CCM Institute

Academic Symposium 2026

Contracting in an Age of Uncertainty and Intelligence

Tuesday 1st - Thursday 3rd December

ONLINE & FREE TO ATTEND

A partnership of

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CCM Institute Academic Symposium 2026

The 2026 Academic Symposium is brought to you from the Commerce & Contract Management Institute (CCM Institute), a partnership of World Commerce & Contracting (WorldCC), WorldCC Foundation, and the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). 

The CCM Institute Academic Symposium is a premier event designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry, fostering collaboration between leading scholars and commerce and contract management professionals. Partnering with prestigious institutions, this annual event provides a dynamic forum for knowledge exchange, research innovation, and practical application.

Contracting in an Age of Uncertainty and Intelligence

The Broader Impact

As organizations navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain global landscape, the need for resilience has never been greater. The 2026 symposium will explore strategic frameworks, innovative methodologies, and real-world applications that enhance commercial resilience. Through expert-led sessions and research presentations, participants will delve into how adaptive strategies can ensure sustainable and high-performing contract management practices.

The symposium is more than just an event – it is a catalyst for change. By fostering collaboration between academia and industry, the symposium plays a crucial role in advancing research, influencing policy, and shaping the future of commerce and contract management. The insights generated contribute to more resilient, adaptive, and sustainable business practices, ultimately driving innovation and growth. 

Be part of a global movement to drive excellence in commerce and contract management through research, innovation, and collaboration.

Thematic Areas for Exploration

Judgment, Power, and the Limits of Automation
Human Decision-Making in AI-Enabled Contracting
  • What decisions in contracting should never be automated?
  • How does AI reshape power dynamics between buyers, suppliers, and the state?
  • Does AI reduce bias or encode it at scale?
  • How should accountability be designed when humans act on AI recommendations?
  • How should we confront the dark contractual legacy in the age of AI? 

 
Governing Value in Uncertain Ecosystems
Risk, Adaptation, and Shared Accountability Beyond the Firm
  • How should contracts allocate accountability in multi-party ecosystems?
  • When does risk transfer destroy value rather than protect it?
  • What contractual mechanisms enable adaptation without moral hazard?
  • How do public-sector, infrastructure, and mission-based programmes challenge classic contract theory?
Designing and Proving Better CCM Operating Models
From Workflow Mapping to System-Level Evidence
  • What does a high-performing CCM process actually look like in practice?
  • Where are the true decision nodes, bottlenecks, handoffs, and failure modes across the lifecycle?
  • How should organisations design and test alternative contracting and procurement operating models?
  • What evidence demonstrates that one CCM model outperforms another on cycle time, cost realism, risk posture, supplier behaviour, and value delivery?
  • How can acquisition and contracting policy be translated into executable process architectures and digital workflows at scale?
Contracts as Systems of Intelligence
From Legal Text to Organisational Infrastructure
  • How do contracts function as socio-technical systems rather than documents?
  • What happens when contracts become machine-interpretable and AI-operable?
  • How do contract structures influence organisational intelligence, decision latency, and performance?
  • What are the limits of digitisation and automation in contractual governance? 

Call for Papers, Essays, or Oral-only Presentations

The key to this symposium is to combine valuable expertise from the field and academia, creating an opportunity for those in the public, private and voluntary sectors to share and build on existing knowledge. Therefore, alongside academic papers, we also encourage input from practitioners in the form of essays or oral presentations without formal writing.

Accepted abstracts will be made available online to the symposium delegates and the authors will be invited to provide a high-level summary of their paper or thoughts on Day One (1st December) of our Academic Symposium, where presentations will receive feedback. Selected papers will be considered for inclusion in a special edition published in our prestigious International Journal of Commerce & Contracting.

Submission Deadline
Please submit a 250-word abstract describing your proposed presentation to Ananya Prem Nath at anath@worldcc.com by 15th August 2026.

Professional team

We encourage submissions from:

  • Doctoral students
  • Young and experienced professionals
  • Future procurement & contracting specialists
  • Academics
  • Applied researchers
  • Other stakeholders in the field of contracting and the law

Agenda

The symposium is tailored for academics, researchers, industry professionals, and students who are passionate about commerce and contract management. Whether you are a scholar exploring new frontiers in research, a practitioner seeking insights into emerging trends, or an industry leader looking to contribute to the development of best practices, this event offers unparalleled opportunities for engagement and learning. Check back again soon for the latest agenda additions!

Day One: Industry and Academia Convene
Tuesday 01 December | Online | Open to all

We begin the symposium with a day of engaging virtual sessions that bring together a global community of academics, practitioners, and thought leaders. Through keynotes, panels, and research presentations, we’ll explore our four thematic areas designed to target the latest thinking in commercial and contract innovation, setting the stage for rich dialogue and collaboration.

Register to attend the regional time zone that best works for you.

Day Two: In-Person Hubs
Wednesday 02 December

Our second day invites professionals and academics to connect in regional in-person hubs, hosted by leading academic institutions. Each hub will be given one of our five thematic areas to explore. These gatherings provide a space for deeper, context-driven discussions, and peer exchange, with the aim of identifying research gaps and opportunities. If you are an academic institution and would like to host your own hub, please email us at info@ccm.institute.

Download our in-person hub guidelines.

Day Three: Final Readout 
Thursday 03 December | Online | Open to all

We conclude with a collective global readout, drawing together the key insights, themes, and outcomes from the in-person hubs. This final session offers a platform to reflect, share learnings, and identify opportunities for continued research, partnership, and impact

Why attend?

  • Gain exclusive access to cutting-edge research and emerging trends in commerce and contract management.
  • Participate in meaningful discussions with global experts on the intersection of theory and practice.
  • Discover innovative approaches to contract resilience, governance, and sustainability.
  • Expand their professional network through interactions with academics and practitioners from diverse industries.
  • Contribute to shaping the future of contract research through collaborative initiatives.
  • Identify current gaps in existing research, test new ideas, and refine concepts through dynamic workshops and collaborative discussions.

Receive a total of 3 CPD points that count towards a WorldCC Certification.

speaker landscape

Introducing our esteemed Steering Committee

Discussions will be led by some of the world’s leading academic thinkers in resilient, ethical, and adaptable strategic contracting and the law, joined by leading industry practitioners.

Dan Finkenstadt Follow me on LinkedIn

Subject Matter Expert
Commercial & Contract Management Institute

Sir Oliver Hart

Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor
Harvard University Department of Economics

Anne Ketola Follow me on LinkedIn

Senior Researcher
Tampere University

Eric Lizardo Follow me on LinkedIn

Senior Contract Specialist
International Security Force – Lekhwiya

Rob Manning Follow me on LinkedIn

Director of Contract Management
Thales AU

Dr Maria A. Pozza Follow me on LinkedIn

Senior Lecturer
Lincoln University NZ

Boris Prastalo Follow me on LinkedIn

Lecturer in Commercial Law
Brunel University London

Isabelle Sabaud Follow me on LinkedIn

Strategic Advisor

Jessica Tillipman Follow me on LinkedIn

Associate Dean for Government Procurement Law Studies
The George Washington University Law School

David van Slyke Follow me on LinkedIn

Dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Syracuse University

Daniel Watts Follow me on LinkedIn

Senior Director, Contracting Solutions
Johnson & Johnson
Academic stock

Register for FREE today!

Available in 11 LANGUAGES, with all virtual content available ON-DEMAND.
All career enriching content will be available on our event platform for 12 months.

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