We are very pleased to announce that Sarah Ayres, Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Bristol, UK has been appointed the new Chair of the Regional Studies Association (RSA).
Sarah commented:
“It is an honour to have been elected Chairperson of the Regional Studies Association. It’s an organisation close to my heart and one that I have been proud to serve over recent years. I share the Association’s commitment to championing a global regional studies community where scientific excellence underpins all that we do.”
Professor Ayres takes up her role at an important moment in the development of the RSA. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the RSA and the Association is currently drafting a new strategic plan, due for launch by the end of 2025. She will therefore play a key leadership role in ensuring the RSA builds on its current strengths and adjusts to new and existing challenges in the promotion of regional understanding. She said:
“The Regional Studies Association is more diverse now than ever before. It has members in over 80 countries who represent a diversity of academic disciplines and backgrounds. This vibrancy is an opportunity to pursue innovative and impactful science that places regional studies at the heart of academic and social debates.”
Professor Ayres is a political scientist and renowned expert on Whitehall decision making and English devolution. Her work has focussed on understanding how diverse actors help solve complex social problems through collaboration and local leadership. She has been an academic advisor to three UK Governments, meaning she is regularly invited to provide written and oral evidence to government enquiries. She is currently working on a large research grant project called ‘Tackling the root causes upstream of unhealthy urban development’. The project aims to improve urban development decision making so that health outcomes feature before it is too late. As part of this work, Professor Ayres is working with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the UK to co-design an evidence-based intervention to ensure health outcomes form part of government appraisals for urban development schemes.
We would like to thank our outgoing Chair, Professor Neil Lee of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Neil said:
“I started my term as Chair of the RSA in the shadow of COVID19, unsure what the future would look like. Yet the RSA came out of the pandemic in robust health. The two annual conferences I’ve attended as Chair – in Ljubljana and Florence – have been vibrant, intellectually rewarding, and fun. Our journals continue to publish the leading research in our field. And our membership has grown to our largest ever – it is committed, international, and inclusive.
It has been a great pleasure to serve such an impactful organisation, and it is wonderful to leave it in good hands. Professor Ayres is a great scholar and an excellent choice to move the association forward. She will work well with Alan Kinder and the rest of our brilliant staff team and, as we celebrate our sixtieth anniversary next year, I’m sure that the future of the RSA will be even brighter than our past.”