About
The Regional Studies Association’s Annual Conference 2025 #RSA25 is being held in partnership with the School of Economics and Management at the University of Porto, Portugal. This four-day conference brings together academics and policymakers to exchange news, views and research findings from the fields of regional studies and science, regional and economic development, policy and planning. There will be representation from around 55 different global territories as we gather both established experts and early career researchers in the beautiful city of Porto.
The conference will feature 550+ presentations, high-profile plenary speakers, a number of specially convened sessions, workshops, professional development and networking sessions, walking tours and field trips. The social programme will include the conference dinner and a reception, side events, exhibitor stalls and post-conference tours to explore Porto and the North of Portugal.
It will be held between Tuesday 6th May - Friday 9th May 2025.
Call for abstracts
In recent years, the landscape of regional development has undergone significant shifts. While technological advancements keep disrupting work, innovation, and consumption paradigms, regions grapple with an enduring global ‘polycrisis’, intertwining geopolitical instability, threats to democracy, and climate-related tension. Multiple actors became increasingly involved with regional development affairs, but this did not prevent many regions to fall into regional economic development traps. Simultaneously, policy agendas strive to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), inclusive growth and well-being, and multiple transitions are accelerating, but progress remains highly uneven across geographical contexts. Regional actors are not just passive observers but can actively shape their destinies and be transformation agents within this dynamic playing field. But what knowledge can regional studies contribute? How can regional studies help envision, conceptualize, understand, and – importantly – catalyze action toward new regional futures?
Navigating Regional Transformation provides a timely opportunity to engage in dialogue and renewed debate on these fundamental issues. It invites exploration of the challenges faced by diverse regions worldwide and underscores the manifold ways in which regional studies can help addressing these pressing issues and collectively navigate the complexities of our changing regional world.
Conference fees
The conference fees to attend the 2025 Annual Conference are under review, the RSA aim to have them online by end of October
Conference Bursary
Conference bursaries are available to current RSA members with preference being given to research students, those in the early part of their career and those from countries with accepted funding difficulties. The bursary takes the form of a free conference place. Please find more infomation on this opporunity here.
Call for Early Career Plenary Speaker
The RSA are seeking applications from early career researchers (within 5 years after finishing their PhD) to present an Early Career Plenary presentation at the forthcoming Regional Studies Association Annual Conference 2025 in Porto, Portugal. The proposed paper should be in line with the theme Navigating Regional Transformation. You can find more infomation here.
Please visit the organisers webpage for more infomation and to submit an abstract: https://www.regionalstudies.org/events/rsa25/
