People sat around a table typing on laptops. One person is stood at the front pointing at square sticky notes stuck on a whiteboard.

Participatory Geographies Research Group committee vacancies

Please see the below call for committee members for the 2026-2027 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Participatory Geographies Research Group (PyGyRG). Please send a short expression of interest by 12.00pm (noon), Tuesday 2 September 2026.

More details about who the PyGyRG is, and what the group does, on our website.

Call for new committee members 2026-2027

The PyGyRG is an international, researcher-led network of the RGS-IBG. We bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, artists, activists, and community partners who are committed to collaborative, engaged, and empowering geographical research.

Our members work alongside communities, public bodies, social movements, and grassroots organisations using diverse approaches - from PAR, co-design, citizen science, to arts-based methods.

We share a commitment to collaboration, mutual learning, ethical practice, and research that contributes to meaningful social and environmental change.

The committee supports the day-to-day running of the group and is organised into a Core Team, alongside dedicated sub-committees for Publications, Communications, and Events.

We meet monthly for one-hour sessions that blend formal planning and informal discussion. These meetings are space to develop collaborative projects, plan conference sessions and events, and get to know each other's research. Members contribute differently depending on their interests, expertise, and availability.

Open positions for 2026-2027

We have several exciting openings across our Core team and sub-committees. We welcome expressions of interest for the following roles:

Core team (one role): helping to lead and coordinate the group's overarching strategy, meetings, and RGS-IBG relations; managing the group's finances; supporting the general running of the group and bridging activities across the sub-committees.
Publications Sub-Committee (two roles): collaborating on academic publications, blog posts, collaborative writing activities, and sharing resources.
Events Sub-Committee (two roles): helping to organise workshops, RGS-IBG conference sessions, public events, online conferences, and away days / socials.
Communications Sub-Committee (one role): managing our social media presence, updating the website, and circulating news and opportunities to our members.

You don't need prior committee experience to apply - we warmly welcome researchers and practitioners at all career stages and backgrounds!

How to apply

If you would like to join the committee, please send a brief 250 word expression of interest (including which role/s you are interested in, your relevant experience, and why you want to join the committee) to Caitlin Hafferty at caitlin.hafferty@ouce.ox.ac.uk and Jennifer Mateer mateerj@brandonu.ca by 12.00pm (noon) on Tuesday 2 August.

The new committee will be elected by a vote (hybrid) on 3 September 4.35pm-6.15pm during the PyGyRG Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the Nightingale Room and hybrid at the RGS-IBG Annual International conference, London.

The AGM will also reflect on the last year’s events, including our rapidly sold-out, cross-sectoral Place-based Systems Change workshop in London, and plan for further events and collaborative writing projects in the year ahead.

Everyone is welcome to attend the AGM - whether you’d like to join the committee, meet new people, or just listen and learn more. We will be heading for complementary food (vegan/veggie options) and drinks at a local pub afterwards in South Kensington.

Feel free to reach out via email caitlin.hafferty@ouce.ox.ac.uk or via the PyGyRG LinkedIn group with any questions.