Join leading international scholars in Rotterdam this December to advance configurational research and address our world's most pressing causal complexities.
- Date
- Monday 7 Dec 2026, 09:00 - Wednesday 9 Dec 2026, 17:00
- Type
- Conference
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- 14th floor
- Building
- Mandeville Building
- Location
- Campus Woudestein
Introduction
Contemporary social, organisational, and economic phenomena are characterised by interconnected conditions, multiple causal pathways, and rapidly changing contexts. As digitalisation transforms organizations and urban areas face intertwined social, housing, and sustainability challenges, traditional research methods often fall short.
The European QCA Conference 2026 brings together researchers who apply, develop, teach, and critically discuss Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and related configurational approaches. We warmly welcome scholars from diverse disciplines to join us in Rotterdam to share ideas, present new research, and discuss methodological advancements.
Preliminary programme
Discover the core timeline of events, including our keynote sessions, expert panel discussions, and community networking blocks.
Note: Please note, that conference will be on-site only. Participants are welcome to register even if they are not submitting an abstract or proposal. The registration form for attendees will be available from 22 October and will remain open until 15 November. The detailed programme will be shared closer to the date. If you have any questions, please contact EQCA2026@ihs.nl.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 13.00-13.30 | Check-in & coffee |
| 13.30-13.45 | Welcome note |
| 13.45-14.30 | Keynote speech Understanding Causal Complexity by Frederica Russo |
| 14.30-14.40 | Break |
| 14.40- 15.20 | Workshop 1a: Getting Calibration right – Roel Rutten; Workshop 1b: Time-based QCA(s) – Sofia Pagliarin, Lasse Gerrits |
| 15.20-15.50 | Break |
| 15.50-16.50 | Workshop 2: QCA & AI – Madeleine Meurer |
| 16.50-17.00 | Break |
| 17.00-18.00 | Workshop 3: Mapping the future of QCA – Seweryn Krupnik, Roel Rutten, Johannes Meuer, Claude Rubinson, Julia Bartosch, Lasse Gerrits, Anna Sławik, Aleksandra Rudawska, Esther Staes |
| 18.00-18.15 | Workshop 4: Towards a QCA early career scholar community – Michael Schnitzlein, Dennis Imre |
| 18.15-18.30 | Wrap up |
| 18.30-19.00 | Travel to networking dinner |
| 19.00-22.00 | Networking Dinner |
*Methods Workshops
Workshops may address introductory or advanced topics, including calibration; truth-table analysis; robustness; software use; approaches to time, process and QCA; mixed-method designs; unusual types of data; or reporting standards. Depending on the number and nature of the submissions, the organising committee may contact applicants to coordinate or refine proposed sessions.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9.00–9.30 | Coffee & breakfast |
| 09.30-10.30 | Panel discussion: Hybrid theorizing – Joep Cornelissen, Julia Bartosch, Peer Fiss, Santi Furnari, Pursey Heugens |
| 10.30-11.00 | Break |
| 11.00-12.30 | PDW Feedback I |
| 12.30-14.00 | Lunch |
| 14.00-14.20 | Activator |
| 14.20-14.30 | Break |
| 14.30-16.00 | PDW Feedback II |
| 16.00-16.30 | Coffee break |
| 16.30-16.45 | QCA Community Initiatives incl. Best paper awards voting – Julia Bartosch |
| 16.45-18.15 | Best Paper Awards Reception |
| 18.15-19.00 | Travel to networking dinner |
| 19.00-22.00 | Networking Dinner |
*Paper Development Workshop (PDW)
PDW is for (early-career) researchers using QCA for the first time or who are at a mid or advanced stage of applying QCA. It is open to researchers, particularly PhD-researchers and postdocs, working in various domains. The paper will be reviewed and discussed constructively by experts during the workshop. Submissions may address any topic in the social sciences, including (but not limited to) urban studies, digitalisation, entrepreneurship, transformations, etc.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9.00–9.30 | Coffee & breakfast |
| 09.30-11.00 | Method Development Session 1: Methodological standards
|
| 11.00-11.30 | Coffee break |
| 11.30-12.30 | Method Development Session 2a: Large N QCA
Method Development Session 2b: Time & QCA(s)
|
| 12.30-13.30 | Lunch |
| 13.30-14.30 | Method Development Session 3: Time & QCA(s)
|
| 14.40-15.00 | Coffee break |
| 15.00-16.00 | Method Development Session 4: Computational advancements & Configurational approaches
|
| 16.00-16.10 | End of conference / Short break |
| 16.10-17.40 | COMPASSS meeting (invitation only) |
| 17.40-18.00 | Walk to the water taxi (invitation only) |
| 18.00-18.30 | Water taxi ride (invitation only) |
| 18.30-22.00 | Expert dinner (invitation only) |
*Method Development Papers
Papers that develop, evaluate, compare, or critically examine QCA and related configurational methods will be presented and discussed. Method development submissions should clearly identify the methodological problem, the proposed contribution, the supporting analysis or argument, and the implications for researchers.
Call for Papers
The official Call for Papers outlines the submission tracks and guidelines for this year's conference. We are especially seeking contributions that apply QCA to digitalisation, comparative urbanism, and other complex societal or organisational phenomena. Please review the submission requirements and evaluation criteria before submitting.
The deadline for all abstract and workshop proposals is 25 October 2026 (11:59 PM CET).
Important dates & deadlines
| Date | Deadline |
|---|---|
| 25 October 2026 (extended deadline) | Proposal and abstract submission deadline. |
| 22 October - 15 November | Registration open for attendees Register as an attendee here |
| 28 October 2026 | Acceptance notification. Invoice will follow separately. |
| 15 November 2026 | Submission deadline for updated papers/materials. |
Registration fees*:
€150 for early-career researchers
€250 for established researchers
*Participants are required to register and submit their abstracts first. A committee will then conduct a preliminary review and provide approval. Once approved, the registrant will receive an invoice along with a confirmation email for their participation. The fees also apply to attendees who do not submit an abstract.
Practical matters
- More information
If you have any questions, please contact EQCA2026@ihs.nl.
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