The European Regional Science Association (ERSA) is the supranational grouping of national regional science associations across Europe.
The main functions of ERSA, apart from promoting the field of regional science, are to organize an Annual European Congress, an Annual Summer School, the EPAINOS prize for young scientists and the ERSA European Prize in Regional Science to recognize outstanding regional scientists.
ERSA members are academics, policy professionals and researchers interested in spatial economics and planning, regional and local development and related issues. They are drawn largely from the disciplines of economics, geography and planning. There are presently 20 active associations (commonly named ’sections’), some, such as the German or French speaking sections, organized on linguistic groupings and covering more than one country. Constituent associations range in size from more than 700 members to 27. The largest sections have their own national professional organizers. In total, ERSA has some 3500 members in its constituent associations.
ERSA events have been growing in size and professionalism over the past 10 years. Attendance at Congresses has grown consistently over time, and more than 1000 delegates participated in the last three Congresses. The Summer Schools have been supported by the European Commission’s Marie Curie Program and the European Investment Bank Institute Program.
Mission and objectives
- Enhancing regional science across Europe
- Stimulating research and the implementation of solutions
- Supporting young scientists with added-value programmes
- Providing members with state-of-the-art knowledge
- Fostering valuable exchanges at an international level
- Moving forward professional research developments through projects
ERSA legal documents
ERSA is a legal entity according to the Belgian law.
By-laws
The below specified by-laws follow from Article VI of the Constitution of the European Regional Science Association which were accepted at the ERSA Council meeting in Zurich August 1996.
The updated by-laws were accepted at the ERSA Council meeting in Palermo 30th August 2013 and are effective 1 September 2013.