Call for Panel Proposals - DSAI Annual Conference 2027

NOTE: The Call for Panel Proposals is now closed. 

The Development Studies Association Ireland (DSAI) invites panel proposals for its 2027 Annual Conference:

The Future of Development Studies – Strengthening Solidarity and Development Cooperation in an Era of Conflict and Crises

27th & 28th January 2027
Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare

 

For the full conference concept note, including the conference context, aims and key questions, please visit the DSAI Annual Conference 2027 page.

 

Invitation to Participants

The DSAI conference in 2027 will explore the many complex challenges facing development studies into the future. Drawing on contemporary research, the experience of development practitioners, researchers, policy makers and activists, it invites participants to critically reflect on what’s working well, what needs to be unlearned in development studies and how development studies can situate itself more meaningfully and effectively in the future. Inviting participants to critically reflect on understandings, framings and practices of development and solidarity, it will open space for debating development studies’ future roles in theorizing global challenges and responses, in research and policy and in critical and transformative pedagogies. Are our higher education institutions spaces which can support the kinds of meaningful and engaged development research, theory, and pedagogical practices which are needed to shape alternative futures? What forms of intersectionality, relationality and interdisciplinarity should drive development studies in the future?

We invite proposals for panel discussions that approach the conference theme from diverse disciplinary, theoretical, and methodological perspectives. Contributions may engage with (but are not limited to) the following themes:

  • Addressing Challenges and Reimagining Development Studies in an Era of Polycrisis
  • Rethinking Development in the context of changes to the Global Aid Landscape
  • Engaging with Solidarity from Diverse Perspectives
  • Curricula, Research and Methodologies for Development Studies in Uncertain Futures
  • Challenges for Development Studies when Universities are in Crisis
  • How Climate Justice, Loss and Survival Issues Should Reshape Priorities in Development Studies
  • Solidarity in Times of War, Occupation and Genocide
  • Decolonising Development Knowledge and Practice and Addressing Power Dynamics in Development Studies
  • Intersectionality and Feminist Futures for Development and Global Solidarity
  • Technology, AI, Social Media rhetoric and the future of Development Studies
  • Development Studies, Political Economy, Debt and Global Justice
  • Development Studies and Migration, Borders and Global Inequality
  • Solidarity and Democracy in the face of Authoritarianism and Shrinking Civic Space
  • What should Development Studies be saying about the Future of Aid and Development Cooperation?

We welcome contributions from researchers across development studies and related disciplines, including international and global studies, political science, geography, sociology, anthropology, and other cognate social sciences. We also encourage submissions from practitioners and activists led research in development debates, as well as transdisciplinary and collaborative research initiatives.

Submission Guidelines

Panel proposals should be sent as a single Word document to admin@dsaireland.org with 'Conference Panel Proposal 2027' in the subject line, by 12 Noon [Irish Standard Time] on Tuesday, 30 June 2026

Each proposal should include:

  • Panel title
  • Abstract (400–500 words) outlining the panel theme and its relevance to the conference, accompanied by four to six keywords
  • Titles and abstracts any existing proposed papers (3 – 4 max. per session 200–300 words each), with full titles names, and institutional affiliations of all authors or an outline of the kinds of papers being invited for the session
  • Full contact details of the panel organiser(s), including primary email address for all correspondence
  • Short biographical note for each existing participant (maximum 100 words each)

Please note: This call covers panel proposals only. A separate call for individual paper abstracts and posters will follow in due course.

Format: This is an in-person event. In certain circumstances online participation may be accommodated for international presenters. Please indicate in your submission if you are seeking to present remotely.

Visa: If you require an earlier notification of acceptance for visa purposes or to secure your own funding, please indicate this in your submission.

Key Dates & Venue
  • Deadline for Panel Proposal Submissions: 12 Noon [Irish Standard Time] on Tuesday, 30 June 2026
  • Conference Dates: 27th & 28th January 2027
  • Venue: Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Organising Committee

Dr. Susan Murphy, DSAI Chair, Associate Professor in Development Practice, Trinity College Dublin.

Dr. Eilish Dillon, DSAI Steering Committee, Assistant Professor, Department of International Development, Maynooth University.

Dr. Sheila Long, DSAI Steering Committee, South East Technological University Carlow.

Miriam Ryan, DSAI Coordinator, University of Limerick.

Enquiries

For any questions you might have regarding this call please contact: admin@dsaireland.org