Mia Bennett is an assistant professor in the Geography Department at the University of Washington. As a political geographer with geospatial skills, through fieldwork and remote sensing, she researches transportation infrastructure and natural resource development in northern frontiers, namely the Arctic, Russian Far East, and along the more remote corridors of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. […]
Mark Scott is Professor of Planning at University College Dublin. Mark’s research is focused on theories and practices of spatial planning and governance, specifically related to rural planning, local regeneration and the environmental dimensions of spatial planning. He has published extensively in these areas and has been awarded over €4 million in national and European […]
Michaela Trippl is Full Professor of Economic Geography at the Department of Geography and Regional Research at the University of Vienna, Austria. The main focus of her research is on regional innovation dynamics, regional industrial development and structural change and innovation policies. She has widely published in leading international journals such as Economic Geography, Regional […]
Peter Sunley is Professor of Human Geography, and Director of Research and Enterprise in Geography and Environment, at the University of Southampton. He has published widely on economic geography including spatial dimensions of labour and regional political economy. His research has focused on geographies of labour organisation and policy, regional and local economic development, innovation […]
Elisa Roller is Director for Competitiveness and Prosperity at the European Commission Secretariat General. She has previously been Director for Twin transition, economic and social affairs, Secretariat General and Head of Unit in the RECOVER Task Force in the Secretariat General of the European Commission. Between 2012 and 2020, she was Head of a number […]
M. Davide Parrilli is Full Professor of Regional Economic Development at Bournemouth University. He has published extensive research on SME development, clusters and districts evolution, regional innovation systems and global innovation networks, global value chains, and social capital in peer-reviewed journals such as RP, SBE, RS, ERD, EPS, TECH, RIPE. In his academic career Davide […]
Dr. Canfei He is a Changjiang Scholar and Full Professor in Economic Geography at Peking University in China. He is the dean of college of urban and environmental sciences at Peking University and the deputy director of Peking University-Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy. His main research interests include evolutionary economic geography […]
Dr Stuart Dawley is a Senior Lecturer in Economic Geography in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS) at Newcastle University. His current research focuses upon the evolution of local and regional economies, particularly understanding the dynamics of path creation and development as part of the energy transition. More broadly, his research previously […]
Abigail Cooke is Assistant Professor of Geography at University at Buffalo (SUNY). She is also a co-director of the Center for Trade, Environment, and Development (CTED, formerly CUSTAC). Her research focuses on the local and regional impacts of global flows. She has studied the impacts of low-wage country import competition in the US and the […]
Lars Coenen is an economic geographer and scholar in innovation studies. His research interests converge around the geography of innovation: Why is it that some regions and cities in the world stand out in their ability to foster and diffuse novelty? What explains this spatial concentration of innovation in an era of globalization? How can […]
Weidong Liu is a full professor in Economic Geography and Director General of the Bureau of International Cooperation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. His areas of study are regional development and policies in China, foreign direct investments, spatial impacts of new information and communication technologies, and the changing geography of the automobile industry in China. […]
Dr. Dieter F. Kogler is the Academic Director of the UCD Spatial Dynamics Lab and an Associate Prof. in Economic Geography at the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin. His research focus is on the geography of innovation and evolutionary economic geography, with particular emphasis on knowledge production and diffusion, […]
Dr Stefania Fiorentino is an Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge (Department of Land Economy), a Fellow of Downing College (Cambridge), and an Honorary Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL). Her research interest and expertise combine urban planning and economic geography for more inclusive and resilient local economic development […]
Judy is responsible for a wide range of financial accounting and compliance activities at the Regional Studies Association. Her duties include managing sales and purchase ledgers, ensuring VAT and statutory compliance, overseeing financial controls, and preparing budgets and financial analyses to support business decisions. She also handles payroll and pension administration, prepares year-end accounts, and […]
Nicola manages the planning and delivery of both online and in-person conferences and events, overseeing budgets, risk assessments, and day-to-day coordination with partners, suppliers, staff, and volunteers. She carries out targeted event marketing to ensure attendance and financial goals are met, and supports continuous improvement through delegate feedback. Nicola prepares event analyses and proposals for […]
Alex looks after the RSA’s members, manages its communication channels and online video collections, administers the membership database and provides IT support and development for the Association. You will also meet Alex supporting RSA in-person conferences and online events. Please email her if you have content to share in the monthly RSA eBulletin. Alex joined […]
Lesa is responsible for managing and developing a wide-ranging programme of online and in-person conferences and events for the Regional Studies Association. Her role includes overseeing budget management, risk assessment, marketing strategy, and event performance analysis. She leads partnerships with external suppliers and partners, supervises staff and volunteer teams, and manages the CRM and event […]
Samantha is responsible for providing governance administration across key RSA bodies, including the RSA Board, the RSAE Board, AGMs, and Publications and Journals Committees, as well as supporting trustee induction processes. She manages the administration of grant and award schemes, including handling calls for applications. Additionally, Samantha supports the activity of territorial networks through recruitment, […]
Ron Boschma is full professor in Regional Economics at Utrecht University, and Professor 2 at UiS Business School of Stavanger University. Boschma has been full professor in Innovation Studies at Lund University where he was also director of the Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE). He is member of the […]
Sarah Ayres is Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Bristol, UK. Her central research interest is the governance of place, space and territory. This core provides the basis for two main strands of work. First, her research is concerned with devolution and decentralisation in both a UK and an international context, […]
Professor Mia Gray is an economic geographer at Cambridge University and a fellow of Girton College. Her current research explores the politics and the distributional effects of austerity. She examines the intertwining of the economic, social and political effects on the local decisions around austerity and the shaping of the local state. Her work in […]
Madeleine is the founding Director of Yellowback (www.ybediting.com), a publishing and editorial services company. She works with publishers and learned societies to manage and strengthen their publication portfolios and peer review processes. Madeleine has worked with the Regional Studies Association since 2013. She has a PhD in Geography from Royal Holloway, University of London, and […]
Professor David Bailey is an influential business expert on economic restructuring and industrial policy and is perhaps best known for his knowledge of UK and West Midlands car manufacturing. He is a Senior fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe and recently has undertaken European funded research on using foreign investment to upgrade clusters […]
Welcome message from RSA Ambassador to Finland, Markku Sotarauta Markku Sotarauta is Professor of Regional Development Studies in the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University, Finland. In 2011-2013, he served as the founding Dean of the School of Management and in 2009-2010 as the last Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration. […]