Seminars, workshops and colloquia

The programme of outreach seminars, workshops and colloquia that HSP initiated early in its existence is the central feature of the HSP national and international networking effort. It is also the principal HSP vehicle for promoting discourse on CBW matters between scholars and officials and between new entrants to the field of CBW policy research and those who are retiring from it. The meetings that constitute the HSP seminar programme are of five types in addition to those special events convened in furtherance of particular HSP research projects:

The Pugwash international workshops on CBW
These are private invitation-only meetings of experts on pre-selected topical issues, the participation lists reflecting the competences needed for worthwhile discussion of the chosen topics. Depending on venue, the meetings are restricted to 30-60 participants from around half that number of countries, and are held under the auspices of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Nowadays there are usually two meetings per year, one in Switzerland, the other in the Netherlands. Organizationally, the meetings are workshops of the Pugwash Study Group on Implementation of the CBW Conventions, of which HSP is the convenor and guiding spirit.

The HSP London CBW Seminar
In collaboration with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, HSP convenes a seminar in London that seeks to promote communication between governmental and non-governmental specialists in CBW affairs. Sessions of the seminar are conducted under Chatham House rules, and participation is by invitation only.

The HSP Cambridge CBW Colloquia
These meetings takes place in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard or at MIT and are intended principally for students and academics in the Cambridge MA area whose interests overlap with those of HSP. Each session is advertised locally. Where the speaker is a serving official, as is often the case, the talk may be off the record or otherwise non-attributable.

Sussex Days
In February 2002, HSP Sussex convened the first in a new series of meetings, known as Sussex Days. These rather informal gatherings take advantage of the increasing number of CBW researchers, academics and NGOs in south-east England as well as the proximity of Brighton to London. Each meeting normally involves a formal presentation in the morning, then discussion of the issues raised in the presentation after lunch. Participants include researchers, academics, students and government officials.

ESRC Research Seminars: New Approaches to WMD Proliferation
This seminar series, funded by the UK Economic & Social Research Council, was jointly organized by researchers at the Universities of Sussex, Southampton, Lancaster, and London (University and Kings College), led by HSP. Six sessions were carried out between 2005 and 2007.