Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...

Page created by Maurice Blake
 
CONTINUE READING
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
Regional Studies
Association
Development
Plan
2015-2020
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
Regional Studies Association
Development
Plan
2015-2020
Index
Preface......................................................................................................................................... Page 2

Introduction.................................................................................................................................. Page 3

Overview...................................................................................................................................... Page 3

Values........................................................................................................................................... Page 3

Excellence.................................................................................................................................... Page 3

Independence.............................................................................................................................. Page 4

Impact ......................................................................................................................................... Page 4

Leadership and Collaboration...................................................................................................... Page 4

Our Strategy ................................................................................................................................ Page 4

Areas of Challenge ...................................................................................................................... Page 5

Areas of Engagement ................................................................................................................. Page 5

The Strategic Priorities ................................................................................................................ Page 6

Research ...................................................................................................................................... Page 6

The RSA Inquiry ........................................................................................................................... Page 7

RSA 50th Anniversary ................................................................................................................... Page 9

Publications ................................................................................................................................. Page 9

Conferences and Events ............................................................................................................ Page 12

Membership and Community Building ..................................................................................... Page 14

RSA Travel Grants ...................................................................................................................... Page 14

RSA Event Support Scheme ...................................................................................................... Page 15

Territorial Networks ................................................................................................................... Page 18

Policy and Knowledge Exchange .............................................................................................. Page 20

Technology and Communications ............................................................................................. Page 22

RSA Management ..................................................................................................................... Page 23

Finances ..................................................................................................................................... Page 24

Your Feedback ........................................................................................................................... Page 24
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
2 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

                Preface

                  This Development Plan is the most recent version of a sequence of similar
                  documents that have been used by the Regional Studies Association for more
                  than two decades to plan its work. It is the culmination of a large number of
                  meetings and consultations within the Association’s Board and Committees
                  with its staff team, its members and with important external stakeholders. We
                  have taken care to be even handed in our consultations across disciplines and
                  territories and generally to reflect the diversity of our membership. We would
                  like to acknowledge our gratitude to all those who reflected upon, commented
                  and in other ways supported the writing of this plan.

                The fields of regional studies and regional science are responding to global challenges and as an
                Association we continue to set high standards for ourselves. The critical needs to address issues of
                growth and rebalancing weigh heavily, as do issues of sustainable development, the management
                of geopolitical change and increasing urbanisation. These challenges arise alongside important
                questions of equity and equality. In this plan we seek to push ourselves and our community to face
                these global questions and to add to our knowledge and understanding of how the world works and
                responds to shocks at different scales and in different places.

                There is a continued need for the Association to support its members and the wider community and
                we seek to fulfil that mission through our research programme, our conferences and events, our
                publishing portfolio - which continues to expand and importantly through our knowledge exchange
                activities.

                This document must acknowledge the passing, in Summer 2014, of the Association’s pioneering and
                charismatic President – Professor Sir Peter Hall. Peter was a founder member of the Association in
                1964 and has remained a member throughout the intervening period. He was an active member and
                a probing, ambitious President. He pushed us to push ourselves while being supportive, engaged,
                willing to help and quietly, we think, was pleased to see his fledgling creation survive its growing pains
                through to relative maturity.

                In 2015, the Association celebrates its 50th anniversary. The world has changed much in the past half
                century but many of the challenges that so taxed Sir Peter Hall and his contemporaries remain today.
                Our work is not done. We thank you for reading this document and hope that you, the reader, will see
                the value of this prospectus in mapping the future priorities for the Association, its Board and staff
                team. We also hope that you will give us feedback on what you read. We would welcome your views
                as an Association can only be as good as its community is active and engaged.

                Andrew Beer		                                          Sally Hardy
                Chair			                                               Chief Executive
                Regional Studies Association                           Regional Studies Association
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020 | 3

Introduction

  Regions are a key spatial scale for examining the nature and impacts of
  political, economic, social and environmental change.

  The Regional Studies Association works with its international membership to
  facilitate the highest standards of theoretical development, empirical analysis
  and policy debate of issues at this sub-national scale. It incorporates both urban
  and rural economies, as well as varied conceptions of space, such as city-regions
  and interstitial spaces. We are, for example, interested in issues of economic
  development and growth, environmental planning, conceptions of territory and
  its governance and the thorny problems of equity and injustice.

  This document serves two purposes – it defines those issues that the RSA Board
  considers to be the Association’s primary achievements in the last planning
  period (2008 – 2013) and it sets out the priorities for development in the
  coming five years. Experience shows that some flexibility may be needed in the
  interpretation and implementation of policy as circumstances change, but the
  Board is committed to the continuation of development planning. The views
  of major stakeholders and the membership of the Association (both of which
  contributed to this document in breadth and depth) have been incorporated
  into this final project.

Overview                                                 • Deliver high quality regional research
                                                         • Influence policy debate and practice
The Regional Studies Association was established
                                                         • Innovate in publishing
in 1964 to:
                                                         • Acknowledge excellence in our field
   1.	Promote education in the field of regional
       studies by the exchange of ideas and
       information                                    Values
   2.	
      Stimulate and aid studies and research
      into regional planning, development and         In achieving its aims, the Association will aim to
      policy and to disseminate the results of        adhere to its values and a community which is
      such research                                   also leading and impactful.

The Association’s vision is to be the authoritative
voice of, and global network for, academics,
                                                      Excellence
students, practitioners and policy makers in the      As an Association, we seek excellence in all our
study and understanding of cities, regions and        activities and in this plan will seek to build upon
regionalism.                                          and strengthen our already robust reputation.

The aims of the Association are to:                   We operate in a complex and multifaceted
   • L ead the research, policy and practice         environment encompassing researchers in many
      communities working on regional issues          disciplines but particularly geography, economics,
   • D
      evelop our members and support our             political science and planning and across several
     community                                        sectors – higher education, policy and practice.
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
4 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

                We are interested not only in empirical work but       but has no political affiliations or loyalties. The
                also in the development of theory and practice         independence of the Association is strongly
                and the exchange of this knowledge with others         valued by its members enabling the Association
                working at the regional level.                         to speak across the career stages of members,
                                                                       across disciplines, sectors and across institutions.
                The Association publishes a range of
                journals, a book series and a members’
                magazine. These outlets hold excellence as             Impact
                their key criteria. This is sought through the
                                                                       Part of the Association’s charitable responsibility
                professional management of the publications,
                                                                       is to seek public benefit from its work. This
                the choice of publishing partner (Taylor and
                                                                       is taken seriously and knowledge exchange
                Francis since 1992), adherence to best practice
                                                                       activity is a valued benefit of membership. Not
                in publishing practices such as appropriate
                                                                       all activities can have immediate impact but the
                peer review and use of COPE guidelines on
                                                                       Association seeks to disseminate knowledge, to
                publishing ethics. The Association seeks the
                                                                       promulgate debate and to engage with relevant
                best qualified editorial teams and provides
                                                                       partners globally using all appropriate methods.
                resources to enable them to fulfil their role. It
                offers a range of publishing outlets recognising
                the need for choice and variability for example,       Leadership
                Regional Studies, Regional Science offers
                an open access and online only route to publication    and Collaboration
                accepting unconventional articles, regional            The Regional Studies Association leads in its
                graphics and offering early career mentoring.          field. It works to support regional research and
                The Association adheres to excellence as the key       to promote education and understanding of
                criteria for all grants but bursaries also recognise   regional issues. In achieving this, the Association
                career stage and the challenges individuals may        collaborates with many interested bodies and
                face in securing funding.                              individuals. Work at the international level is
                                                                       particularly important with partners such as DG
                Excellence is a cornerstone of the services            Regio (European Commission), Committee of
                provided by the office team to the membership          the Regions, OECD, World Bank, UN Habitat
                and wider community. The Association is run            and UN but we also work with national bodies
                by its members for its members, this mission is        such as the Smith Institute and the UK Academy
                supported by an enthusiastic and expert team of        of Social Science. There is a strong interest in and
                individuals with varied backgrounds and interests.     commitment to comparative work recognising
                                                                       that mixed models and learning from other
                Independence                                           situations can intelligently inform decision
                                                                       making. The Association seeks to identify areas
                The Association is independent. It is established      of research need and to encourage and facilitate
                as a charitable company limited by guarantee in        engagement in those areas through building
                England and Wales. It is run by a Board of up          communities of knowledge and practice and in
                to 12 trustees/directors who are elected by the        some cases through direct funding support.
                membership and they are assisted by a variable
                number of appointed trustee/directors. The
                Board is supported by a number of Committees
                                                                       Our Strategy
                and by a staff team led by the CEO based at            The Association is driven by its ambition to
                our main office in Seaford, UK. The Association        grow and support its academic field and also to
                also currently has a presence in Beijing through       thrive in its role as a learned society. A healthy
                a funded project office.                               and active Association will better advance the
                                                                       interests of its membership and the field in
                The Association has a number of memberships            general.
                with umbrella bodies such as the Academy
                of Social Sciences and, the Association of             As a result the Association is seeking to address
                Learned and Professional Society Publishers            activity in five areas – leading and serving its
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020 | 5

increasingly diverse and global community;             3. Territory, Politics and Governance
growing and supporting RSA membership;                    –	
                                                            territorial politics, governance, institutions,
responding to new publishing paradigms;                     regionalism and regionalisation, city region
                                                            building and metropolitan politics, devolution
building (and financing) its knowledge exchange             and localism
activities, and finally, keeping pace with changes
                                                       4. Regional and Urban Economies
and transitions in the international higher
                                                          –	
                                                            innovation, evolution, economic resilience,
education community. As a consequence of this               clusters, creativity, competitiveness, labour
latter change, the role of learned societies is             markets, work and welfare, migration, firms,
changing and new values and modes of practice               sectors, global production networks and value
need to be established across the sector.                   chains
                                                       5. Spatial Planning
The global economy is slowly recovering from the          –	cities and city regions, strategic spatial planning,
2008 crisis and this process has triggered new               housing, transport, infrastructure and the built
questions and lines of inquiry by researchers. The           environment, place making approaches
Association is committed to providing leadership       6. Regional and Urban Policy
on a number of dimensions of these responses.             –	
                                                            cohesion, leadership, governance, public
                                                            management, policy formulation and evaluation,
                                                            place based approaches, smart cities and
Areas of Challenge                                          regions, urbanization and regional development
                                                       7. Sub-national identities and well being
The notion of “region” is evolving and the
                                                          –	
                                                            citizenship, culture, identity, lived differences,
Association must work to embrace new                        social capital, ageing, demography, community
conceptions of territory and spatiality and                 and wellbeing
embed them into how it thinks and works.
                                                       In supporting research and enquiry into these
The Board has identified seven themes which            seven areas the Association seeks to engage
it believes are critical for the future of regions     with researchers and practitioners in differing
and these themes inform its decisions as the           parts of the world to ensure that lessons can be
Association seeks to engage with and reshape           learnt from and between territories.
policy and public debate. These themes, for
example, will inform future conference themes
and the Regional Inquiry. The Association will,        Areas of Engagement
however, remain responsive to the emerging
ideas put forward by researchers in its grant          Sectors
schemes and research networks.                         The Association seeks a global footprint. It will
                                                       concentrate on growth in China, North and Latin
The Association is heterodox in its approach           America and Eastern Europe in the next five year
to research and this is reflected in the range         planning period – it values what can be learnt
of approaches taken in published articles. We          from comparative work. It recognises that work
welcome work from different traditions including       conventionally labelled either regional science
qualitative and quantitative contributions.            or regional studies are at root just variations
The introduction of our new journal, Area              on a common interest in regional knowledge
Development and Policy in 2016 will help               inquiry. Regional Studies, Regional Science
articles following non-Western traditions to find      – its new open access journal reflects this new
a home within the Association.                         commitment to spanning disciplinary boundaries
                                                       and we will continue to engage closely with
Our seven key themes are:
                                                       workers in a number of fields.
1. Sustainable Cities and Regions
   –	
     urban and regional sustainability, risk           The Association will also seek to build
     management, low carbon and climate mitigation
                                                       relationships into related fields including urban
     strategies, food, water, energy and environment
     and environmental resilience
                                                       studies, political science and planning. As
                                                       part of this commitment we will reach out to
2. Spatial Theory and Methods
                                                       societies working in these areas. The Association
   –	
     urban and regional theories, methodology,
     value change (including big and open data),       aspires to be multi and inter-disciplinary in its
     visualization, spatial economic analysis          approach.
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
6 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

                The Association continues to strive to have an            • A
                                                                             funded research programme responding
                impact on policy in order to generate for public            to the needs of all categories of
                benefit. In particular it seeks to work at a number         membership with appropriate funding,
                of levels as a partner with organisations such              clear and transparent criteria for support
                as Directorate-General for Regional and Urban               and a strong commitment to dissemination
                Policy (DG Regio) as well as other relevant DGs             of the findings
                such as Research and Innovation and Education             • The reward of excellence in our fields
                and Culture (European Commission); Committee
                of the Regions; OECD; World Bank; United                  • T
                                                                             he development of our territorial
                Nations; and UN-Habitat. The Association                    networks to better serve members
                recognises that managing a diverse community              • F
                                                                             urther support for students and early
                of interests is complex and will require innovation         career researchers
                and compromise.

                Within our Membership
                The Association will continue to work to support
                                                                       The Strategic Priorities
                and encourage the work of its members and to           To address its strategic challenges the Association
                recognise their varying career stages, different       will make choices and planned investments to
                geographical locations and the advantages and          build on existing strengths and to work in new
                challenges that this can bring. It will seek as far    areas through its core activities.
                as possible to be inclusive in its organisation of
                activities taking into account varying abilities to
                pay.
                                                                       Research
                The Association will offer a trans-disciplinary
                platform of engagement for academics                   The Association’s choice of seven priority
                regardless of seniority, policy makers and             research areas recognise the effects of the 2008
                practitioners. The Association has a specific goal     economic crisis, voices on climate change, the
                of encouraging early career researchers and post       geo-political shifts that have generated global
                graduate students. It undertakes to consult and        uncertainty, as well as other concerns including
                inform its members using all reasonable means          demography, migration, health and well
                in order to build a community of knowledge and         being, unequal development, education and
                practice and to better enable the Association to       skills training and the nurturing of sustainable
                act as a voice for the sector.                         development.

                                                                       The Association will work in two ways to support
                What will we deliver?                                  its research ambitions. We will assist our members
                   • L eadership on the key questions for the         to network, to access the best research, to
                      field, including projects addressing these       publish and to disseminate their research. We
                      challenges                                       will also directly commission research through a
                   • A
                      better understanding of what regional           number of schemes.
                     studies and science means in different
                     territories to facilitate better comparative      The Association has recognised the following
                     and cooperative working and efforts to            challenges in the area of research
                     link across disciplines to involve all relevant      • O
                                                                             ne effect of the financial crisis from 2008
                     thinkers on regional issues                            was to reduce the volume of research
                   • P
                      olicy engagement that generates public               funding available, especially for early
                     benefit from the work of our members and               career researchers
                     community                                            • T
                                                                             ightened funding in higher education
                   • E xciting and innovative networking                   combined with a tendency to concentrate
                      opportunities including global conferences            on large grants by grant awarding bodies
                     and events                                             meant that micro and small grants to kick
                   • A high quality and flexible publishing                start larger projects are hard to find, even
                     programme                                              for established researchers
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020 | 7

  • T
     here remains the need for funding that
    is geographically untethered to support         Research Network Survey Results
    international networking on narrow themes          • 94% of respondents said their involvement with an RSA
    to build communities of interest, and                 research network led to new networks
    develop thinking and understanding
                                                       • 69% said it led to a publication for them
  • T
     he tightening of funding available               • 50% said it led to working directly with colleagues met
    for researchers at all levels to attend               during the event
    conferences and events
                                                       • 32% said it led to the publication of a book
  • T
     he changing publishing paradigm because
    of global policy interest in open access

Achievements                                        RSA Research Network on Leadership and Urban
  • T
     he Association works with leading             and Regional Development
    thinkers and researchers across its             The purpose of this research network was to build on existing
    disciplinary breadth. It engages with them      contacts between earlier RSA Research Networks (Place
    in a number of ways – through invitations       leadership, Sotarauta et al; Citizen driven and collective
    to speak, positions on committees,              leadership, Liddle et al; Leadership in Euro peripheries, Sirak
    through project work such as event              et al and Networked leadership and innovation, Sotarauta
    organisation, editorships and editorial         et al) to create greater understanding, develop further
    boards                                          joint publications, and build future research potential and
                                                    through this to develop common theoretical, conceptual and
  • F
     unding was given to 33 research networks
                                                    methodological frameworks.
    from 2008 to 2014 when 12 were active.
    This represented a financial commitment of      This Research Network organised events with international
    £99,000. Most of the 104 network leaders        audiences in the UK, Finland, the Netherlands as well as the
    were based in Europe with some presence         Czech Republic, Belgium and Australia and will run further
    in the USA and Australia. Over 70 meetings      events in the future. For this rolling RSA funding has been
    were held in more than 25 countries, with       critical to the health of this vibrant network.
    well over 1,500 participants
  • T
     he RSA is committed to increasing           Priorities for 2015 - 2020
    research engagement - of the money
                                                     • T
                                                        he Association will launch two new
    committed to research networks c.50% was
                                                       research grant schemes – one for mid-
    spent on bursaries to assist attendance at
                                                       career researchers (RSA Membership
    their conferences and events
                                                       Research Grant - £5,000) and one for
  • S
     ince 2011 the RSA has invested £260,000          established researchers (RSA Fellowship
    in 26 Early Career Research Grants of              Research Grant - £7,500). These small grant
    up to £10,000 each. Grant holders have             schemes are designed to offer support for
    been internationally located – Germany,            a discrete piece of research. Funding will
    Ireland, Sweden, USA and China. This               be provided in a flexible way, permitting
    research is spread throughout the social           teaching buy out, research assistance,
    sciences including Geography, Economics,           data purchase, travel and subsistence.
    Management and Business Studies,                   It can also include an Article Processing
    Planning, Political Science and Sociology          Charge when any resultant publications
  • T
     he Association is committed to stronger          go to Regional Studies, Regional
    dissemination of research – our own                Science
    and other research. To this end a fully          • T
                                                        he Early Career Grant scheme will
    searchable content management system is            continue to be promoted and we
    now in place on the website and the landing        will continue to attract high quality
    pages alone for RSA research networks and          applicants from emerging areas particularly
    research grants have attracted over 7,000          those where the RSA is establishing a
    hits in the last 12 months to January 2015         presence
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
8 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

                     • A
                        s the first Early Career grants are fulfilled,      • T
                                                                                he Research Committee will be
                       we will disseminate the research results                innovative while continuing to ensure
                       and assist the researchers in promoting                 the effective expenditure of the research
                       the potential impacts of their work                     budget. For example it will fund a second
                     • T
                        he Research Network format has been                   collaborative PhD addressing questions
                       reviewed and revised. It has allocated                  around knowledge, publishing and
                       a greater sum of money (up to £10,000                   regional studies and regional science
                       per Research Network) to funding rounds
                       in 2015 and 2016 and seeks a balance
                       between policy and theoretical foci. The           The RSA Inquiry
                       networks will carefully be selected, seeking
                                                                          The Association will lead and shape the research,
                       those with international leadership.
                                                                          policy and practice environment in the future
                        e will set a resource envelope for the
                     • W                                                  while also responding to changing economic,
                       planning period and agree how funding is           social and environmental conditions. This
                       divided between schemes. Consideration             multi-disciplinary activity will form part of the
                       will be given to ring-fenced funding for           celebration of our 50th anniversary by making
                       target geographical areas to encourage             a clear contribution to the fields of regional
                       the    development      of  comparative            studies and regional science, as well as social
                       research                                           science globally. It is intended that this Inquiry
                                                                          be independent and addresses key questions of
  RSA Early Career Grant: ‘It’s hard everywhere,                          growth and rebalancing. It will be funded from
  but this place is different’: regional differences in                   the reserves of the Association.
  non-standard work in the UK – Dr Kendra Strauss,                        The topic of the Inquiry will be announced at
  Simon Fraser University, Canada                                         the Association’s Annual Conference “Global
                                                                          Growth Agendas: Regions, Institutions and
  This project was supported as a pilot using a mixed-                    Sustainability” in Piacenza, Italy in May 2015.
  methods approach to investigate non-standard work and
  labour intermediaries, from the perspective of workers in               Led by a small steering group, the Inquiry
  different regions of the UK. It used existing data sources, in          will draw on key international figures for
  particular the Labour Force Survey (LFS), in conjunction with           assistance in addressing the core questions.
  a commissioned nationally representative survey of workers in           A key focus will be tapping into the
  UK regions, as well interviews with policy makers, third sector         knowledge and understanding across all those
  groups and unions. The project has shed light on patterns of            active in regional research, policy and practice
  labour market change since the 2008. In particular, it sought           across the developed and developing world. It
  to explore the robustness of Britain’s employment relative to           will use a range of methods including member
  the levels of joblessness experienced by other EU member                and non-member surveys and questionnaires,
  states and how that can be understood in the context of                 focus groups at international events, online
  uneven geographies of crisis and recovery.                              discussion forums and commissioning of
                                                                          research across the RSA grant schemes and via
  “The Regional Studies Association Early Career grant scheme             Research Networks.
  provides opportunities both to gain experience of being a
                                                                          Particular effort will be given to the
  principal investigator, and to explore emerging themes — in
                                                                          effective dissemination of the findings and
  my case regional differences in non-standard work in the UK —
                                                                          recommendations of the Inquiry throughout its
  as part of the establishment of a longer term research agenda.
                                                                          operation to inform and influence policy decision
  Both are invaluable for developing a career in research.” Dr
                                                                          making.
  Kendra Strauss

  The project allowed the principal investigator to publish
  articles and e-articles and she moved from University of                RSA 50th Anniversary
  Cambridge, UK to the Simon Fraser University, Canada to
                                                                          The Association celebrates its fiftieth anniversary
  further her career.
                                                                          in 2015. The celebration will take many forms
Development Plan 2015-2020 - Regional Studies Association - Regional Studies ...
Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020 | 9

including, as noted above the establishment of        Achievements 2008-2013
an inquiry contributing to the development and
understanding of regional studies and regional        Portfolio of RSA Publications
science. The Association will publish a history       In the period 2008-2013, the Association added
of the impact of the Association authored by Dr       three new publications to its portfolio:
James Hopkins whose PhD was co-funded by the             1	
                                                           Regional Studies, Regional Science,
RSA and by the Economic and Social Research                is an online only, gold Open Access
Council, the UK Government’s Social Science                journal launched in late 2013. The journal
funding council. We will also publish a pamphlet           publishes on regional issues in economics,
for the members and wider community on the                 geography, planning, political science
history of the RSA. In addition, the Association’s         and related fields. With streamlined peer-
website will include a timeline of our development         review, the journal accommodates research
noting important dates and events.                         articles, shorter policy briefings and a new
                                                           ‘regional graphics’ section, reflecting the
Two new grant schemes have been announced                  growing importance of data visualisation.
– for mid-career members (MeRSA) and for                   The journal adheres to expected standards
established career members (FeRSA). The                    of excellence and research rigour. It
Association will celebrate at each of its major            responds to the paradigm shift towards
events during the year but in particular at its            Open Access publishing
President’s Event in
                                                         2	The journal Territory, Politics, Governance
November in London
                                                            began in 2013 and has moved to a
2015.
                                                            quarterly format from 2015. It is a new
                                                            interdisciplinary journal from the Regional
Finally, the Research
                                                            Studies Association. It is committed to
Network Scheme will
                                                            the development of theory and research
be re-launched with
                                                            in territorial politics and the governance
additional funding.
                                                            of space. This journal creates a platform
                                                            on which to explore the interface between
Publications                                                territory, politics, economy, identity and
                                                            the organisation of political space. It
The Association seeks to achieve excellence in all          confronts topical and emergent issues of
its publications and to support its journals, books         world economic and political concern
series and magazine as they evolve, responding
to the changing demands of the regional               Other achievements include:
studies and regional science communities. The
                                                            change in editorial model for Regional
                                                         • A
Association recognises the challenge that shifts
                                                           Studies from a geographically unified
in the publishing paradigm towards Open Access
                                                           team to a more internationally dispersed
publishing present generates both challenges
                                                           set of colleagues working on individual
and opportunities. In response we will seek
                                                           contracts, thus avoiding whole team
to both educate and inform the academic
                                                           changeover in the future. We have retained
community about the choices, in addition we
                                                           a collective decision making model. An
will realign our own publishing portfolio (e.g. the
                                                           increase in publishing frequency from 9
Association’s journals are now all hybrid with the
                                                           issues per annual volume in 2007 to 12 in
exception of Regional Studies, Regional Science
                                                           2014
which is fully gold) and will address the potential
tightening of future publishing income streams              he inclusion of Spatial Economic
                                                         • T
by building resilience into budgetary planning.            Analysis within the Web of Science to
The Association commissions special academic               gain an impact factor and the shift from 2
pieces to highlight areas of importance in the             issues per year to quarterly publication
field, especially where identified as research           • T
                                                            he introduction of early career editors
priorities in this document. Commissioned                  to its journals. These mentored roles have
pieces will be subject to the normal standards of          proved hugely popular both within the
excellence and subject peer review.                        community and within the editorial teams
10 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

                   • R
                      egional Insights was a magazine aimed        Priorities for 2015 - 2020
                     at early career researchers launched in           • A
                                                                          new journal will be launched in 2016
                     2010 and which in 2014 became a section             called Area Development and Policy. This
                     within the new journal Regional Studies,            will focus on area development and policy
                     Regional Science. Regional Insights                 at different scales, in particular in Brazil,
                     in both incarnations was designed                   Russia, India and China. This new journal
                     to make research findings from early                will recognise (as Li Keqiang, Chinese
                     career researchers more accessible to               Premier, did in his speech at Davos, 2015)
                     a wider audience. Complementing the                 that “cultural diversity is a treasure”. It
                     Association’s existing publications, it             will be multidisciplinary with economic
                     continues to offer a mentoring service              geography and applied economics
                     to early career authors helping them to             prominent. It will publish authors from
                     shape their research into a paper which             different writing traditions including non-
                     will engage and inform readers drawn                Western interpretations of development
                     from across academia, policy-makers                 and will be sensitive to geographical and
                     and practitioners in the field of regional          contextual differences
                     studies and regional science
                                                                       • R
                                                                          egional Studies will continue to
                   • A
                      marked strengthening of the brand and             publish core, high quality articles and
                     reputation of the Regions and Cities Book           special issues, commissioned articles and
                     Series which now publishes 14 books a               editorials. Commissioned editorials may
                     year as compared with 4 books in 2007.              link to Association events including the
                     The series has published 106 books since            RSA Inquiry
                     2008
                                                                          erritory, Politics, Governance at the
                                                                       • T
                   • W
                      hen comparing the number of books                 time of writing is under consideration for
                     sold between the periods 2003-2007 and              inclusion in the Web of Science leading to
                     2008-2013, there has been growth of                 an impact factor. It will continue to grow
                     more than 200%                                      its reputation through strong editorship,
                   • In 2008 the member benefits were                   the careful choice of special issues and
                      enhanced by the addition of e-access to 8          high profile speakers for its series of
                      journals and in 2014 this list was expanded        annual lectures
                      to 16 including Regional & Federal               • S
                                                                          patial Economic Analysis will continue
                     Studies; Space and Polity; Policy Studies;          to publish high quality papers and seek
                     City and Urban Policy and Research.                 special issues on key topics
                   • A
                      n expansion of the philanthropic schemes        • R
                                                                          egional Studies, Regional Science will
                     to which the Association’s publications             establish its reputation as the leading
                     belong – Research4Life incorporating                gold Open Access journal in the field
                     HINARI, AGORA, OARE and aRDI; INASP                 and will publish submitted papers
                     and the Programme for the Enhancement               while also commissioning articles and
                     of Research Information (PERii); The                commentaries. The journal will offer a
                     Essential      Electronic      Agricultural         rapid route to publication across regional
                     Library (TEEAL); The Association of                 studies and science. It will continue to
                     Commonwealth Universities Low Cost                  embrace change and will be responsive to
                     Journals Scheme; Journal Donation                   best practice developments in gold Open
                     Project (JDP); Special Terms for Authors            Access publishing
                     & Researchers (STAR) which assists
                                                                       • R
                                                                          egions, the members’ magazine, will
                     individual authors from emerging regions;
                                                                         continue to be the voice of the Association
                     AuthorAID which provides mentoring for
                                                                         membership and will remain a flexible
                     authors in emerging regions
                                                                         publication responding to needs
                                                                       • R
                                                                          egions and Cities Book Series will
                                                                         continue to be nurtured as a key series
                                                                         for the Association. The series will
Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020 | 11

                                                                                                                                  continue to respond both to offered manuscripts and
                                                                                                                                  commissioned works
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Regional Studies
                                                                                                              • T
                                                                                                                 he Association will continue to work with and support                                                                                                                                                               Impact Factors
                                                                                                                its large team of editors (43), associate editors (46) and                                                                                                                                                                    ■ 2010 ■ 2013
                                                                                                                editorial advisory board members (107) both through
                                                                                                                the provision of appropriate administrative support,
                                                                                                                institutional support through the RSA Publications
                                                                                                                Committee, Board and office team and through the
                                                                                                                provision of advice and technical assistance
                                                                                                              • T
                                                                                                                 he role of referees in the publishing portfolio will
                                                                                                                continue to be recognised and celebrated (well over                                                                                                                                                                                                 1,756
                                                                                                                5,000 referees contributed between 2008 -2014
                                                                                                                based on annual counts)                                                                                                                                                                                                1,259
                                                                                                              • T
                                                                                                                 he relationship with the Association’s publisher
                                                                                                                (Taylor and Francis) will continue to be developed
                                                                                                                particularly in relation to publishing innovation
                                                                                                              • T
                                                                                                                 he Association will continue to consider where new
                                                                                                                publications might contribute to the development
                                                                                                                both of the Association and the field
                                                                                                              • E
                                                                                                                 fforts will be made to provide additional resources                                                                                                                            Spatial Economic Analysis
                                                                                                                to allow for some commissioning of papers or                                                                                                                                                                        Impact Factors
                                                                                                                organisation of publication events                                                                                                                                                                                        ■ 2010 ■ 2013
                                                                                                              • T
                                                                                                                 he Association will continue to contribute to
                                                                                                                the debates on the changing world of academic
                                                                                                                publishing – both in journals and monographs
                                                                                                              • C
                                                                                                                 ontinue to appreciate and concentrate on the
                                                                                                                importance of communicating with both the
                                                                                                                Association’s members and the wider community
                                                                                                              • B
                                                                                                                 e aware of the need to plan for timely and smooth                                                                                                                                                                                                 1,282
                                                                                                                succession of editors, editorial teams and staff                                                                                                                                                                      0,944
                                                                                                                members
                                                                                                              • S
                                                                                                                 eek to fulfil the desire of some members to receive
                                                                                                                on online copies of journal publications only

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               2014                                                                                         Regions
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      2015
                                                                                                                                                                                                             regio

                                                                                                                          Regions,
                                                                                                                            R e g io
                                               Regions, Spatial Strategies and Sustainable Development

                                                                                                                                                                                  Regional
                                                                                                                                     ns an                                           Studies
                                                                                                                                           d C it
                                                                                                                          Spatial Strategies
                            a key con                                                                                                             ie s
                                                                                                                                                                                                           nal w

                                         cern in                                                                                                                      Association

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Regions
                           concep                 the deb
                                                                                                                          and Sustainable                                                                            regio
                                    tualizatio              ate and                                                                                                 THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM
                          practic              ns and                 empirica
                                   al develo            practic                   l resear                                                                         FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
                                                                 al uses                    ch on the

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      nal w
                         forms                pment                        of the                                                                                       POLICY AND RESEARCH
                                 of age               of region                     idea of               geogra
                        regionalis ncy/advocacy
                                                                                                                          Development
                                                                  al studie                    ‘region’.           phy of                                              The Association welcomes as
                                                          involved           s. this                     this                regions
                                    m                                                                                                   is the evo
                                                                      in the pro book drives the idea prioritize
                                                                                                                                                                        members all individuals and
                       relational as well as the

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           orld
                                                                                                                                                     luti
                                                                                                                                                                                                                o

                                                                                                                                                                     organisations who are interested
                                    divide               import                     duction                  discussio            s both                  on of thein the study and understanding
                                             that has             ance of                                                                    the inte
                                                                            geohistor and reproduct                       n furthe                     llectual

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           s
                                                                                                                                                                        of regions and regionalism
                                                       charac                                                                       r. it str
                                                                                                                                                                                rlds

                                                               terized                                            ion of                                          and the
                     the con
                                tributo                GRAHAM             deb
                                                                           HAUGHTON
                                                                              ates on
                                                                                          y and con
                                                                                                       text. th             regional          esses the
                                                                                                                                                            comple                                                     adva
                     motiva               rs answe                                        regions                e book                 spa ces and                   x                                                       ncing
                             te reader              r key que DAVID COUNSELL
                                          s to refl AND         stions
                                                                                                     and reg
                                                                                                               ional bor
                                                                                                                             moves
                                                                                                                                      beyond           space of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      the g                                             The Voice of The MeMbership
                                                                                                                                                                                   and Public Policy
                                                                                                                                                                                   Regional Development

                    various
                              actors
                                       to mainta
                                                   ect on
                                                            the per
                                                                         from diff
                                                                                     erent con
                                                                                                                            ders sin
                                                                                                                                      ce the
                                                                                                                                                 the ter
                                                                                                                                                1990s.
                                                                                                                                                           ritorial
                                                                                                                                                                    /                                                                       eog   raphy                                 No 272                       Winter 2008
                                                   in or tra          petual                      ceptua
                  this boo                                   nsform           signific
                                                                                        ance of            l and con
                                                                                                                        crete-con                                                                                                                         of reg
                 interna
                             k is bas
                                       ed
                                                                        the con
                                                                                  tested           regional
                                                                                                               concep                textual                                                                                                                     io   ns
                          tional sch on a special                                           spatialitie
                                                                                                        s of soc
                                                                                                                         ts and
                                                                                                                                 how the
                                                                                                                                                angles
                                                                                                                                                          and
                                       olars.             issue of                                                 ietal pow                  y are mo
                                                                     Regional                                                  er relatio                  bilized
                Marti                                                           Studies,                                                                           by
                        n Jones                                                            with an                                           ns.
                                                                                                      add  itional
                                                                                                                                                                                                  edited

               Science               is profes                                                                       panel dis                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Issn: 1367–3882
                         DTC at                 sor of                                                                          cussion
              geogra                the Un              urban                                                                               involving
                      phies of               iversity            and
             and sub             state and            of Sheffie regional politic                                                                        leading
                      national
                                  political
                                              govern              ld,
                                                      ment inte UK. Martin is
                                                                  rve                    an
                                                                                            al econom
                                                                                                         y and dir                                                                                                                                                                                     STUDYING REGIONS:
                                                                                                                                                                                              By ma

                                             econom                    ntion thr              interdi                  ector of
           Anssi
                     Paasi
                              is a pro
                                                      ies the
                                                               rein.                ough eco
                                                                                                 nomic
                                                                                                      sciplina
                                                                                                                ry resear         the wh
                                                                                                                             cher, inte ite rose social
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   WHAT DIFFERENCE DID IT MAKE?
          fields are                                                                                     and soc                         rested
                      social con fessor at the                                                                      ial policy
                                                                                                                                in cities          in the
         the link                   struction           departm
                                                                                                                                                                                                    rt

                   s betwe                      of region           ent of                                                                   and reg
        geopol               en                                             geograph                                                                  ions,
                 itical ima territories, bou               s and ter
                                                                                                                                                                                         in Jone

                                                                       ritorial            y at the
                            ginatio                 nda rie                      ide                  un  ive rsity of
                                      n; the Eur            s and ind                ntities;
                                                 ope of                 ividual/so              theories                 oulu. an
                                                          regions/re                 cial con              of region                ssi’s res
                                                                       gional                   sciousn                 , place                earch
                                                                                planning                 ess; the               and reg
       geog                                                                                  and dev                 rhe                   ion  alism;
                                                                                                       elopment toric of global
                                                                                                                                                                                                 s

               raphy/e
                                                                                                                                                                                      and an

                             cono                                                                                   .                        ization
                                                                                                         mics/Bu                                      and
                                                                                                                         siness
                                                     GRAHAM HAUGHTON AND DAVID COUNSELL

                                                                                                                                                                                 ssi pa

 www.rou
           tledge.co
Routledge             m
          titles are                                                                                                                                cover
                                                                                                                                                                                        asi

                     available as                                                                                                                         image: © thin
                                    eBook
                                            editions
                                                                                          in a rang
                                                                                                           e of digita
                                                                                                                                                                            .
                                                                                                                                                                       kstock
                                                                                                                      l formats             ISBN
                                                                                                                                                   978-1-1
                                                                                                                                                          38-852
                                                                                                                                                                  60-0
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     R e g io
                                                                                                                                           9 7811
                                                                                                                                                  38                                                                            ns an
                                                                                                                                                         852600
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      d   C it ie
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      edited                        s
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            By ma
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         and a    rtin
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               nssi pa Jones
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      asi

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Regional Studies: 43 years and still going strong
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Networking, networking, networking: RSA in its intellectual family

                                                                                                         2005                                                                                                                                                                           • Members reflect on the impact of lives spent studying regions

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Regions 2010
12 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

                                                                        In a change to the previous strategy, the
 Regional Studies, Regional Science                                     Association will concentrate on a single “Annual”
 Launched in late 2013 this new journal is gold Open Access.            conference each year supported by a number of
 It is therefore an innovative addition to the existing suite           other events of different kinds and scales such
 of hybrid RSA journals. With article processing charges                as publishing events, early career, policy and
 subsidised by the Association it offers an inexpensive route to        territorial conferences.
 Open Access publishing alongside a number of innovations.
                                                                        Achievements 2008-2013
 These include the use of a refereeing panel providing
 rapid referee responses (only 14 weeks from submission to                 • In the planning period the Association
 publication in November 2014); a regional graphics’ section                  has run 10 global events in 10 countries
 taking papers demonstrating data visualisation; publishing                   including the USA, China, Brazil, Turkey,
 both unconventionally short and long articles and articles with              Finland and the UK. The total number of
 associated commentaries. Importantly it offers a mentored                    events held is 116, with 104 being held in
 paper section for early career researchers. In its first 12 months           Europe
 it has published 27 articles including 11 early career mentored           • T
                                                                              he Association has innovated. In 2013 a
 route papers and 2 regional graphics. It has attracted in excess            publications conference was run at UCLA,
 of 17,000 full text downloads.                                              Los Angeles with capped attendance
                                                                             numbers with all Association publishing
                                                                             outlets represented. This event was one of
 Downloads on Territory, Politics, Governance                                the most favourably reviewed conferences
                                                                             in our history
 When Territory Deborders Territoriality, Saskia Sassen,
 Article Views: 6306                                                       • T
                                                                              he policy conference programme has
                                                                             been strengthened partly through the
 How Should We Do the History of Territory? Stuart Eldon,
                                                                             use of collaborative arrangements with
 Article Views: 4581
                                                                             organisations such as the Smith Institute.
 Explaining (with) Neoliberalism, Jamie Peck,                                These events often employ a dual strategy
 Article Views: 3716                                                         of pamphlet and conference, which works
 Territory, Politics, Governance, John A. Agnew,                             well with the policy community
 Article Views 2670                                                        • E
                                                                              arly Career conferences have been
                                                                             introduced and attendee numbers are
                                                                             growing
                  Conferences and Events                                   • N
                                                                              ew format web pages have supported
                  The Association runs a globally respected series           the conference programme well with
                  of conferences and events. These benefit the               more hits and fewer calls to the RSA office
                  different sectors of our membership – students,            for conference related information
                  early career researchers, academics and policy
                  makers and practitioners. Some events cater           RSA Membership
                  for all, while others are targeted by geography
                  or theme to predetermined categories of our
                                                                        and Conference Portals
                  membership. Events are run at scales from the            • D
                                                                              uring the planning period the Association
                  regional to international. The Association seeks           has invested in two conference and
                  to increase the impact of its events by running            membership portals – the technology
                  more events and by attracting more people                  moved very quickly during this period.
                  to attend them. Events will continue to be                 These investments have been popular
                  thematically structured and market oriented. The           with members as they are easy to use and
                  challenges in this area are leadership in terms            they are also popular with the office team
                  of topic selection, retention of participants,             as they facilitate the back room functions
                  talent monitoring and community building.                  for events and membership. These are
                  The Association seeks to use its conferences to            big investments both financially and in
                  promote research and debate on the key issues              terms of planning, specification, delivery,
                  it identifies in our field through the selection of        training and implementation
                  plenary speakers and the organisation of special
                  panels and paper sessions.
Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020 | 13

    Conference Pricing                                                                           • S
                                                                                                    eek to increase the level of sponsorship
        • In 2009, to assist with equality of access,                                             attracted in order both to allow a better
           the Association introduced a territorial                                                level of provision for the events and / or
          pricing for its major conferences which                                                  lower entrance fees and to raise the profile
          uses GDP per capita on a pp basis. This has                                              of our events
          proved popular with the membership in all                                              • U
                                                                                                    se   our   conference  and    events
          territorial bands and increasing numbers                                                 programme as a spring board to building
          of participants are attending from bands                                                 new relationships
          B, C and D                                                                             • P
                                                                                                    lan a range of different types of events
                                                                                                   leading with an annual conference but
    Priorities for 2015 - 2020                                                                     supplemented by one day, two-day and
        • R
           un events which are innovative and                                                     specialist events such as policy seminars
          excellent. We will seek to innovate                                                      and publications meetings
          through thematic session planning,
          organisation of plenary programming and                                             Case Studies
          the arrangement of fringe meetings and
          social engagements (including sporting                                                International Conference 2013, Global Urbanisation:
          opportunities) allowing for effective
                                                                                                Challenges and Prospects – UCLA, Los Angeles,
          networking
                                                                                                USA, 16th – 18th December 2013
        • W
           e will seek to make our events inclusive
          and accessible to all through the use of                                              This event was an innovation for the RSA in that attendance
          careful pricing strategies supported by a                                             was tightly controlled with a maximum number of 120 and
          transparent conference bursary scheme                                                 tightly prescribed themes. Sixty per cent of attendees were
          and the use of new communication                                                      by invitation with the remainder being selected from the
          technologies such as web-streaming and                                                response to the call for papers.
          social media
           e will seek to increase both the number
        • W                                                                                     Editors were present from all the Association’s publications
          and variety of events that are organised                                              and presentation slots in all sessions were deliberately long
          (whether physically or virtually) and the                                             to allow speakers time to develop their arguments. The sun
          number of individuals that participate in                                             shone on the Covel Commons Centre and the conference
          them                                                                                  feedback was the most glowing in the Association’s history.
        • P
           ay attention to the geography of our                                                Plenary speakers included Richard Florida (Toronto, Canada);
          programme to ensure that new markets                                                  John Agnew (UCLA, USA); Michael Storper (LSE, UK), Ananya
          are properly represented and included in                                              Roy (UC Berkeley, USA); Danny Dorling (Oxford, UK) and
          the work of the Association                                                           Andrew Beer (Adelaide, Australia).
                                                                 a4
                            Ukraine 1

                                                                   3
                                                               lic
                                                               2
                                                      Australi

                                                               2
                            USA 2

                                                            ub
                                                          tria
                                                Ch gium

                                                         ep
                                              Cz a 1
                                                     Aus

                                                                                                European Conference – Regional Responses
                                                      hR
                                                     in
                                                  Bel

                                                                        6
                                                 ec

                                                   k
                                                ar
                                             nm

                                                                                                and Global Shifts: Actors, Institutions and
                                          De

                                                                                 d4
                                                                            lan
                                                                        Fin
                                                                                ce 2
                                                                                                Organisations: Pécs, Hungary, 24th -26th May 2010
                                                                           Fran

UK 42                                                                                           This event was attended by 540 people from 44 countries
                                                                                Germany 11
                                                                                                including Egypt, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan and
                                                                            Hung
                                                                                    ary 2
                                                                                                saw 423 papers presented over 3 days in 147 sessions. Plenary
                                                                           Ice
                                                                          It lyland 1
                                                                         Laa     1              speakers included Dirk Ahner, Director-General, EU Regional
                                                                            t v
                                                                       Lux ia 1
                                                                  Po
                                                                            em
                                                                                bo              Policy, European Commission and Gerhard Stahl, Secretary-
                                                                     lan           urg
               2

                                                                                                General, Committee of the Regions. The event brought
                 y

                                                                         d8            1
             rke

                       ds 7

                                                     Po
                                                      Slo
          Tu

                                                       Slov
                                  nd 2

                                                        rtu
                                          Sweden 3
                                                        Spain 3

                                                                                                together established policy makers, practitioners from many
                      lan

                                                          vak

                                                            ga
                                                             enia
                                   erla
                     her

                                                              l1
                                                               ia 2

                                                                                                European regions and all career stages of academics in a
                 Net

                              Switz

                                                                    1
               The

                                                                                                vibrant mix of sessions including plenaries, round tables,
  Global reach and number of RSA Research Networks
                                                                                                workshops, meet the editors and discussion groups.
              and other events 2008-2013
14 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

                Membership and                                            • Increase   in    membership     services
                                                                            especially for the early career and
                Community Building                                          student communities whose numbers
                                                                            were decreasing in 2007 e.g. Facebook
                The Association’s core strength lies in the                 community for early career, Regional
                commitment of its members. The Association                  Insights, Early Career Researcher Grants
                acknowledges that its activities can only be as             Scheme
                strong as its membership, and we are determined           • Introduction of two new membership
                to continue to offer high quality and differentiated        and events platforms during the planning
                membership benefits. The Association continues              period. This has allowed the introduction
                its commitment to recognising membership                    of rolling rather than calendar year
                by career stage and geography as does its                   memberships and the possibility of online
                acknowledgement of the need for inclusivity                 renewals and a standard 10% early bird
                through appropriate pricing strategies.                     discount

                Achievements 2008-2013                                 Priorities for 2015 - 2020
                   • G
                      rowth in membership numbers –                      • T
                                                                             o continue a growth trajectory for
                     membership grew by more than 50%                       membership in absolute numbers and in
                     between 2007 and the year-end 2014                     terms of geographical diversity
                   • G
                      rowth in the geography of our                      • T
                                                                             o build the strength of the individual
                     membership - members in February 2015                  category of membership
                     are drawn from 61 countries
                                                                          • T
                                                                             o create a network of regional studies
                   • C
                      hange in membership demographic                      and science centres
                     profile – student membership has doubled
                     between 2008 and 2013 and early career            The Association wishes to establish a network
                     membership is now higher than student             of centres for the study and practice of regional
                     membership                                        studies and science. These centres will be
                   • Introduction of membership territorial           corporate RSA members but will form a network
                      pricing in 2009 based on GDP per capita          within membership and will have some call on
                      on a price parity basis                          the resource within the office to service their
                   • Introduction of the early              career    activities. The goal is to provide a forum where
                     membership category in 2008                       comparable entities can meet, network and

Geographical
Spread of the
RSA members
2007-2013
Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020 | 15

share experiences. This initiative acknowledges                  	 Taught Master Award – the Nathaniel
that much regional research is undertaken by                        Lichfield Award
teams of researchers working in collaboration                    	 RSA Best Book Award – voted for by
across nations.                                                     the Association’s membership
                                                                 	 Best Paper Regional Studies
Association’s Fellowship Scheme                                  	Best Referee Regional Studies
The post nominals MeRSA and FeRSA were                           	 Best Paper Spatial Economic Analysis
respectively introduced in 2010 and 2011 to                      	 Best Referee Spatial Economic
provide members with immediate recognition of                       Analysis
their professional commitment to the field.                      	 Best Paper Territory, Politics,
                                                                    Governance
The Association’s Fellowship Scheme rewards                      	 Best Referee Territory, Politics,
excellence in the field. The status of this award will              Governance
be raised. New appointees will be welcomed into                  	 Best Paper Regional Studies, Regional
Fellowship not only through acknowledgement                         Science
in Regions (the members’ magazine) but through                   	 Best Referee Regional Studies,
announcement and recognition at conferences                         Regional Science
and events, and through invitation to contribute
their profile to the Association’s website and            Two new Awards were subsequently created to
social media. Alongside this activity, members            further represent the field of regional studies:
will be encouraged to use the post-nominals                  • T
                                                                he Regional Policy and Practice Award
MeRSA and FeRSA. As part of this process the                   – this award is to recognise institutional
conditions for fellowship will be reviewed.                    contribution
                                                             • The Social Media/Journalism Award
Regions
We will continue to reflect on the ways Regions           The Association also awards the Best Paper and
can best serve the membership. We will innovate           Best Paper in the Early Career Category in its
in forms of delivery, focus, content and frequency        major international conferences.
of publication

Community Building                                        RSA Travel Grants
The Association builds its community in many
ways but one of these is through the recognition          Since the launch of the RSA Travel Grant in
of excellence and to this end a number of awards          2009, 24 members have been awarded with the        Map of
are made each year.                                       recipients spread across the globe:                Travel Grants
                                                                                                             awarded
Achievements 2008 – 2013
   • T
      he Association introduced
     the Awards scheme in 2009
     to celebrate excellence
     in the field of regional
     studies and recognised
     across both individuals and
     organisations:
        Contribution to the
       	
        field – the Sir Peter Hall
        Award
        RSA Institutional Award
       	
        for Excellence
        Early Career Award –
       	
        the RSA/Routledge Early
        Career Awards
16 | Regional Studies Association Development Plan 2015-2020

Case Studies of Grant Holders

                     Chung-shing Chan (2012), Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

                     2012 Conference on Sustainable Business in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, 1-3 Nov 2012
                     Attending this conference enriched my knowledge of sustainable business development and
                     management, particularly with some case studies focused in Asian countries and cities. Through
                     presentations by various scholars and experts in the field, I saw different ways of viewing my
                     research - not only from a perspective of geography or resource management, but also from a
                     business or marketing approach.

                          Lidia K.C.
                          Manzo
                          (2015),
                          Politechnico
                          di Milano

                                                                                      Australia 1
                          University,

                                                                                                           1ia

                                                                                                                      1
                          Itlay

                                                                                                      Austr

                                                                                                                      m
                                                                                                                  giu
  From February 26th to March 1st 2015,

                                                                                                                 Bel

                                                                                                                            il 1
  the Eastern Sociological Society held a

                                                                                                                            az
  four day annual conference under the

                                                                                                                          Br
                                                                                                                                               d1
  main theme “Crossing Borders” at the
                                               USA 7                                                                                    lan
  Millennium Hotel Convention Centre of                                                                                             Fin
  New York, USA. The special focus of the                                                                                                                 1
                                                                                                                                                   gary
  2015 meeting invited discussion on the                                                                                                     Hun
  social construction and social impacts
  of borders dividing individuals, groups,
  and nations. Attending this conference                                                                                                     Italy 1
  in New York strengthened the academic
  connection related to my Ph.D. field                                                                                                   Luxem
  research performed in Brooklyn (NYC) in                                                                                                           bourg
                                                                                                                                                              1
  2011-2012. It gave me the opportunity                                                                                          Rom
  to discuss some preliminary findings                   U K3                                                                                ani
                                                                                                                          Slo
                                                                                                                                                a1
  of my work relating to gentrification,
                                                                                                                             va
  class and diversity in global cities.                                                                                         k   ia
                                                                       1

                                                                                  nds 1

                                                                                                                 Sp

                                                                                                                                         1
                                                                                                             1

  Around 30 participants in the audience
                                                                         ey

                                                                                                    Thailand

                                                                                                                  ain
                                                                    Turk

  attended the presentation, providing a
                                                                                                                    1
                                                                                        rla

  stimulating debate. This helped me to
                                                                              The Nethe

  reframe my conceptualization of spatial
  inequality before sending my paper for
  journal publication, and promoted my
  competences for job opportunities.
  Most importantly, all of the participant     With this financial assistance Travel Grant winners have attended events in the
  feedback gave me crucial insights not                                        following places –
  only on my research questions but also
  on American cities that are similar but
  fundamentally different to those in
  Europe.
You can also read