The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) will host the most important annual academic meeting in Europe dedicated to research on cooperatives: the ICA CCR Europe Research Conference, or European Research Conference of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). The event will be organised by the Centre for Enterprise Research (CEGEA) of this university and will take place from 3 to 6 November 2026 under the theme “Cooperative enterprises for shared progress: facing global challenges together”, focusing on challenges such as digital transformation, the ecological transition and social cohesion. The aim is to generate knowledge that contributes to a more sustainable, inclusive and democratic development of our countries. The language of the conference is strictly English, although simultaneous interpretation will be provided in the plenary sessions and in some of the parallel sessions.
The conference, held under the mandate of the Cooperative Research Committee (CRC) of the ICA, will be organised by CEGEA, under the coordination of Professor Elena Meliá Martí (UPV/CEGEA) and Professor Jos Bijman (ICA CCR Europe).
The event is expected to bring together researchers, educators, practitioners and policy-makers from across Europe and other parts of the world to explore current trends, issues and perspectives in the cooperative sector. It offers a platform for dialogue between cooperative research and practice, fostering exchange, collaboration and the dissemination of cutting-edge research on cooperatives.
Call for paper submissions
The organising committee has opened the international call for papers, inviting researchers and research teams from around the world to submit proposals, as well as to participate in and register for the event. All of this can be done through the official conference website. Among the planned novelties, the Conference will also include a specific workshop for early-career researchers, which will take place on 3 November.
Researchers may submit proposals from now on, among others, on the following 17 thematic tracks:
- Cooperative governance and management
- Technology, digitalisation and platform cooperatives
- Environmental and social sustainability in cooperatives
- Social innovation, community development and civic wealth creation
- Cooperative law
- Public policies and institutional support for cooperatives
- Inter-cooperation and networks among cooperatives
- Impact measurement and performance of cooperatives
- Education and training on / for cooperatives
- Youth, gender equality, diversity and inclusion in cooperatives
- Agri-food cooperatives
- Cooperative banks and mutual insurance companies
- Housing cooperatives
- Energy cooperatives
- Worker cooperatives
- Consumer cooperatives
- Emerging sectors and new topics
Types of contributions
Submissions are accepted in the form of abstracts (indicating the preferred type of presentation: oral or poster) and session proposals. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed by the scientific committee. Accepted proposals may be reclassified as oral or poster presentations. Oral presentations will be grouped by thematic areas.
Abstracts and session proposals must be submitted through the platform available on the conference website. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 27 March.
The abstract must follow this format:
Title (maximum 20 words)
Abstract body (maximum 1,000 words, including references), which must follow the following structure: Background, Aims, Methods, Results, Discussion, Contributions and Implications, Key References
Keywords (1 to 5)
Themes (select a maximum of 2)
In the coming months, the event website will publish details of the programme, parallel activities, accommodation recommendations and other useful information for participants.
For any enquiries, please contact the official email address: [ica2026valencia@cegea.upv.es]
