Governing Emerging Technologies:
Navigating Public-Private Boundaries
Pre-conference event for the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research Annual Conference
Rome, Italy | 21st July 2026
Workshop Overview
We invite early career researchers to submit abstracts for a pre-conference workshop on the governance of emerging technologies at the intersection of public and private authority. As technologies such as AI, blockchain, biotechnology, and data-driven systems increasingly shape economic, social, and political life, their governance reveals how institutions balance public interests—transparency, fairness, accountability—with private incentives.
Scholarship across institutional economics, organizational sociology, legal studies, political science, and science and technology studies is examining the hybrid arrangements emerging among technology companies, state regulators, international organizations, and civil society. These developments raise fundamental questions about institutional design, legitimacy, power, and accountability.
This workshop brings together early career scholars employing institutional theory to analyze how governance of emerging technologies reconfigures the boundaries between public and private authority, responsibility, and value creation. We welcome theoretically-grounded empirical research, comparative studies, and conceptual papers that illuminate:
Topics of Interest
How governance regimes for emerging technologies allocate responsibilities and define the “public good”;
The role of private actors in shaping quasi-regulatory norms, standards, and infrastructures;
Institutional innovations or failures in the pursuit of shared or collective goods;
Transnational or multi-stakeholder arrangements for the oversight of emerging technologies;
The implications of technological governance for democratic legitimacy, equity, and social welfare.
We are also open to considering abstracts of outstanding quality that do not explore the governance of emerging tech but are strongly grounded in institution theory.
Eligibility and Submission Guidelines
Applicants working in economics, law, sociology, anthropology, development studies, and other related disciplines are encouraged to apply. Eligible applicants should either be enrolled in a doctoral research programme or have graduated no more than three years before 31 March 2026. Successful applicants will be invited to present their research to a supportive audience of peers and senior scholars and receive constructive conceptual and methodological critique.
Priority will be given to first-time attendees at the WINIR Young Scholars conferences.
Submission Instructions
Submissions should be sent using the designated form. Please follow these instructions closely:
Abstract: A 500-word abstract with 3 to 5 keywords. Save the file as: LastName_FirstName_Title.
Short Bio: A brief biography indicating your discipline and institutional affiliation. Save the file as: LastName_FirstName_Bio.
An updated CV: Your updated CV including education and work experience. Save file as: Please Upload your CV here [Save As - LastName_FirstName_CV.pdf]
The deadline for submissions is 26th January
Successful applicants will be notified by 9th February 2026.
About WINIR Young Scholars
WINIR Young Scholars (WYS) aims to identify and promote the next generation of institutional scholars from diverse geographies, sociocultural contexts and disciplines. Its major activities are directed towards creating an inclusive and supportive space for young scholars to receive guidance and mentorship in their journey toward establishing themselves as knowledge creators and navigating the academic job market.
WYS is a collaboration between the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research (WINIR), the Law as Science Project, and the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) of the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
Convenors: Christina Mosalagae (Institute for New Economic Thinking, Italy), Nikhilesh Sinha (Hult International Business School, UK), Simon Sun (National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan), Vanessa Villanueva Collao ( Bocconi University, Italy).
About WINIR
The World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research (WINIR) is an open forum for scholars from across the social sciences and the humanities committed to the study of institutions and institutional thought.
Visit www.winir.org | Follow @winir2013 or @winir2013.bsky.social
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