A CONFERENCE WITH A GROWING HISTORY

Africa-centred. Interdisciplinary. Global.

iCAD is a platform for African researchers, professionals, policymakers and development actors to reframe Africa’s development agenda through rigorous scholarship, policy engagement and practical action.

Its 2027 focus is Building Africa’s Productive Future: Upskilling, Efficiency and Accountability for Inclusive Development.

Since its first edition at the University of Bradford in 2024, iCAD has grown into an annual gathering that has travelled to Aston University in Birmingham (2025) and Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge (2026). In 2027 it comes to SOAS, University of London, on 16–18 June.

The conference is open to academics from all countries, and to professionals, policymakers and practitioners whose work focuses on Africa and/or inclusive development. Papers, sessions and conversations are organised across seven interconnected thematic tracks, with artificial intelligence running through every one of them.

iCAD is more than a programme of presentations. Selected research and discussions are turned into policy briefs and practical recommendations for governments, institutions, businesses and development partners, and every edition adds to a growing archive of papers, policy briefs and recordings.

Ghana Scholarly Society

GSS is the institutional organisation behind iCAD. The iCAD experience, however, is designed as a distinct conference identity and growing archive.