1980 1st – Cambridge Mass. (Harvard University), USA

1984 2nd – Rotterdam (Erasmus University), Netherlands

1989 3rd – Jerusalem (Kibbutz Ramat Rachel), Israel

1992 4th – Palma de Mallorca, Spain

1996 5th – Tokyo (Rissho University), Japan

2000 6th – Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland

2004 7th – Port Elizabeth, South Africa

2008 8th – Sao Paulo, Brazil

2012 9th – Timisoara, Romania

In 2012 Council appointed a working party, chaired by the then RSAI President Jean-Claude Thill, to review the world congress policy.  The working party made a number of recommendations, including holding the world congress every two years. Consequently, a 2014 world congress was organised to be held May 26-30 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, this congress had to be cancelled due to a military coup taking place just before the congress dates. Similarly, a 2016 world congress was organised to be held April 25-28 in Istanbul, but had to be postponed initially – and subsequently cancelled – due to safety concerns linked to terrorist activity in Turkey. It is clear that this very unfortunate sequence of events was impossible to foresee during planning of the last two congresses, given that both host cities had a longstanding reputation of being safe destinations for global events.

To meet its objectives and to ensure that its membership receives the services it expects from the organization, RSAI is now committed to running a successful world congress in 2018.

Criteria for a successful 2018 world congress

1.  Most importantly, the world congress should aim to have significant participation from members of Sections of all four supra-regional organisations – ERSA, LACRSA, NARSC and PRSCO.

2. The conference should also endeavour to attract regional scientists resident in countries in which no RSAI Section has yet been established. Subsidies may be available to selected applicants for participation through RSAI’s “Building Bridges” programme.

3. RSAI’s long-run objective is to organise a world congress with 1000 participants or more at least once every four years. However, given the limited planning time available of 12-20 months before the 2018 congress, there is no expectation of such a large congress in 2018 (although proposals with that goal will be considered). Instead, the event is expected to attract 300-500 participants.

4. The 2018 World Congress may be held as a standalone event. Alternatively, proposals may suggest to organise it jointly or “back-to-back” with another event. Such a joint or back-to-back event could be an RSAI Section meeting, a supra-regional congress, or an event held jointly with other organisations with similar objectives or networks.

5. The proposed dates of the congress must be such that they do not clash with other events that aim to attract the same regional science community, unless a joint conference is envisaged.

6. The conference should be held at an easily accessible location in a globally accessible city.

7. Accommodation should be available at the conference venue (when the conference is held at a hotel or convention centre). Alternatively, a range of affordable accommodation should be available within 15 minutes walking from the venue.

8. The congress should include plenary sessions of interest to the global scientific community. The overall conference theme and the selection of keynote speakers should reflect this. Of course, local perspectives and concerns may be interwoven with global perspectives and concerns.

9. Proposals should include initiatives to encourage participation from developing countries and from other countries in which no RSAI Sections have yet been established. RSAI can assist financially in meeting this objective through its “Building Bridges” programme but other funding initiatives (e.g. subsidies for participating postgraduate students) are also encouraged.

10. The programme should include one or more workshops for professional development of emerging scholars and postgraduate students, who may not be in a position to contribute a full paper to the formal scientific programme.

11. The working language of the congress is English but proposals may include arrangements for simultaneous translation of plenary sessions where this is deemed to be desirable.

12. Proposals should include a risk assessment regarding contingencies that could impact on the viability and success of the congress. Ways in which potential risks can be managed should be outlined.

Conference Organisation

1. RSAI establishes a 2018 World Congress Executive Committee (WCEC18) which will have oversight over all aspects of the world congress. In accordance with Article 5, Section 3 of the RSAI Constitution, this committee is chaired by the RSAI Executive Director. Other members of WCEC18 are the chair of the Local Organising Committee (see below), the President of RSAI, who chairs of the Scientific Programme Committee (see below), and two other Council members. WCEC18 co-ordinates the various tasks and has overall responsibility for the scientific and financial success of the congress.

2. WCEC18 will establish a Scientific Programme Committee (SPC), which will be chaired by the President of RSAI. Besides the chair, the five-person SPC will consist of one senior scholar from each of the four supra-regionals. SPC will select offered papers and ensure the scientific quality of the programme. This committee may call upon a much larger number of RSAI scholars to assist in selecting papers for presentation.

3. The RSAI Supra-Regional, Section or Member submitting the world congress proposal will appoint a Local Organising Committee (LOC) and appoint its chair. The LOC is responsible for all logistical aspects of the congress and arrangements with local suppliers. The RSAI Office and the LOC will draw up a full budget for the congress and recommend a schedule of registration fees to WCEC18.

4. RSAI Office will provide the website on which all congress information can be found and downloaded, and the portal through which abstracts, papers, registrations and the programme can be managed.

5.  For the services it provides, RSAI Office charges a commission equal to 20% of all registration fees received. The remaining registration revenue is transferred to the legal entity representing the LOC. Any anticipated sponsorship monies will be included in the budget.

6. The RSAI supra-regional, section or member institution which makes the world congress proposal underwrites the financial viability of the congress. The disbursement of any funds held by the LOC after the congress has been held is a matter of negotiation between the parties concerned, with negotiations being co-ordinated by WCEC18.

7. All arrangements for the organising of the World Congress will be formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU will be signed by the President of RSAI, the Executive Director, the Chair of the LOC and the person representing the legal entity through which the LOC operates.

Application Process

1. Proposals should address each of the 12 criteria for hosting the 2018 world congress outlined above. However, it is understood that some of the information provided by the congress proposers (such as names of suggested keynote speakers, sponsorship, etc.) will be tentative at the time the proposal is submitted. 

2. Proposals should include a list of the key people involved in organising the congress, a draft congress plan (including dates, location and schedule), a detailed draft budget (including a schedule of registration fees) and a suggested range of accommodations and charges.

3. The acceptance of a proposal by RSAI Council does not constitute a binding agreement between the two parties. The subsequently drawn up MOU, which is guided by the proposal, will constitute a binding agreement.

4. Proposals should be submitted by email to rsai@apdr.pt by Friday December 16, 2016, 23:59 GMT.

5.  A decision regarding the 2018 World Congress will be made by Council on or before Friday January 20, 2017, 23:59 GMT.

The Regional Science Association International (RSAI) seeks candidates for the position of editor-in-chief of the official journal of the association, Regional Science Policy & Practice (RSPP). RSPP is an international journal that publishes high quality papers in applied regional science that explore policy and practice issues in regional and local development. It welcomes papers from a range of academic disciplines and practitioners including planning, public policy, geography, economics and environmental science and related fields. Papers should address the interface between academic debates and policy development and application. RSPP provides an opportunity for academics and policy-makers to develop a dialogue to identify and explore many of the challenges facing local and regional economies.

Candidates should be RSAI members with a wide knowledge of urban and regional phenomena as well as distinguished records of scholarly contributions internationally. Candidates should also possess strong intellectual vision, leadership and organizational abilities, and experience relevant to editing a journal in the field of regional science. The appointment will start in early 2017 and continue for a three-year renewable term.

The editor’s primary responsibility is to continue to enhance the journal’s quality, reputation, and scholarship. The editor will be expected to strengthen the journal’s competitive position in support of RSAI’s worldwide mission.

The editor will recommend an international team of associate editors and a book review editor to help administer the peer review process, promote excellence in content and advance editorial initiatives.

The RSPP editor reports to RSAI through the RSAI Council.

Detailed information on responsibilities and on the process for applying for the editor-in-chief position is available below.

Letters of interest must be received by December, 19th 2016.

Specific duties of the Editor-in-Chief and journal editorial office include:

1. Maintaining and updating the aims and scope of the journal, editorial policies, and guidelines to authors.
2. Overseeing the manuscript peer review process through the publisher’s on-line submission portal in an unbiased, confidential, and timely manner.
3. Checking proofs and revisions to proofs.
4. Preparing and forwarding accepted manuscripts to the publisher’s production department.
5. Coordinating standards and practices across managing editors and managing the workload of each member of the editorial team.
6. Maintaining close and regular contact with the publisher on marketing and production matters.
7. Initiating and responding to correspondence with authors, managing editors, and reviewers.
8. Recruiting, selecting, and appointing RSPP board members that reflect the diversity of regional science and addressing any performance issues.
9. Soliciting guest issues, selecting guest editors, and providing advice and assistance to guest editors.
10. Adhering to the page budget and financial structures set by RSAI. RSAI and the publisher are responsible for managing production, layout, printing, subscriptions, pricing and funding initiatives for society publications.
11. Appointing associate editors and a book review editor (to be approved by RSAI Council). The editorial team (editor and associate editors) will be comprised of RSAI members with high stature and respect in the community, and with the expertise to manage the breadth of regional science.
12. Serving as a non-voting ex officio member of RSAI Council and other regional science governing bodies.
13. Reporting to RSAI Council through regular reports at Council meetings.
14. Reporting to the journal editorial board through board meetings held at least once a year.

Application process:

Interested individuals should submit an application package that includes:

A succinct letter of interest and qualifications, containing an indication of the editorial team;

A vision statement for the next three to six years of publication of RSPP.

A curriculum vitae;

The names and contact information of three references.

All requested information should be submitted by e-mail as a single PDF file to Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, a.rodriguez-pose@lse.ac.uk, copying Elisabete Martins, rsai@apdr.pt, in the e-mail.

Nomination and Process for Making the Award

1. It is expected that The Jean Paelinck Award for Distinguished Sustained Scholarship in Regional Science Methods will be made every two (2) years.
2. Nominations or consideration for The Jean Paelinck Award for Distinguished Sustained Scholarship in Regional Science Methods will be solicited every second year.
3. A nomination for consideration for The Jean Paelinck Award for Distinguished Sustained Scholarship in Regional Science Methods comes from Fellows of RSAI. At least five (5) Fellows must agree on the nomination.
4. A nomination may remain active for five (5) years.
5. A nomination must be accompanied by testimonials from a minimum of five (5) eminent scholars from at least three (3) nations who are able to verify the importance and scholarly standing and importance of the nominee’s publications.
6. The nomination and supporting documents are to be sent to the Executive Director of RSAI who will then forward it to the members of a Selection Jury.
7. The Selection Jury comprises a Chair, selected by the RSAI Council, and who is a member of the RSAI Long Range Planning Committee, plus four (4) RSAI Fellows. A Chair’s tenure is limited to four (4) years. Two (2) RSAI Fellow members of the Selection Jury rotate off every two (2) years.
8. When the Selection Jury recommends making the Award, the Executive Director will inform the RSAI Council in writing of that nomination. Unless within fourteen (14) days more than one-third of the members of the RSAI Council advise the Executive Director in writing of their dissent regarding the nomination, then the RSAI President or Executive Director will advise the member recommended for the Jean Paelinck Award and invite that person to accept the Award.
9. The presentation of The Jean Paelinck Award for Distinguished Sustained Scholarship in Regional Science Methods will occur at one of the supra-regional meetings of RSAI (NARSC/RSAmericas, ERSA, PRSCO), or at the RSAI World Congress.

Demonstration of:

1. Early career scholarly contribution.
2. Sustained continuing scholarly contribution.
3. International impact.
4. Inter-generational impacts (students and colleagues).
5. Impact on other related areas to regional science.

The nominations can be send to rsai@apdr.pt, before the December 31, 2016.

Graduate students enrolled in Ph.D. programs in North America are encouraged to apply for the Seventeenth Benjamin H. Stevens Graduate Fellowship in Regional Science, administered by the North American Regional Science Council of the Regional Science Association International (NARSC-RSAI). This Fellowship, in support of thesis research in Regional Science, is awarded annually in memory of Dr. Benjamin H. Stevens, an intellectual leader whose selfless devotion to graduate students as teacher, advisor, mentor, and friend had a profound impact on the field. Regional Science is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the theory and method of urban and regional phenomena. Regional Scientists apply theoretical and empirical frameworks and methods of the social and other sciences, as well as develop new ones specifically for regional analysis and policy.

Eligible students should have completed all degree requirements except for their dissertation by the time the Fellowship commences. A requirement of the Fellowship is that the recipient has no duties other than dissertation research during the Fellowship, although the recipient may hold other fellowships concurrently. Applications from students working in any area or any Ph.D. program are welcome as long as their dissertation research addresses a research question in Regional Science.

The Fellowship consists of a stipend in the amount of $30,000 (U.S.), paid over a twelve-month period. Applications for the 2017-2018 Fellowship should be sent electronically by the applicant to the Selection Committee Chair, Professor Elena Irwin at irwin.78@osu.edu, and received by February 15, 2017. An application consists of the following materials:

1. A curriculum vita of no more than two (2) pages in length.

2. A statement in ten (10) pages or less explaining the questions and issues to be addressed, the approach to be used, and the product expected from the thesis research, preceded by a summary (1-page maximum) describing the intellectual merit of the proposed research, and the broader impacts that may result. The 10-page limit is inclusive of references, but exclusive of tables and figures. This text should be in 12 point or larger font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins; references may be single-spaced.

3. Copies of the candidate’s transcripts for all graduate study. Unofficial copies are acceptable.

In addition, the thesis supervisor shall provide a confidential letter sent separately as an attachment from her/his email account with the student’s name in the subject line to Professor Elena Irwin. In the letter the supervisor should assess the quality and significance of the proposed dissertation research, specify the current state of progress toward the candidate’s degree and provide a commitment by the thesis supervisor to obtain a tuition waiver for the candidate for the year of the Fellowship. A condition of the Fellowship is the granting of a tuition waiver for the year of the Fellowship by the university, or equivalent payment of the student’s tuition.

Applications should be emailed to Professor Elena Irwin at irwin.78@osu.edu. Questions may also be sent to her at irwin.78@osu.edu. For information about NARSC, go to www.narsc.org/newsite/. For information about RSAI, go to www.rsai.org.

July 15, 2016

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