Call for abstracts – Place Leadership in Europe

PLACE LEADERSHIP IN EUROPE RESEARCH SEMINAR SERIES 2023 – 2025

Leadership & governance in transnational city and regional development: new uncertainties, new prospects?

Call for Abstracts: Seminar 1

16-17 March 2023

Northumbria University, United Kingdom

Abstract deadline for Seminar 1: 30 October 2022

Register attendance for Seminar 1: 31 December 2022

Overview:

Across both coterminous (land) and non-coterminous (sea/river/lake) national borders around the globe, important networking and relationship-building activity that aims to stimulate collaborative problem solving and the co-creation of innovative projects and programmes – and to enable transnational knowledge exchange and learning for mutual benefit – has been a longstanding feature of sub-national city and regional development. However, the strategic and operational conditions for transnational cooperation and development at the sub-national scale are not immune from acute and emerging ‘grand challenges’ across economy, society, and the environment. The combined impacts of rapid climate change and net zero energy transformations, health pandemics, the digital economy and innovative technologies, human migration, trans-frontier labour markets, identity politics, increased political insecurity and war are creating a leadership and governance context that is often uncertain and disrupting across Europe. New challenges, solidarities and policies are emerging, but the complexities and policy integration demands are  substantial.

This 2023-2025 research seminar series organised by leading leadership and governance researchers in association with the Regional Studies Association will bring together a global community of scholars who are interested in developing original perspectives from across city and regional development studies, economic and human/social geography, political science, policy and public administration and cross-border studies. In organising and delivering five research seminars through 2023-2025(Northumbria University, and Birmingham University United Kingdom; ESSCA Ecole de Management, France; University of Prague, Czech Republic; and Tampere University, Finland), we are seeking to refresh inter-disciplinary discussion and advance debate around our understandings and explanations of the drivers, dynamics and outcomes of transnational leadership and governance in city and regional development settings.

So – What is changing in the world of sub-national transnational cooperation and development? How is it changing, and why? What are the implications of the new and uncertain contexts and local circumstances for leadership and governance in these types of settings? What does all of this mean for the theory/ conceptualisation, enactment and development of leadership and governance at this scale in a two- tier Europe?

The Research Seminar Series:

Seminar 1, Theme 1 will be held at The Newcastle Business School Northumbria University (UK) on 16th and 17th March 2023, we invite original abstracts that address aspects of (either/or) the theory and concepts, policy and practice(s) of leadership and governance in transnational sub-national development settings and each seminar will be limited to no more than 50 participants. The network spans across the following areas of interest and in total five seminars will cover:

Theme 1: Leadership of/in transnational city & regional development.
Northumbria 16th and 17th March 2023.

Theme 2: Governance of/in transnational city & regional development in sustainability.
ESSCA, Angers, Autumn (Oct/November) 2023.

Theme 3: The Politics and governance of transnational city & regional development across the Baltics and CEE after Ukraine upheaval.
University of Economics and Business, Prague, Czech Republic March 14th/15th 2024.

Theme 4: Research approaches and methodologies in transnational cooperation and development studies at the sub-national scale.
Tampere University, Finland in autumn 2024 (October/November).

*We are keen to receive papers from across developed, transitioning and developing sub-national settings in Europe but also open to contributions of relevance from across the world. Hence:

Final Seminar 5: Developing and finalising a themed special issue of Regional Studies journal and a book,
University of Birmingham, in early December 2024

Abstracts for Seminar 1 at Northumbria University should be sent to John Gibney at j.gibney@bham.ac.uk and Joyce.liddle@northumbria.ac.uk by 30th October 2022. The seminar programme – and accepted abstracts – will be confirmed by 1st December 2022.

To register attendance for seminar 1 then please email John.Shutt@northumbria.ac.uk by 31st December 2022.

The Place Leadership Research network convenors/organisers are Professor Joyce Liddle, Professor John Shutt and Professor Ignazio Cabras, Northumbria University, United Kingdom and Professor Thomas Hoerber and Professor Ignazio Cabras (Angers/ESSCA), France, Professor Martin Pělucha (University of Economics and Business, Prague and Professor Markku Sotarauta (Tampere University, Finland) and Dr John Gibney Birmingham University, United Kingdom. Dr Gibney is the overall Network convenor across Europe.