2026 RSA Annual Conference Submitted Open Sessions

Session Organiser(s):
David Bassens, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Matt Zook, University of Kentucky, USA
Michael Grote, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany

Session Description:

At a time when societies are increasingly dependent on digital technology for everyday and strategic action, the session seeks papers analyzing the positionality of firms, regions and states in digitizing and platformizing global economy. Existing frameworks such as GPN and GFN do not generally include the digital as a strategic and endogenous part of value extraction or regional development. While scholars are exploring ways to include digital technology as active and independent forces in the spatial development of the economy (Butollo et al., 2022; Foster and Graham, 2017; Grabher, 2025; Howson et al., 2022; Langley and Leyshon, 2025) making sense of the digital in the global economy both in the realm of production and finance, remains a challenge and provides the motivation for this call.

Building on our ongoing work at framing this phenomenon (Bassens et al., 2024; Zook and Grote, 2024) we propose the concept of Global Digital Networks (GDN) as a productive lens for understanding changes to the spatial organization of the economy. We define GDN as the structuring of materiality (infrastructure, hardware, energy) and digitality (data, algorithms) (cf. Amoore, 2018), mediated by a layer of technology (cloud services, virtual machines, APIs) by firms, states and regions that results in global networks of cross-territorial action that enables value extraction and insertion in GFNs and GPNs. In other words, we seek to insert digital technology as an active, albeit non-deterministic, force shaping economic geography, structuring both the tech sector and broader economic and spatial arrangements.

The goal of these session(s) is to bring together researchers grappling with firm-level strategies, state efforts to control and regional interdependencies that are emerging from the interaction between digital technology and the materiality of infrastructure, production, finance, consumption, logistics and extraction. We are deliberating casting a wide net including, but not limited to:

• Political economic questions: How do states seek to maintain sovereignty/power by regulation of the digital? How does this shape connectivity and economic geographies?
• Regional development questions: How does a region’s role in and centrality in the digital contribute to local economies? What are practices of strategic (de) coupling in GDN?
• Firm governance questions: How are firms managing data and digital resources across territories? How does territorial embeddedness (e.g., US vs. Chinese firms) bring advantage and disadvantage? How does insertion in GDN enable new modes of control in GPN and GFN?
• Micro-level questions: How is data is generated, enhanced and used across these dimensions? And what are the connections between infrastructural, technological, and digital data layers.

Submission and Contact
Please submit your abstract by 12 February 2026 via the RSA portal: https://lounge.regionalstudies.org/Meetings/Meeting?ID=565.

We are happy to answer any questions and looking forward to the session! David Bassens, david.bassens@vub.be; Matthew Zook, mattazook@gmail.com, and Michael Grote, m.grote@fs.de].

References

• Amoore, L. (2018). Cloud geographies: Computing, data, sovereignty: Computing, data, sovereignty. Progress in Human Geography, 42(1), 4-24.
• Bassens, D., Pažitka, V., Hendrikse, R. (2024). Banking in the cloud: mapping big tech’s global digital technology networks, Regional Studies, 58 (12), 2241-2255.
• Butollo, F., Gereffi, G., Yang, C., Krzywdzinski, M. (2022). Digital transformation and value chains: Introduction. Global Networks, 22 (4), 585-594.
• Foster, C., & Graham, M. (2017). Reconsidering the role of the digital in global production networks. Global Networks, 17(1), 68-88.
• Grabher, G. (2025). The Disruption Delusion: Machines, Networks, and the Platformization of Industrial Production. Sociologica, 19(1), 125–153.
• Howson, K., Ferrari, F., Ustek-Spilda, F., Salem, N., Johnston, H., Katta, S., Heeks, R., & Graham, M. (2022). Driving the digital value network: Economic geographies of global platform capitalism. Global Networks, 22(4), 631–648.
• Langley, P., & Leyshon, A. (2025). Embedded finance and FinTech disappearance, Finance and Society, 1–10. doi:10.1017/fas.2025.10020
• Zook, M., Grote, M. (2025). Global Digital Networks, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 18(1), 93-110.

Session Organiser(s):
Nayara Albrecht, UNILA, Brazil

Session Description:

The research literature on regional governance and development remains largely dominated by theoretical frameworks and empirical analyses rooted in the Global North, particularly those focused on the European Union and the United States. This persistent imbalance not only restricts the diversity of analytical perspectives but also reinforces a hierarchical structure in global knowledge production. This session seeks to disrupt this dynamic by centring perspectives from beyond the so-called developed economies—foregrounding research on regional governance and development in diverse contexts and drawing upon conceptual frameworks developed by scholars working in or on the Global South. Importantly, it also recognises that the very terms “Global South” and “Global North” are themselves contested and insufficient to capture the complexity of geopolitical, economic, and epistemological differences. As such, the session invites contributions that critically engage with these classifications, offering alternative analytical frameworks and reimagined concepts of development that move beyond traditional binaries. It aims to foster a more pluralistic and inclusive dialogue on how regions organise, govern, and pursue development in different parts of the world. The session invites scholars who challenge orthodox and traditional concepts of development and seek to explore new definitions based on a wider and more varied range of countries and regions. It encourages contributions that critically engage with inherited classifications and offer alternative analytical frameworks that reflect the plural and evolving nature of development experiences across the globe. Themes include, but are not limited to, alternative conceptualisations of development, regional governance models, institutional arrangements, and theoretical approaches grounded in diverse regional experiences.

Submission
Please submit your abstract by 12 February 2026 via the RSA portal: https://lounge.regionalstudies.org/Meetings/Meeting?ID=565.

#globalsouth #regionalgovernance #policymaking #decolonisation

Session Organiser(s):
Nayara Albrecht, UNILA, Brazil

Session Description:

Data is a critical asset for informed decision-making. Yet, despite the scale and importance of governments worldwide, most studies on data use continue to focus on the private sector. This session seeks to foster dialogue on how data and artificial intelligence can be harnessed to enhance decision-making in the public sector, with particular attention to place-based approaches that recognise local specificities and needs. Evidence-informed policymaking refers to the systematic use of the best available data, research, and practical experience to guide policy decisions—balancing rigorous evidence with contextual knowledge and political realities. Place-based approaches, in turn, emphasise tailoring policies to the unique characteristics of specific regions, rather than applying universal solutions, thereby improving policy relevance and effectiveness. The session invites both practitioners and academics to share case studies, strategies, and reflections on the evolving role of data in shaping policy. It welcomes theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions that explore how to use and govern local data to design better, more responsive policies for different regions.

Submission
Please submit your abstract by 12 February 2026 via the RSA portal: https://lounge.regionalstudies.org/Meetings/Meeting?ID=565.

#data #policymaking #evidence

Session Organiser(s):
Ashira Beutler-Greene, The George Washington University, USA
Sarah Lieberman, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
Nazmiye Ozjan, Cranfield University, UK
Nicole Viola, Politecnico di Torino, Italy

Session Description:

Novel aerospace operations require an ecosystem of support for success. Ensuring reliability through public and private sector investments, regulatory frameworks and infrastructure development, as well as understanding public acceptance for the novel aircraft overhead and possible adoption of new aerospace systems are all essential to enable innovation.

However, there is regional variation in innovation appetites which have the ability to influence budgetary allocations, coalition development, and testing environments. There are also a range of interactions between economic development at the local and regional levels and national regulation, which can create uneven approaches to energy transition, novel aircraft, and commercial space sector development.

This session considers regional stakeholder networks, relationships between local and national governments, and how innovation in aerospace functions as part of a region’s investment priorities. We welcome submissions which straddle interdisciplinary discussions of readiness for emerging aerospace technologies and provide a context for understanding current challenges and prospective opportunities.

Topics for discussion could include:

• Frameworks for balancing energy needs, infrastructure costs and economic development prospects
• Policymaking, regulation, and economics of the space sector
• System level approaches to air and space transportation design, and how the stakeholder ecosystem responds to the complexity and integration of design and technology
• Tensions around novel aircraft certification requirements

Submission
Please submit your abstract by 12 February 2026 via the RSA portal: https://lounge.regionalstudies.org/Meetings/Meeting?ID=565.

#aerospace #aerospaceinnovation #futureofaviation #energypolicy #energytransition #innovationpolicy #research