This year’s WISERD Annual Conference will take place at Aberystwyth University on Monday 30 June and Tuesday 1 July 2025. The theme of the conference is ‘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. Submissions are welcome for individual papers, or themed sessions with up to four panel members.
We are especially keen for submissions from postgraduate, PhD and early career researchers as part of the New Researchers sessions on 30th June. This includes requests for themes, workshops or topics to be addressed in these New Researcher sessions, inclusive of career track and professional development.
Submission guidelines
- Abstracts must be submitted by using the attached proforma template. Each abstract proposal or idea should be submitted separately.
- 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).
The deadline to submit your abstracts for the WISERD Annual Conference 2025 will be 9am on Friday 28 March.