WISERD Annual Conference 2025

Aberystwyth University, Monday 30 June and Tuesday 1 July 2025

We are especially keen for submissions from postgraduate, PhD and early career researchers as part of the New Researchers sessions on 30th June. We are partnering up with the Learned Society of Wales Early Career Researchers (ECR) Network and the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS)  (ESRC DTP) to create opportunities for new researchers at the WISERD conference.

We are interested to hear your suggestions for themes, workshops or topics to be addressed in these New Researcher sessions on 30th June, inclusive of career track and professional development. Please e-mail suggestions to: WiserdAnnualConference@cardiff.ac.uk

There are two presentation options for new researchers:

  1. You can submit a paper (15-20 minutes) (Submission deadline 18th April 2025)
  2. You can submit a flashtalk (3 minutes) (Submission deadline 30th April 2025)

Prizes: There will be a book token prize for both the New Researchers Paper Submissions and the New Researchers Flashtalks sponsored by the Learned Society of Wales ECR Network and the WGSSS.

Please note, all accepted flashtalks will take place at the WISERD Conference in Aberystwyth on 30th June and will also automatically be submitted to the Learned Society of Wales ECR Colloquium 2025 which is taking place in Cardiff Metropolitan University on 3 and 4 July.

 

Conference theme: Participation and partnership in a time of precarity and polarisation

The theme for the WISERD Annual Conference 2025 talks to widespread concerns regarding the form and function of civil society in a period marked by social, political and economic discontent and upheaval at local, regional, national and global scales.

Prompted also by widespread scrutiny and reorientation of the relationships between civil society organisations, the private sector and government agencies, this emphasis on partnership is increasingly evident in policy. In Wales, this includes the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act, among others, and this is echoed in policy shifts at the UK and European Level.

The conference will provide a valuable opportunity for those enrolled in the academic, public, private and third sectors to come together and explore research from across Wales and beyond. We are particularly interested in contributions which address the following topics:

  • Opportunities and challenges for participatory and deliberative democracy, including practices allied to (policy) dialogue and community building
  • Prospects and lessons for collaborative governance
  • Forms and potential roles of citizen science
  • Social justice and just transitions, inclusive of health, environmental goods and economic wellbeing
  • Accessing and experiencing (un)fair work and employment
  • Marginalised communities and emerging voices
  • The place of deliberative democracy and/or contentious expressions of democratic voice
  • Civil society responses to precarity and polarisation
  • The role and influence of technology in participation and engagement

Papers relevant to the themes of participation and partnership – involving citizens and/or civil society – not covered by the above sub-themes are also welcome.

Submission guidelines

  • Abstracts for papers must be submitted by using the attached proforma template. The deadline to submit your abstracts will be 9am, Friday 18 April 2025.
  • Abstracts for 3 minute flashtalks must be submitted by using the other attached proforma template. The deadline to submit your abstracts will be 9am, Wednesday 30 April 2025.
  • You can submit more than one abstract. Each abstract proposal or idea should be submitted separately. Please submit your proforma to WiserdAnnualConference@cardiff.ac.uk
  • Proposals may be submitted in English or Welsh.
  • All submissions will be reviewed by the WISERD Conference Committee and considered according to relevance, demand, professional development need and timing. It may not be possible to include all proposals.
  • If you are accepted as a speaker you will need to register as a delegate in the normal way and to book during the early bird booking period (we will publicise when the conference booking opens).
  • Abstracts submitted to the Learned Society of Wales Early Careers Colloquium will be reviewed and a separate notification of the Colloquium outcome will be provided.