The Regional Science Association Nederland (RSA-NL) is a Dutch-speaking organisation involved in the studies of, and policies for urban and regional economic and social issues. RSA-NL is multi- and interdisciplinary in its approach, and their members are economists, geographers, planners, demographers and sociologists. RSA-NL provides a platform where academics and policymakers meet and exchange ideas. They have different backgrounds: from universities, but also from local, regional and national public authorities, as well as private research consultants. RSA-NL organizes at least twice a year meetings devoted to topical subjects, which often result in a publication.
Regional science is an expanding field, which is devoted to the development of theory and method in urban and regional analysis and policy. It has a conscious aim of cutting across the traditional mono-disciplinary approaches to these issues. RSA-NL combines a strong regional and urban focus with a strong international orientation, because she is member of a large international community of researchers in regional science, in the first place the European Regional Science Association (ERSA), and secondly the Regional Science Association International (RSAI). These international organizations hold annual conferences where Dutch-speaking participants are strongly represented. RSA-NL currently has 170 members, originating from the Netherlands and Flanders.
Membership costs 40 euro’s per year, and entitles you to considerable discounts when participating in the yearly organised Dutch meetings (twice a year) and when participating in the yearly European Regional Science conference or the International Regional Science conference. Members have access to the electronic version of the journal Papers in Regional Science. When participating at the Dutch meetings, one receives the accompanying books for free.