Are you excited about the potential of interdisciplinary working? Are you committed to connecting people from across institutions and interested in using DSA funds to deepen thinking on a specific issue? 

Three of DSA’s study groups are seeking convenors / co-convenors. 

This is a voluntary (unpaid position) and the amount you put into the group is up to you and your group. 

“The study group I convene works well as a convocation point for those with specific development interests that might otherwise struggle to find one another,” says Richard Heeks, one of the convenors of the Digital Technologies, Data and Development study group. “It’s been especially valuable to draw together and draw out those working in my topic area for sessions at the annual conference; from which papers, special issues, research bids and even a book have emerged.”

The role of a convenor depends on what activities you organise. We expect you to hold at least one meeting a year, often at the DSA annual conference, though many groups hold more than that. Some groups work through email discussion lists, and some collect papers and publish books.

DSA can provide support via:

Each year study group convenors are required to report their activities and state the amount of DSA funds used over the past year as well as their planned activities and amount of DSA funding they hope to obtain for the future year. 

If you’re interested in getting involved but don’t want to do it alone, why not propose co-convening with someone else interested in the topic and present your application jointly?

Pritish Behuria, co-convenes the Politics and Political Economy study group, which also has a connection to the EADI working group on the same theme: “Leading a DSA study group has been a wonderful experience. It’s an opportunity to bring together groups of scholars, working on certain topics every year at the DSA conference and at other affiliated events during the year. Through access to funds available from the DSA, it can help study group convenors and members hold workshops and develop new collaborations. Overall, it has been a wonderful experience and has helped contribute to establishing extensive networks for scholars around the world, working on the political economy (and politics) of development.”

To find out more about the DSA’s study groups  and what is involved in being a convenor, visit our website or drop a line to DSA [email protected] with any initial enquiries.

To apply for the role of convenor for any of the three study groups listed above, as an individual or as co-convenors, please submit a short statement of interest to [email protected]