Abstract (and) Paper Submissions

Extended Deadline until April 15, 2021 by midnight GMT +1 

We invite you to consult the Special Session themes and the General themes and read below instructions before making your submission.

Important: You need to have an account with ERSA to access the Online Submission Portal.
If you have one, please sign in with your latest account credentials (your email address and password). 
If you don't have an account yet, you need to click the "Create new account" button first to have access to the submission form.

Session Types and Submission Guidelines
ERSA2021 has requirements that depend on the type of session:

Ordinary Sessions (O-)
  • Submission of an abstract (200-400 words) is required (deadline March 30, 2021 midnight GMT +1).
  • After a review process, a decision is made regarding acceptance to the congress (by April 22, 2021).
  • Registration of presenting author(s) for the congress before June 12, 2021, in order to have their paper(s) scheduled in the programme.

Special Sessions (S-), Young Scientists Sessions (YS-) and Refereed Sessions (R-)

  • Submission of an abstract (200-400 words) and an extended abstract (1,200-2,000 words) or a full (draft) paper are required (deadline March 30, 2021, midnight GMT +1). 
  • After a review process, a decision is made regarding acceptance to the Congress and session type (by April 30, 2021).
  • Registration for the congress requires the upload of a full (draft) paper, if not made during the submission period (deadline June 30, 2021).
  • After a registration check, a decision is made regarding final acceptance and programming of the paper in a Special Session, Young Scientists Session or Refereed Session.
  • All presentations will be assigned a discussant (July 2021).

Young Scientists Sessions 

The Young Scientists Sessions provide young academics in Regional Science the opportunity to present their work to specialists in the field, to receive feedback, and a review of the presentation and paper. The time for presentation is 30 minutes. 
To present in a YS- Session, the presenting author must be: 
- Younger than 33 years on September 1, 2021 and must not have a senior position (as associate professor or higher).
- In case of multiple- authored papers these two criteria are not applicable for the co-author(s).

All submissions will be reviewed by the LOC and/or the Scientific Committee. The LOC has the right to reject submissions from the congress or move submissions to another theme or another type of session. Special Sessions have a minimum of 4 submitted papers. In case a proposed Special Session does not meet this condition, The S- submissions will be programmed as an O-Session or an R-Session. 

Eligibility for the Epainos Award 2021

The rule for eligibility for the Epainos Award have changed. The Young Scientist who candidates for the Epainos Award can present a paper in a Young Scientists Session but also in a Special Session or a Refereed Session.  Please note that the time for presentation may be less than 30 minutes if the author makes the decision to present in a Refereed Session or Special Session. 
Important: The eligibility for the Epainos Award implies that: All authors of the presented paper must be younger than 33 years on September 1, 2021 and must not have a senior position (as associate professor or higher).

See for the official rule for the Epainos Award here.

Guidelines for Full Paper, Extended Abstract and Abstract

Full Paper (for S-Sessions, YS-Sessions and R-Sessions) 

  • A full paper is uploaded as a PDF-file, either in the submission process or – in case an extended abstract was uploaded first – during the registration period. 
  • A full paper is between 5,000 and 10,000 words.
Extended Abstract (for S-Sessions, YS-Sessions and R-Sessions) 
  • An extended abstract is uploaded as a PDF-file in the submission process. 
  • An extended abstract includes a discussion of the objective and contribution of the paper, as well as an explanation of the methods and data used and the (tentative) results and conclusions. 
  • An extended abstract is between 1,200 and 2,000 words.
 Abstract (for O-sessions)
  • An abstract must be included in the online submission form. 
  • An abstract includes the objective and topic of the contribution as well as a short description of the proposed method and data. 
  • An abstract is between 200 and 400 words.

Submission Terms and Conditions

  • All Congress sessions will be held in English, therefore all submissions must be in English. 
  • A submitter must be a (co)author of the submission and (one of) the presenting author(s). 
  • All correspondence will be sent to the submitter. 
  • There is a maximum of 2 submissions and 2 presentations per person. 
  • All participants need to register and pay the appropriate registration fee. Registration is effective after full receipt of payment. Only registered authors will be included in the programme.
 Should you have any questions, please send and email to ersa2021@ersa.org

Membership is valuable!
Not yet ERSA Member?  This is the right time to learn more on ERSA Sections' exclusive Membership benefits. More over, becoming member soon will also allow you to get members' rates upon registration to the Congress.  Further information on ERSA sections can be found here. 
Interested?  Request information on membership via the online submission form when submitting your abstract.