This workshop brings together partners from the CIVICA and Widening networks to discuss ongoing research on digital infrastructure within and across Africa.
The event aims to foster comparative dialogue across diverse empirical settings and thematic areas, while creating opportunities for participants to examine possible avenues for future cooperation on joint publications and future research initiatives.
The programme will feature thematic panels and dedicated time for participants to discuss, share and collaborate.
We invite expressions of interest for paper presentations across three main panel themes:
1) Digital infrastructure ecosystems
This panel session will examine the infrastructures, actor systems, and institutional arrangements that are influencing the development of the digital ecosystem across Africa.
Illustrative questions include:
1) What forms of interoperability, openness, or lock-in are emerging within African digital infrastructure ecosystems, and with what developmental consequences?
2) What public–private or hybrid models of infrastructure are emerging, and how do these models shape questions of control, accountability, and long-term sustainability?
3) Under what conditions do AI-related infrastructures and services support local capability formation rather than reinforce reliance on external technologies?
2) Data governance and rules
This panel session will examine the laws, regulations, and institutions that shape data governance across various African countries.
Illustrative questions include:
1) Which technical and regulatory standards are most influential in shaping digital governance in Africa, and who has the authority to define them?
2) How do different levels of governance (national, regional, and continental) influence how digital regulations are developed, and how does this affect regulatory coherence?
3) How is public procurement being used to shape the governance of cloud services, digital platforms, AI systems, and data infrastructures?
3) Local political economy of build-out
This panel session will investigate the financing, rollout, and locally embedded development impacts of digital infrastructure.
Illustrative questions include:
1) What financing models are driving the deployment of digital infrastructure in Africa, and how do they distribute risk, control, and value between public and private actors?
2) How do procurement arrangements, contractual mechanisms, and partnership models shape the implementation of digital infrastructure projects on the ground?
3) Under what conditions do digital infrastructure projects create meaningful opportunities for local firms, suppliers, and service providers, and what forms of employment, skills formation, and technological learning do they generate?
Cross-cutting questions
Contributions addressing broader comparative or conceptual issues are also welcome, including:
1) How are African actors negotiating, adapting, or contesting external infrastructural and regulatory models?
2) What comparative insights can be drawn across countries, sectors, or governance settings regarding pathways of digital development?
Format
As a joint CIVICA–WIDENING event, the workshop aims for broadly balanced representation across the two networks. Final allocations will be made after the submission process in order to ensure both thematic coherence and overall quality.
How to submit an expression of interest
Submit your expression of interest via the online application form at the bottom of this page.
Timeline
• Deadline for applications: 10 April 2026
• Notification of selection: 20 April 026
• Final programme: Mid-May 2026
Practicalities
Further information on logistics will be circulated together with the confirmed programme.
Fees and funding
There is no registration fee for the conference. Participants are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses in Florence. A limited number of scholarships are available to assist with travel and accommodation costs for scholars from countries covered by the EUI Widening Europe Programme*.
N.B. Eligibility for a Widening scholarship requires both (1) citizenship of a Widening country and (2) affiliation with an institution based in a Widening country (not necessarily the same two countries).
For example, a Bulgarian citizen affiliated with a Bulgarian university is eligible, as is a Bulgarian citizen affiliated with a Croatian university. By contrast, a Bulgarian citizen affiliated with a Belgian institution is not eligible, nor is a Belgian citizen affiliated with a Bulgarian university.
Applicants seeking financial support must indicate this in the application form and specify both their country of citizenship and their country of institutional affiliation.
*Targeted countries in the Widening region:
Inside the European Union: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Outside the European Union: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
This activity is co-funded by CIVICA and the EUI Widening Europe Programme. The EUI Widening Europe Programme, backed by contributions from the European Union and EUI Contracting States, is designed to strengthen internationalisation, competitiveness, and quality in research in Widening countries, and thus foster a more cohesive European Higher Education and Research Area.
At the EUI and the Robert Schuman Centre, we are dedicated to removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for everyone. Please contact the logistics organiser of the event if you have any accessibility needs.