Policy Processes in the Global South

The 5^th India Public Policy Network Conference will be held in person from 06–08 December 2024 at the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). The theme for this edition is Policy Processes in the Global South.

Public Policy research and writing in the Global South is growing rapidly. Innovative theoretical and empirical approaches are being used to investigate the policy process, with significant efforts focused on exploring its boundaries and the interdisciplinary nature of this field. Given this context, it is imperative to ask what the boundaries of a policy process are. Where does this process begin? Who are the actors and institutions involved, and how are these changing? What are the forms of contestation, knowledge networks, social and technical relations, and power relations that shape policy processes, policy agendas, and policy delivery? How can we rethink policy evaluation? How is public policy evolving as a discipline in the Global South? Additionally, what are the pertinent critiques of extant categories, frames, and methods, including “Global South”? What are the pedagogical practices and challenges of this? Importantly, what methodological shifts in the discipline are necessary in order to better decipher policy processes in the Global South? Beyond this, is there a need to expand theories and policy vocabularies?

In addition to these questions, we invite panels that cover but are not limited to, the following themes. These themes are indicative but by no means exhaustive. We invite researchers to present their work or curate panels on various sectoral and thematic issues that are pertinent to research in the Global South, given that these have consequences for Public Policy and are also impacted by the policy landscape in which they are situated.

• Social policy
• Education policy
• Labour policy and labour transformation
• Diversity and public policy
• Culture policy
• Urban policy and governance
• Health policy and practices
• Water and sanitation
• Energy and energy transitions
• Climate change, environmental policy, and sustainability
• Technology and policy
• Digital societies and governance
• Data regimes in contemporary digital societies

Call for Abstracts

The call for papers for the 5^th India Public Policy Conference Network is now open. In keeping with the conference theme, Policy Processes in the Global South, we invite abstracts for papers for the following panels, categorised thematically below. Click on the theme to view the relevant list of panels.

Climate Change, Environmental Policy, and Sustainability

Energy and Energy Transitions

State, Governance, and Public Policy

Urban Policy and Governance

The Field of Public Policy and Research

Water and Sanitation

Health Policy

Technology and Policy

Digital Societies and Governance

Diversity and Social Policy

 Submission of Abstracts

Those interested in presenting a paper at the 5^th India Public Policy Network Conference are invited to submit their abstracts through the submission form below. Please indicate the theme under which you would like to submit an abstract in the form and the panel to be considered under. Abstracts should not be more than 300 words. The deadline for submission is 23:55 IST on June 30, 2024.

Papers can be co-authored. However, since the Conference will be held in person, at least one presenter must attend the Conference. There will be no provisions for online/ hybrid presentations.

Selected abstracts will be required to submit extended abstracts prior to the Conference. Please refer to the timeline below for Conference dates and milestones.

Please feel free to reach out to us at ippn2024@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Submit Abstract

Tentative Conference Timeline

Advisory Committee

• Michael Howlett
• M. Ramesh
• Frank Fischer
• Satyajit Singh
• Philippe Zittoun
• Miranda Schreurs
• Peter Mollinga
• Layla Mehta
• Namarata Chindarkar
• Des Gasper
• Rosana de Freitas Boullosa
• Santhosh Mathew
• Ajit Menon
• M. S. Sriram
• Ambuj Sagar
• Sharad Lele

Organising Committee

• N. C. Narayanan (Conference Chair)
• Shishir K. Jha (Conference Co-chair)
• Anjali Sharma
• Anupam Guha
• Malish C. M.
• Naveen Bharathi
• Prabhir Vishnu Poruthiyil
• Rahul Suresh Sapkal