The aim of this project is to characterise the effect that congresses can have on the dynamics of scientific networks and their internationalisation.

In order to improve the understanding of the social depth of scientific activity and the role of congresses in the circulation of knowledge and collaboration, the project proposes to compare the case of two congresses from two disciplines: chemistry and political science.

Based on a longitudinal follow-up of the last three editions of the ISGC (Green Chemistry Congress held in La Rochelle every two years) and the AFSP Congress (Political Science Congress held in a French city every two years), which are roughly similar in size (700 participants), the aim is to study the origin of the participants (country and city of origin) and its evolution, to reconstitute their collaboration links and to verify the effect of co-presence on a panel on the appearance of new co-authoring and/or citation links between participants, and/or the appearance of a common communication at the next edition of the congress.

A specific work is done to document the locks encountered when retrieving data that are of a varied and more or less open nature and to propose a method that can be reproduced and applied to the study of other congresses.