ISA | RC19 - Research Committee on Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy
Social Policy and Transnationalism: Theory, method, politics, policy and practice
Wednesday 2 - Friday 4 September 2026
The School of Social Policy and Society at the University of Birmingham is delighted to announce that it will host the 2026 RC19 International Sociological Association Annual Conference.
This conference will showcase the global and international dimensions of social policy and how these continue to shape and be shaped by social welfare challenges as well as policy and practice innovations at the domestic level. By recognising the fundamental role of international policy actors in national agenda-setting and policy transfer, as well as the global impact of domestic economic and foreign aid decisions, Global Social Policy interrogates the politics of global partnerships and equitable access to resources in a world connected by common concerns for “equity, security and solidarity” as highlighted in the 2025 World Social Report.
Hot on the heels of the Second World Social Development summit in Qatar (November, 2025), this conference will help take stock of the state of art, highlight new research, and facilitate wide-ranging collaborations for researchers, practitioners and policy makers who are tackling issues of social change and social welfare across and within countries.
The conference will focus on three key thematic areas:
- Global-domestic social policy intersections – engaging theoretically and empirically with Global social policy as a field of scholarship and practice
- Global south expansion of social policy practice and scholarship – fostering greater interdisciplinarity and de-colonised study of social policy as it intersects with International Development and International Relations, among other subject areas
- Global social policy implications of and for high-income countries – integrating analysis of social and political change in the Global North into Global social policy debates, giving critical attention to the current context of rising military spending and continuing challenges to equality, diversity and inclusion safeguards
Please register your interest in the conference by using the button below.
register your interest here
If you have any questions, please email us on: academic.conferences@contacts.bham.ac.uk
More information
We are pleased to announce that our keynote programme will feature Professor David Gordon (University of Bristol, UK) and Professor Armando Barrientos (University of Manchester, UK). Further keynote speakers are being confirmed, and we look forward to announcing an exciting full programme soon.
We are very pleased to announce that the keynote programme will include Professor David Gordon (University of Bristol, UK) and Professor Armando Barrientos (University of Manchester, UK). We are busy preparing an exciting programme of additional keynote speakers, please stay tuned for further announcements.
For information on the 2026 'Call for Papers' and conference host, please visit the University of Birmingham conference webpage here
For information on the Research Committee RC19 on Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy of the International Sociological Association (ISA), please visit our website RC19.org. Further details about this year’s conference also are available on the RC19 website here.
Nominations for the RC19 Social Policy Prize should be sent to "RC19 Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy" at isa-rc19@isa-sociology.org> by 31 December 2025
Local Organising Team - School of Social Policy and Society University of Birmingham, UK
- Mohammed Alhammadi
- Gëzim Alpion
- Mary Ayim
- Nick Beech
- Rana Jawad
- Andrew Jolly
- Victoria Ng
- Jo Parsons
- Ellie Suh
- Boxu Wang
- Mary Zhang
Key Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Call for individual abstracts and panel proposals opens | Early November 2025 |
| Nominations for the RC19 Social Policy Prize | 31 December 2025 (please email isa-rc19@isa-sociology.org) |
| Deadline for submission of abstracts | 15 January 2026 |
| Decisions on abstracts | 27 February 2026 |
| Decisions on RC19 Small Travel Grants | 26 March 2026 |
| Registration opens | 20 April 2026 |
| Registration closes | 30 June 2026 |
| Full paper submission deadline | 31 July 2026 |
| Final program circulation | 31 July 2026 |
As part of the organisation of this conference, The University of Birmingham's Event Management Team is collecting income via registration fees and sponsorships on behalf of the RC19 Committee.