Conferences

To celebrate nearly 40 years of supporting independent scholars across the globe, we are holding a hybrid conference, with sessions scheduled to suit scholars in time zones across the world. 

Independent researchers have always pushed the boundaries of knowledge—often outside institutions, across disciplines, and ahead of their time. iResearch: Past, Present, Future (15-17 April 2027) invites submissions from scholars, practitioners, creators, and thinkers working beyond traditional academic structures. 

This conference celebrates the unique contributions of independent inquiry, explores the challenges and opportunities of noninstitutional research today, and imagines the future of knowledge creation in a rapidly changing world. 

Conference Themes 

We welcome proposals that engage with any of the following themes—or that creatively expand them: 

• Independent Research Histories — Case studies, forgotten innovators, grassroots knowledge movements, and the evolution of noninstitutional scholarship. 

• Historical and Current Research Topics, especially those with a lasting impact, or from which present and future generations can learn. 

• Methods Outside Academia — Alternative methodologies, community-based research, participatory research, action research, creative research methods, self-funded inquiry, and hybrid practices. 

• Tools for the Present — Digital platforms, AI, open data, citizen science, and the infrastructures enabling today’s independent researchers. 

• Risky Research – Conducting research involving an element of risk: the risks of generative AI for authors, editors and reviewers; conducting fieldwork in dangerous geographical or political environments.  

• Imagining the Future — New models of collaboration, decentralised knowledge networks, funding futures, and the role of independent researchers in shaping global understanding. 

• Interdisciplinary, Intercultural & Experimental Work — Research that crosses boundaries, invents new forms, or challenges conventional academic norms. 

• Reflections on Practice — Personal research journeys, lessons learned, and the lived experience of working outside institutions. 

Submission Formats 

We encourage a wide range of contributions, including: 

• Research Papers — Completed or in-progress work (<2,000 words). 

• Short Talks — 15-20-minute presentations. 

• Workshops — Skill-sharing, methods, tools, or collaborative sessions. 

• Perfomances – music, drama, dance etc.  

• Panels – Themed round-table discussions incorporating Q&A from online attendees. 

• Posters or Visual Projects — Diagrams, maps, visualisations, or creative research artefacts. 

• Demonstrations — Tools, prototypes, datasets, or experimental systems. 

If your idea doesn’t fit a category, we still want to hear from you. 

Important Dates 

• Submission Deadline: 31 October 2026 

• Notification of acceptance: 30 November 2026 

• Conference: 15-17 April 2027 

• Format: Hybrid (Online + Local in-person sessions organized and run by NCIS partner groups to accommodate different time zones worldwide).  

Submission Guidelines 

• All submissions must include a title, abstract (200–300 words), and author bio (100 words). 

• Papers should follow a clear structure and cite sources appropriately. 

• Collaborative and cross-disciplinary submissions are encouraged. 

• Creative methods beyond traditional oral presentations are encouraged 

• No institutional affiliation is required. 

The conference portal will be open soon. Watch this space!  

About NCIS 

NCIS is a not-for-profit organization supporting independent thinkers worldwide and scholarship beyond the restraints of formal academia. This hybrid conference brings together researchers working across disciplines, methods, and mediums to explore their research, and how independent inquiry has shaped the past, defines the present, and will influence the future.