BDiGRA Board Election

The British DiGRA board is excited to let you know that the election process for our new board is officially underway! Over the next month (until 13 May), we’ll be accepting candidate statements from anyone interested in standing for election. Once the deadline passes, we’ll share all the statements on the British DiGRA website.

About the Board

The board currently consists of a maximum of 8 members, with 2 of those 8 seats reserved for PGRs (although there can be more PGRs on the board).

Roles are currently held for a standard 2 years, renewable via regular elections.

We envision the board as a nexus of British games research, organising events and providing spaces for communities to come together. We seek to promote networking between researchers, industry, policy-makers and educators; interdisciplinary connections; student support and mentoring; advocacy and visibility; and educational standards. You can find more information on our website.

About the Board Election

Who are our members/electorate?

British DiGRA membership has historically been very open so we do not have a defined membership – broadly speaking, BDiGRA members are potentially anyone who is part of the UK games research community.

Who can run for Board?

Any member of the British DiGRA community. We particularly encourage members of historically marginalised communities, as well as early-career researchers, to join the board.

How do you run for Board?

If you would like to stand for election to the board, you should submit a 300-word maximum statement of candidature by 13 May 2025, to bdigraelections@gmail.com. Your statement should include your name, position and affiliation (not included in the word count). To help members to make their choice, your statement should explain your suitability for the role, including a sense of how you are part of the UK games research community, why you want to be a member of the board, and what kinds of activities and approaches you think British DiGRA should pursue. Board seats are usually held for 2 years, with potential for re-election. There are currently a maximum of 8 seats on the board, with a minimum of 2 held by PGRs.

How do you vote for Board?

Voting will take place at our Annual General Meeting at the British DiGRA Conference 2025 at Birmingham City University, May 20-21. Please register here. Voting will be open to in-person as well as online attendance.

Votes will be tallied and results announced the following week. Subsequently, the incoming and outgoing board will meet to elect a chair and other core roles (vice-chair, secretary, etc.) and to hand over social media accounts (Twitter, Discord, Facebook), website access and so on.

Links

Conference registration is available: here

British DiGRA website: https://bdigra.co.uk/

Submission address for candidate statements: bdigraelections@gmail.com. Please also direct any questions to this email address.

Please do pass this information on to other relevant contacts who are part of the British games research community.

Best wishes,

The British DiGRA Board

2025 – What is British Games Research?

The 2025 British DiGRA conference tackles the question What is British games research?, exploring what we as a community are about, intellectually. A range of previously published research explores the idea of regional and national scholarly traditions, and the idea of regional/local game studies in the context of tensions between the global and the local. The 2025 conference presents an opportunity to take stock of the games research taking place in Britain, as well as games research that is about Britain. We ask: what is distinguishable, and even distinctive, about British games research? How can we talk about British games research in a way that embraces the diversity of culture in Britain? How do constructions of Britishness relate to ideas of Europeanness and to the constituent countries of the UK?

The conference will take place in the Parkside Building at Birmingham City University on 20 and 21 May 2025, and will include 18 paper presentations and 18 lightning talks, as well as a workshop session, all helping us to understand more about the British (Digital) Games Research that our DiGRA chapter represents. We will also hold the British DiGRA AGM during the course of the event.

Programming is presently underway, and the full schedule will be available on the site soon. The programme is expected to run from 09:00-17:30 both days.

In preparation for your visit, find out more about Birmingham and things to do in the city and view our information about travel and accommodation in Birmingham.

A registration link will follow shortly!

Please note, all BDiGRA 2025 conference attendees will need to respect the British DiGRA code of conduct.