Governing Emerging Technologies
WINIR Young Scholars Pre-Conference Workshop on
Governing Emerging Technologies
Navigating Public-Private Boundaries
Sapienza University of Rome
Rome, Italy
21 July 2026
Co-organised with
The Law as Science Project and INET’s Young Scholars Initiative (YSI)
The WINIR Conference on Private & Public Institutions for Good Governance will be held at Sapienza University of Rome in Rome, Italy, on 22-24 July 2026.
We invite early career researchers to submit abstracts for the WINIR Young Scholars Pre-Conference Workshop on Governing Emerging Technologies: Navigating Public-Private Boundaries that will be held in Rome on 21 July 2026. 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:
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- 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 technology but are strongly grounded in institution theory.
Eligibility
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 guidelines
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: [Save As – LastName_FirstName_CV.pdf
Key dates
2 February 2026 – Submission deadline
9 February 2026 – Notifications of acceptance
Please address all inquiries to [email protected].
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).
