Minutes of the PRSCO Council Meeting
Held on Monday 7 May 2007
Westin Bayshore Hotel
Vancouver, CanadaPresident Y. Kumata opened the meeting at 12:45 pm.
a) Apologies received and roll-call
Apologies received:
Md. Fakrul Islam (BRSA, Bangladesh)
I.B. Yussof (MRSA, Malaysia)
Jouke van Dijk (Editor in Chief, PiRS)
Riaz Uddin (BRSA)
Iqbal Ziberi (BRSA)
Injung Carna Hamis (Philippines)
Geoffrey Hewings (Past RSAI President)
Present:
Antoine Bailley (Past President RSAI, Switzerland)
Harold E Banguero (repres Columbian regional scientists, Cali, Columbia)
Peter Batey (LRPC, Past President RSAI, United Kingdom)
Graham Clarke (Executive Director RSAI, United Kingdom)David Edgington (CRSA/ACSR, Vice-President PRSCO, Canada)
Cheng-Min Feng (Chinese Regional Science Association – Taiwan)
David Fuller (President ANZRSAI, Australia)
Lay Gibson (WRSA, United States of America)
He Guoxiang (Development Research Center of CAST*, People’s Republic of China)
Kingsley Haynes (LRPC – Past President RSAI, United States of America)
Yoshiro Higano (JSRSAI, Executive Secretary PRSCO, Japan)
Huang Jianyuan (Development Research Center of CAST*, People’s Republic of China)
T. John Kim (WRSA, United States of America)
Yoshinobu Kumata (JSRSAI, President PRSCO, Japan)
Philip McCann (Pacific Editor, Papers in Regional Science, New Zealand)
Yuzuru Miyata (JSRSAI, Japan)
David Plane (WRSA, United States of America)
Jacques Poot (ANZRSAI, New Zealand)
Richard Shearmur (CRSA, Canada)
Sam Ock Park (KRSA, South Korea)
John Quigley (WRSA, United States of America)
Li Shi (Development Research Center of CAST*, People’s Republic of China)
Bob Stimson (Chair LRPC, immediate past president RSAI, Australia)
Makoto Tawada (JSRSAI, Japan)

1Jean-Claude Thill (NARSC, United States of America)
Du Huan Zheng (Jiaxing University, People’s Republic of China)* CAST: China Association for Science and Technologyb) Minutes of the PRSCO Council Meeting in Toronto, Canada, 17th November 2006
Due to time constraints, Council members were asked to email corrections or comments,
if any, to the Executive Director, Y. Higano.
c) Report on the Organization of the 20th PRSCO Conference (CRSA)
D. Edgington (University of British Columbia, PRSCO Vice-President), who chairs theorganizing committee of the 20th PRSCO conference, noted that the conference hadattracted 144 participants from 20 countries. This was less than expected. The suboptimal
timing of the conference (which was determined by the availability of the conferencehotel) may have played a role. Another factor was that potential participants from somecountries (notably Pakistan and Bangladesh had been unable to obtain visas in time).
However, given that the contract with the hotel was based on a minimum participationthat was not met, some financial difficulty had emerged. This was an issue to beaddressed by CRSA. D. Edgington asked about the possible role of PRSCO in suchcircumstances. The need to address the financial outcome of the conference was alsostressed by CRSA President R. Shearmur. It was agreed to continue discussion of thismatter under item h) of the agenda (further business).
d) Report on the First National Meeting of the Bangladesh Regional ScienceAssociation, Dhaka, 16-17 March, 2006.
An eight-page report was tabled on this meeting. This had been provided Md F. Islam,
who was unable to attend the PRSCO Vancouver conference. The first nationalconference on regional science in Bangladesh had been highly successful, with a total of111 participants including 12 from USA, Japan, New Zealand and Malaysia. One
important aspect of conferences in countries which are commencing to develop a regional
science network is capability building. To this effect, G. Hewings and J. Poot led asession at the Dhaka meeting that was specifically targeted at issues facing young peopleinterested in higher degrees and a research career. BRSA agreed to host the 10th PRSCO
Summer Institute in 2008. While the dates had not been set yet, it was likely to be at asimilar time of the year as the 2006 national meeting, i.e. in March or at the latest in May.
e) Report on activities of Pacific Rim regional science communities(1) Colombia
H. Banguero spoke about the emerging regional science organization in Columbia. Thelink between PRSCO and the Columbian group was established through J. Serrano ofAMECIDER. A small workshop was held in Cali in 2006, attended by PRSCOrepresentatives J. Serrano (Mexico), Y. Higano (Japan) and I. Hara (Japan). The Cali
meeting was attended by 25 scholars. In February 2007, the Columbian Association ofRegional Studies (CARS) was established, which started with 30 members, but which
was expected to grow to about 100 members fairly soon. The Association planned to2

organize annual national conferences and expressed a desire to affiliate with PRSCO. It
was possible that CARS could host the 2010 11th PRSO Summer Institute.

(2) China
DU Huan Zheng introduced Professor LI Shi and Professor HUANG Jianyuan of CAST.
J. HUANG talked about the history of the development of regional science in China. Theinterests are wide ranging and include environmental issues, and regional development
theory and practice. In terms of international linkages, he referred to the successfulworkshop held at East China Normal University in Shanghai, 3-5 April 2006. A regional
science conference is being planned to be held in Beijing, China during the last quarter of
2007. Members of the international regional science community are invited to attend.
J. HUANG introduced the Development Research Center which was founded in May
2006 under the auspices of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST).
The objectives of the DRC are fourfold: (i) conducting surveys on the functions of CAST,(ii) carrying out policy research on scientific, economic and social development; (iii)
consultation of science and technology staff; and (iv) developing local associations
throughout the country. The staff of DRC present at PRSCO expressed the wish todevelop a strong relationship with PRSCO. Through this and other links with Chinese
scholars the evolution of a Chinese Regional Science Association affiliated with theRegional Science Association International was highly likely but it would still take sometime. C.-M. Feng of the Chinese Regional Science Association – Taiwan welcomed theintegration of mainland China into PRSCO and RSAI. He was confident that, despite
complexities of the China-Taiwan relationship, the issue of naming the new section could
be resolved in the not too distant future.

f) The venue and the host sections/associations of the 2009 PRSCO Regular Meeting(ANZRSAI)
R. Stimson and D. Fuller informed the PRSCO Council that the 21st regular PRSCO
conference would be held on the Gold Coast of Australia, June15-19 2009. The last
PRSCO conference hosted by ANZRSAI was held in Wellington, New Zealand, inDecember 1997.
g) Report of the Pacific Editor, PiRS
Professor Philip McCann commenced his job as the Pacific editor of Papers in Regional
Science in January 2007. He reported that the electronic manuscript submission andrefereeing software was now in place and working well. The number of submissions waswell up on 2005-2006 and the publication timeline was back on schedule. It was also
reported that the editors had agreed to take charge of submissions based on an equal
workload basis and/or individual specialisms.
h) Any further businessDavid Edgington spoke about the current financial problems concerning the Vancouver
meeting. The financial result was likely to be well in deficit. Although there was great3

sympathy to the predicament, the meeting was reminded that PRSCO had no funds of its
own to help. PRSCO is an unfunded entity in which conference organizing sections havefull independence and responsibility with respect to budgeting and financial outcomes.
Bob Stimson recommended that in future PRSCO conference organizers should try to
stick to June/July dates when people’s diaries were generally freer. He also suggested that
including the local Section meeting is a helpful way to boost numbers. Proposed financial
or contractual agreements could also be sent to those on the Council with experience inrunning international conferences to check for potential problems.
Y. Higano suggested future PRSCO policy should be to encourage new Sections to obtain
experience of running International events through the smaller scale Summer Institutes.
Thus the 2010 Summer Institute is likely to be assigned to a new Section.
The next meeting of the PRSCO Council will be held at the NARSC meeting in
Savannah, 7-10 November 2007. Council members would be notified of the exact date,time and location by Y. Higano.
President Y. Kumata closed the meeting at 1:45 pm.

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