Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Governance

June 18, 19, and 20, 2025

Cadi Ayyad University

Marrakech, Morocco

Conference organized by:

Cadi Ayyad University
Université du Québec en Outaouais
Université de Sherbrooke

Conference Topic

This conference addresses recent developments and emerging topics in cybersecurity, innovation, and governance.

Cybersecurity refers to any technology, measure, or practice aimed at preventing cyberattacks or mitigating their impact. Cybersecurity, encompassing the digital security and sovereignty of each nation, involves economic, strategic, and political stakes far beyond mere information systems security. It includes management information, financial information, personal data, online disinformation, and consequently, public and private institutions' trust. Cybersecurity science must be considered holistically, taking into account national security, economic, social, educational, legal, technical, and diplomatic aspects. Digital security represents the economic and social dimension of cybersecurity, essential for maintaining trust in our increasingly digital economies and enhancing resilience in a world faced with rising geopolitical conflicts and cybercrime. All the issues raised by cybersecurity directly relate to governance, both institutionally and within companies, as good governance must account for these risks and establish mechanisms for resource management, process transparency, protection of all social, economic, legal systems, and adequate accountability to stakeholders.

Innovation, emerging technologies (such as artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, blockchain), and cybersecurity are inherently connected. The policies and governance choices made regarding them raise questions about advancing digital development. Given that these technologies and cybersecurity have both a global and local (“glocal”) dimension, it is challenging to determine the nature of digital transformation and the international community's role in governing these technologies. Technology governance goes beyond establishing laws, regulations, and standards against these new technologies; it also addresses pre-existing socio-economic, cultural, and political issues exacerbated by digital transformation.

In response to these challenges, governance—the system by which an organization operates and is controlled—plays a key role through its mechanisms to manage all the risks facing public or private organizations, ensuring sustainability through continuous innovation and effective management for the benefit of all stakeholders. However, different governance models exist across countries, developed to meet varied legal, economic, and social environments. What are these different models, and how do they respond to local and global cybersecurity challenges in an evolving environment that requires constant innovation?

In this conference, cybersecurity is discussed from both a state and societal perspective, including public organizations, private entities, and civil society.

Innovation is addressed from two angles: the technical aspect and new perspectives on innovation governance, including data governance (Big Data), information technologies (IT), and strategic alignment. This covers risks associated with innovation and digital technologies, decision-making power allocation, stakeholder expectations, and governance issues in adopting, implementing, and monitoring changes related to innovation.

Governance is explored from two angles: corporate governance and public sector governance, including value creation and enterprise performance and risk management.

Contributions are welcome from researchers and professionals across various disciplines, including information technology and cybersecurity, economics, law, political science, management, accounting, finance, and strategy.

Conference Objectives

The conference aims to shed light on developments and challenges related to cybersecurity, innovation, and governance. The objectives are to:

• Highlight governance aspects within each of the disciplinary fields mentioned above;
• Emphasize recent developments and current governance challenges in cybersecurity and all forms of innovation (governance mechanisms and practices, risk management, performance management, value creation, flexible organizational structures, and adaptive processes);
• Emphasize the importance of governance for business sustainability and growth;
• Evaluate the impact governance can have on innovation capabilities and the increasingly critical relationships between these themes to ensure business continuity and development in an evolving environment, by presenting recent research findings on these themes;
• Evaluate the impact of innovation consequences (globalization, economic intelligence) on governance through specific mechanisms like competition and public-private management modes.

The ultimate goal is to expose theoretical and empirical foundations and models that support the interrelation between governance and innovation, propose new empirical research avenues, and equip organization managers with effective governance structures to succeed in innovation projects and address technological trends and challenges, including significant cybersecurity issues.

This conference aims to promote a scientific forum bringing together researchers from fields closely linked to governance, innovation, emerging technologies, and cybersecurity.

Conference Topics

Conference topics include, but are not limited to:

• Internal Control and Cybersecurity
• Governance and Cybersecurity
• Societal Issues, including National Security, and Cybersecurity
• IT Governance, Emerging Technologies, Data Management, and Cybersecurity
• Managerial Innovation Governance
• Innovation Governance, including Innovation Risk Management
• Social Innovation Governance
• Innovation and Emerging Technologies
• Business Intelligence
• Enterprise Risk Management
• Socially Responsible Governance
• Governance and Sustainable Development
• Governance and Value Creation
• Crisis Management Governance
• Project Management Governance
• Stakeholder Governance
• Economic Intelligence Governance
• Any other topic related to cybersecurity, innovation, and governance

Conference Format

The conference will span three days.

• Day 1: Research Methodologies Symposium.
  Targeted at doctoral students and seasoned researchers, this day will include a theoretical seminar on research methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods) and a practical workshop on the latest research methodology developments. A participation certificate with Continuing Education Units (CEU) will be awarded at the end of the day for symposium participants.

• Day 2: Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Emerging Technologies Theme

• Day 3: Governance with Multidisciplinary Presentations covering various perspectives mentioned above

Presentation Proposals

We welcome scientific, conceptual, empirical, and practitioner papers addressing any conference themes. Please submit a one-page Word document by February 15, 2025, including:

• A title (maximum 180 characters, including spaces)
• An abstract (maximum 1500 characters, including spaces)
• Author’s name, professional status, contact information, and primary institution or organization
• List of authors and co-authors

Abstracts will be reviewed by a scientific committee of professors, researchers, and professionals from universities and institutions worldwide. Authors whose submissions are accepted will be invited to submit a full text of 5,000 to 7,000 words for publication in a journal or a collective work. These texts will be reviewed by the same committee.

Please submit proposals via the platform: https://governance.sciencesconf.org/

Conference Rules

• Abstracts may be submitted in French or English.
• Each person may submit only one abstract as the primary author.
• If a proposal is rejected, the decision is final.
• To respect other participants, authors agree to attend if accepted and notify conference organizers of any cancellation as soon as possible.

Conference Registration Fees

• Faculty – Researchers: €250
• Students: €100
• Practitioners: €250