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Institute of Advanced Study
External shot of Institute of Advanced study at Cosin's Hall

Building Bridges: Fairness in Allocation - Symposium

Contact to register or for further information

22 October 2026 - 22 October 2026

9:00AM - 1:30PM

Waterside Building, Durham Business School, Riverside Place, Durham DH1 1SL

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Questions about fairness arise whenever difficult decisions have to be made about who gets what, when, and on what basis. These questions matter in many areas of life, including public housing, healthcare, organ donation, humanitarian aid, environmental governance, and questions about how shared domains such as the deep sea should be used and divided fairly. They also matter in the rules, institutions, and decision-making systems that shape everyday choices.

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This symposium will create a space to explore these questions from different starting points. Our aim is to begin a conversation across fields and approaches, and to learn what different kinds of work can contribute to a shared discussion about fairness. The symposium will bring together work engaging with questions of fairness, sharing, decision-making, and the distribution of limited goods and opportunities.

Places are limited and registration is required. Please email riccardo.mogre@durham.ac.uk to register, indicating any dietary requirements.

 

Programme

09:00–09:15 — Opening: Why Fairness in Allocation?
Riccardo Mogre

09:15–09:45 — When Algorithms Decide Who Gets What: Balancing Fairness and Efficiency in Online Allocation
Xiaolong Li

09:45–10:15 — Ventilator Triage Policies During the COVID-19 Pandemic at U.S. Hospitals
Sarah Wieten

10:15–10:45 — Coffee Break

10:45–11:15 — Fairness in International Kidney Exchange 
Daniel Paulusma

11:15–11:45 — Justice and Allocation: An Aristotelian Perspective
Giulia Bonasio

11:45–12:30 — Roundtable: Connecting Perspectives on Fairness in Allocation
Bringing together insights from the morning and exploring common questions, tensions, and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

12:30–13:30 — Lunch and Informal Discussion

 

Some of the questions to explore include:

  • What makes a way of sharing limited goods or opportunities fair?
  • How can ideas about social justice help guide real policy and decision-making?
  • How should we think about need, equality, urgency, efficiency, responsibility, or priority?
  • How are these decisions shaped by institutions, rules, everyday practice, models, and algorithms?
  • What can examples such as housing, healthcare, humanitarian aid, environmental governance, or shared goods teach us about fairness?

Pricing

Free