European Political Science CIC trades as the European Political Science Society (“EPSS”). The company was incorporated on 10th June 2025, and this report covers the period from incorporation to 30th June 2026, being the company’s first financial year.

EPSS is a member-led, not-for-profit learned society for political science. Its community interest purpose is to advance education and to promote the scientific study of politics in Europe and internationally for the public benefit, chiefly by supporting and disseminating academic research on contemporary political issues and public policy, and by fostering professional development and academic exchange among political scientists through conferences and scholarly networks. The company has no share capital, pays no dividends, and reinvests all its revenue in the activities described below.

Activities in the financial year, and how they have benefited the community:

Establishing democratic and transparent governance. Following the 2025 report of the EPSA Reform Working Group, the company was formed as a community interest company under a constitution providing for an elected Council, elected officers, an Ombudsperson and direct member voting on the Society’s affairs. Membership was opened to political scientists internationally on an open and affordable basis. The benefit to the community is a learned society genuinely controlled by, and accountable to, the researchers it serves, with its assets permanently locked to community purposes. 

Annual conference. The Society held its first annual conference in Belfast in June 2026. A call for papers was issued publicly and submissions were selected on scholarly merit through peer review, giving researchers at all career stages an open and competitive forum in which to present their work and receive expert feedback. Pre-conference workshops provided methods training. Registration fees were set to recover cost rather than to generate a profit.
 
Recognising scholarly excellence. The Society established annual Best Book and Best Paper prizes, awarded at the annual conference, to identify and disseminate outstanding political science research and to bring wider attention to the work of the scholars honoured.

Widening access and participation. The Society’s Diversity Committee ran a mentorship programme pairing emerging scholars with experienced mentors, and awarded travel grants for the 2026 conference so that the cost of attendance is not a barrier to participation. This directly benefits early-career researchers and scholars from less well-resourced institutions and countries.

Open dissemination. The conference programme, the results of the post-conference participant survey, the Society’s constitution and policies, and the report of the EPSA Reform Working Group were all published free of charge on the Society’s website (epssnet.org), so that they are freely available to members, to the wider discipline and to the general public. 

Building capacity for future benefit. Preparation was undertaken for the 2027 annual conference in Copenhagen and for further member initiatives in development, including small grants for research innovation and additional targeted support for early-career scholars. No part of the company’s activities was carried on for the private gain of its members or directors, and no political campaigning or lobbying was undertaken. 
 
  

The company’s stakeholders are: its members (political science researchers, teachers and students in Europe and beyond); participants at its annual conference, including non-members; the elected Council, officers and committee volunteers; the host institution and local organisers of the annual conference; the authors and reviewers who take part in the conference peer-review process; the wider political science discipline, including national and regional political science associations; suppliers and service providers engaged for the conference; and members of the public, the policy community and the media who make use of political science research.

Members exercise control directly: the Society’s constitution provides for an elected Council, elected officers and member voting at general meetings, so that members are consulted on and decide the Society’s principal affairs. An Annual General Meeting of members was held during the Belfast conference on Thursday 18th June 2026, at which members were consulted on, and voted upon, the Society's affairs. In addition, all participants at the Belfast 2026 conference were invited to complete a post-conference survey covering the scientific programme, the organisation, cost, accessibility and inclusiveness of the event, and the results were analysed and published openly on the Society’s website. Council and its committees consulted members through the Society’s mailing list and website, and the Ombudsperson and the Diversity Officer provide standing, confidential routes by which members and participants may raise concerns. The host institution and local organisers were consulted throughout the planning of the conference. 

Feedback from the post-conference survey and from members was considered by Council and informed: the format, length and scheduling of the annual conference and its panel sessions; the level and structure of membership and registration fees, which were held at cost-recovery levels; the continuation and expansion of the travel grant scheme and the mentorship programme, in response to comments on the cost of attendance; improvements to accessibility and to the balance of the programme; and the planning and venue arrangements for the 2027 conference in Copenhagen.