Dear IRSPM members, colleagues and friends,
On behalf of the Scientific and Local Organizing Committee for the 2027 Annual IRSPM Conference, we cordially invite you to submit conference panel proposals.
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), represented by the Department of Sociology and Political Science, is proud to host IRSPM 2027 in Trondheim, Norway, from 28–30 April 2027. We warmly welcome your participation and contribution to the ongoing dialogue that defines our field.
Conference theme
Public administrations today operate in a complex and unsettled landscape where crises rarely unfold in isolation. Climate change, geopolitical tensions, demographic shifts, digital transformation, fiscal pressures, public health emergencies, and challenges to democratic governance increasingly interact in ways that amplify uncertainty and strain institutional capacity. These overlapping dynamics, often described as polycrises, challenge governments to act under ambiguity, coordinate across sectors and levels, and sustain public trust while addressing problems that are difficult to define and even harder to resolve.
The IRSPM 2027 conference invites scholars to explore how public administrations understand, govern, and respond to such complex conditions. Wicked problems and grand challenges stretch the boundaries of public management and call for perspectives that shed light on how institutions and organizations evolve, coordinate, and build capacity under conditions of uncertainty. Addressing these issues requires collaborative approaches, innovative analytical tools, and institutional arrangements capable of navigating complexity while safeguarding democratic values.
The IRSPM 2027 conference theme places particular emphasis on safety and security, broadly conceived. This includes crisis management, preparedness, risk governance, civil protection, cybersecurity, information security, and societal resilience. It also raises fundamental questions about democratic accountability, legitimacy, inclusion, public service delivery, and the capacity of public organizations to protect citizens without narrowing the space for openness, participation, and public debate. Digital transformation cuts across all these concerns. Emerging technologies, critical infrastructures, and artificial intelligence may enhance coordination and problem solving, yet they also introduce new vulnerabilities related to privacy, cybersecurity, algorithmic accountability, and unequal access.
We welcome theoretical, empirical, methodological and practice‑oriented contributions that advance public management scholarship on these themes. Proposals may explore how public administrations build capacity to navigate uncertainty, coordinate across levels and sectors, govern risks, strengthen resilience, and uphold democratic values in conditions shaped by polycrises, wicked problems, and grand challenges. We also encourage submissions that examine how evolving technologies, data infrastructures, and organizational arrangements influence safety, security, and public trust. Proposals that involve the conference theme through a variety of perspectives or research traditions are also welcome. Contributions that deepen our understanding of how public administrations can foster safer, more resilient, and more democratic societies in an era of overlapping crises are particularly encouraged.
Call for Panel Proposals
We invite panel proposals that engage with the 2027 Conference theme — Polycrisis, Wicked Problems and Grand Challenges: Public Administrations in Search of Safety and Security — or that address other significant issues in public management, governance, public administration, or policy theory and knowledge. Proposals that are collaborative in nature, ideally with two or three co-chairs, are especially encouraged.
The Scientific Committee will evaluate proposals based on their scholarly contribution to the IRSPM community and their alignment with the overall coherence and diversity of the Conference program.
This call is open to IRSPM Special Interest Groups (SIGs), as well as to any IRSPM member or affiliated colleague with compelling ideas for convening discussions that advance knowledge, share experiences, explore lessons learned, or introduce new methods and conceptual frameworks. Proposals may include both traditional and innovative panel formats.
While the final composition of panels will depend on the quality and focus of submitted abstracts, panel chairs are expected to give due consideration to gender and diversity balance — both in the selection of papers and in arrangements for chairing and moderating sessions.
In cases where panel proposals are similar or overlapping in scope, the Scientific Committee may request that proposers collaborate to form a consolidated panel, in the interest of program coherence.
Responsibilities of Panel Chairs
Once accepted, panel chairs will be responsible for:
- Preparing a call for abstracts to be published on the Conference website and promoting it through their professional networks;
- Soliciting and reviewing abstracts in accordance with Conference guidelines and timelines;
- Making timely decisions on the acceptance or rejection of submissions;
- Providing constructive feedback to authors;
- Collaborating with the Local Organising Committee on the scheduling of sessions and, where appropriate, identifying and inviting discussants;
- Nominating one paper from their panel for the Best Paper Award;
- Ensuring effective chairing and moderation of all panel sessions during the Conference;
- Submitting a brief post-Conference evaluation.
When
The proposal for a panel should be submitted via the online submission form by 20 July 2026
Notification of accepted panels will be provided by 24 August 2026
The call for paper abstracts will open on 14 September 2026
If you need any assistance or clarification, please contact: conference@irspm.org