Call for Panel Proposals

Call for Panel Proposals

DSAI Annual Conference

27th & 28th January 2027

Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare

The Development Studies Association Ireland (DSAI) invites panel proposals for its 2027 Annual Conference, to be held at Maynooth University on 27th & 28th January 2027, under the theme:

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

Concept Note – Setting the Context:

After over fifty years of development studies internationally and in Ireland, the 2027 DSAI conference will reflect on this diverse field, on its current strengths and challenges and, most importantly, on its future. This is particularly the case as it grapples to deal with a new era of conflict and crises. With numerous threats to democracy and multilateralism, to planetary and human survival and well-being, to equality and human rights, and to aid, development and humanitarianism, the conference will address the role that development studies can, or should, play in strengthening solidarity and development cooperation. How well-prepared is development studies in Ireland to deal with these complex threats and challenges and to contribute, at this particularly demanding time, to building more equitable and sustainable global solidarity and development relationships? While new actors and donors are emerging in global development, how is development studies grappling with shifts in global power relations and with power dynamics within development research and funding more broadly?

As we approach 2030, across the globe, individual and collective solidarity activism represent beacons of hope against oppression, inequality and inhumanity. At the same time, we have seen a rise in anti-development rhetoric on social media while those who stand up for peace, justice, gender equality, human rights and climate justice are threatened or killed in ever greater numbers. What role is development studies playing to support different forms of solidarity in the face of war and genocide, poverty and economic self-interest, and with the erosion of democracy, freedom and commitment to international humanitarian law? How are development educators and researchers responding to the challenges experienced by NGOs, civil society and policy makers in the wake of devastating cuts to development and aid budgets? What questions are being asked, relationships forged, or models and framings being imagined and developed for development beyond the SDGs?

Critical Questions for the Future of Development Studies

This DSAI conference in 2027 will support participants to critically question understandings of development challenges and solutions at the heart of development studies itself. If it is to prepare the practitioners, activists and policy makers of the future, and to make a significant contribution to shaping a more just, equal and sustainable world, what changes are needed in development studies? Does it need to abandon, refine or reimagine notions of development which have characterised programmes, courses, research and publications to date? Will terms like sustainable, long-term, indigenous, decolonized, economic, human, localised and results-based development be enough to re-cast the kinds of global solidarity and development relationships needed in the future? In these challenging times, where is the space in development studies for critical debate about aid and development? How can development studies build on its long history of diversity and multidisciplinarity, holding spaces for critique in a threatened environment, while advancing solidarity and development practice?

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 [Standard Irish Time] on Friday, 26th 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 Standard Irish Time on Friday, 26th 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