Being part of an academic study group is one of the most rewarding ways to drive the discourse in your field, develop a community, and take active control over what you study, who you work with, and how academic debates are shaped. The DSA Politics and Political Economy study group – convened by Pritish Behuria and now joined by Matthew Tyce – is a prime example of how researchers can use the association to build momentum, develop ideas and bring people together  – not just at DSA conferences but beyond

The DSA study group is closely linked to EADI’s Politics and Political Economy of Economic Transformation Group, led by Pritish Behuria and Andy Sumner. While the DSA is open to members from around the world, affiliating with the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) gives the study group a more direct reach into researchers and practitioners in Europe.

“Most of our network was initially built through DSA, but it was also enhanced by EADI where we can also apply for some additional funding,” explains Pritish. By tapping into EADI’s funding schemes alongside DSA support, the group – led by PhD Political Economy of Development group leaders, Caroline Cornier (Manchester) and Guido Maschhaupt (ISS-NL) – hosted a PhD workshop in 2025 that brought together early-career scholars from around the globe.

Taking on a study group can be about making space for debates that matter to you as convenors. “For me, the DSA is the one organisation where it can be whatever you want it to be.” Pritish says, saying that he started the group with Tom Goodfellow to raise perspectives that they felt were marginalised in mainstream discussions: “We organised the future of development studies workshops because I thought that the debate was poorly constructed, so I wanted to encourage new voices into this debate, and also center my own structuralist aspect, which I thought was marginalised.”

Pritish has practical tips on how a study group can grow, starting by hosting panels at the annual DSA conference. Panels convened by Study Groups have a higher chance of being accepted. Pritish explains that convening a couple of conference panels – which typically brings together eight or nine papers – serves as the perfect springboard for a study group to create a special issue – and possible follow-up workshops with a modest amount of seed funding for online or hybrid activities.  He also cites maintaining an active list-serv (provided by DSA) to share information and build community.

The study group has also become an invaluable home for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Doctoral researcher, Caroline Cornier, along with Maschhaupt, established a PGR sub-group within the network that grew to 80 international members meeting monthly to share work, discuss theory, and now that these postgraduate researchers, are entering the final stages of their PhD, they have moved onto a Young Scholars Initiative group.

DSA has small grants available for Study Group activities. Gathering researchers in person takes significant resources, but convenors do not need to rely on a single source. Tapping into association seed funds, institutional budgets, and external grants provides a viable path to scale up.  “If you persevere, money will follow.” said Pritish. Pritish’s advice to convenors seeking funding is persistence. “You have to have a clear sense of who you want to bring together and build diverse perspectives around a specific topic,” he notes. “I mostly get rejected for these grants… but if you have a group and you’re all working towards it, you just have to persevere.” Pritish recently co-ordinated a bid for funds from the British Academy for a conference in Indonesia and South Africa.

Reflecting on the deeper purpose of having a study group, Pritish highlights that time spent volunteering to run a study group can align with your academic purpose. “Why are you doing this academic work in the first place? One reason is to make your community better… to help you feel better, enhance your research community. That’s how I view it.”