2025 Call For Presentations

The National Alliance to End Homelessness is seeking session proposals offered by industry stakeholders that provide valuable insights, reflect diverse experiences, and demonstrate innovative approaches to conference attendees. Proposals will be accepted for three session formats: Innovations Sessions, Spotlight Sessions, and Transformation Talks. All content for the Transformation Talks will be entirely sourced from submitted proposals, and a select amount of the Innovation and Spotlight Sessions will be selected from submitted proposals. Please see below for detailed descriptions of each session format.

Submissions are open to anyone with skill, background, knowledge, or expertise relevant to ending homelessness. Speakers with lived expertise of homelessness, and speakers presenting research & data, are especially encouraged to submit proposals.

Registration for the 2025 Innovations and Solutions for Ending Unsheltered Homelessness Conference is now open. Parties interested in both speaking at and attending the conference should plan to submit their proposals now, and formally register. Selected presenters for Innovation and Spotlight Sessions will receive complimentary conference registration; those who have already registered will be refunded their registration fee upon conclusion of the event. Selected presenters for Transformation Talks will receive half-off their conference registration fees. Additional registration slots will not be held for submitting presenters who are not selected.

Presentation proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Submissions that were received by 11:59 P.M. PT on Friday, October 25, 2024 will be considered for both the 2025 Innovations & Solutions for Ending Unsheltered Homelessness Conference and the 2025 National Conference on Ending Homelessness. Submissions received between October 26, 2024 through 11:59 P.M. PT on March 15, 2025 will be considered only for the 2025 National Conference on Ending Homelessness.

If you missed the informational webinar held on October 7, 2024, you can find a recording here! This webinar provided an overview of the Call for Presentations process, and addressed questions related to submitting proposals.

Submission Overview

The Alliance encourages submissions from people working across all roles in the homeless service sector, including systems leaders, frontline workers, advocates, people with lived experience of homelessness, researchers, and others. The Alliance specifically encourages researchers to consider opportunities to share new and emerging research.

All submissions must fall within at least one of the conference’s core categories:

• Crisis Response & Outreach
• Sheltering Response – Connecting People to Safe Spaces
• Rapidly Connecting People to Permanent Housing
• CoC Leadership/Administration – Making Tough Allocation Decisions
• Key Partners and Funding Streams – Leveraging Resources to End Homelessness
• Navigating Political, Public, and Media Challenges – Effective Communication
• Research & Data – Current Knowledge, Gaps, and Data Utilization
• Equity – Addressing Disparities in People Experiencing Homelessness

Please note that if you wish to present for the 2025 Innovations and Solutions for Ending Unsheltered Homelessness Conference, your proposal should focus on one of these topics as it pertains to unsheltered homelessness.

Requirements for Presenters

• Approval and Reference: Presenters must affirm they have been approved to present content on behalf of the organization represented (if applicable) and provide at least one professional reference familiar with the work outlined in your proposal submission. The Alliance reserves the right to contact this individual regarding your work.
• In-Person Presentations: All presentations must occur in person at the event. Proposals for virtual presentations will not be accepted for this conference.
• Non-Federal Affiliation: Employees and staff of federal agencies are not eligible to apply.

Submission Guidelines

• All proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis and must be submitted electronically through the Alliance conference website.
  • Submissions that were received by 11:59 PM PT on Friday, October 25, 2024 will be considered for both the 2025 Innovations and Solutions for Ending Unsheltered Homelessness Conference and the 2025 National Conference on Ending Homelessness. Submissions received between October 26, 2024 through 11:59 P.M. PT on March 15, 2025 will be considered only for the 2025 National Conference on Ending Homelessness.
• Presentations should not serve as a platform for promotion of an individual or organization. Preference will be given to proposals that reflect a variety of perspectives on a core topic and/or lead to innovative solutions to ending homelessness.
• Each presentation must adhere to the number of speakers listed. Each Innovation Session should have between two and three presenters, each Spotlight Session should have no more than two presenters, and each Transformation Talk must only have one presenter.
• The author of this submission must also be the proposed presenter. Additional presenters may be determined at a later date and will not be part of this submission process.
• While organizations may submit multiple presentations, each presenter is allowed a maximum of two (2) submissions for the 2025 Call for Presentations. If more than two submissions are received, only the first two will be considered.
• An individual presenter is only eligible to speak at one session through the Call for Presentations process. Presenters that are speaking on an approved proposal are still eligible to speak at Alliance-led sessions, should they be recruited by Alliance staff to do so.
• A proposal may only be submitted under one presentation type (i.e., Innovation Session, Spotlight Session, Transformation Talk).

Audience

For all session types, authors must select their target audience for the presentation. Target audiences include: frontline providers, people with lived expertise, program leaders, system leaders, policy advocates, policy administrators, and researchers.

Innovation Session

A 75-minute session intended to engage participants in an interactive discussion or activity around a new or pressing issue. This session is designed to maximize the opportunity for session participants to engage in discussion, as opposed to just listening to speakers present on a specific topic.

Structure:

Innovation sessions should be limited to two to three speaker(s). Speakers are expected to lead discussions by inviting comments and questions from those around the room. Innovation sessions can be designed as a fishbowl, campfire, or other type of facilitated discussion.

Goals:

• Create an atmosphere where attendees are encouraged to discuss new or pressing issue(s) in the field.
• Encourage collaboration and brainstorming of solutions to issues.
• Help others to learn about innovative and/or creative things happening in other communities.

Submission Criteria:

Innovation Session submissions shall not exceed the character limit of each section overall and must include:
 

• Session title (no more than 75 characters)
• Session description (no more than 500 characters)
• Three learning objectives for session (500 characters per objective)
• Brief description of proposed session format. Preference will be given to proposals that reflect specific methods for ensuring an interactive experience, beyond simply including time for questions and answers (no more than 750 characters)
• Brief description of what findings or lessons learned will be presented. If relevant, include summary recommendations for others who may be considering a similar approach. (no more than 750 characters)

Spotlight Session

The spotlight sessions are 45–minutes long, intended to provide program participants with a more detailed examination of a particular nuanced concept or community example. It is designed to maximize the amount of time the conference participants have for asking detailed questions. It is important that the speaker(s) in the Spotlight Session be strong and engaging public speakers.

Structure:

A Spotlight Session is limited to one to two speaker(s). The speaker(s) should plan their presentations to allow for 20-25 minutes of extended Q&A. They may choose to give a 15–20 minute presentation followed by extended Q&A, or they may choose a longer presentation that encourages Q&A throughout.

Goals:

• Allow speakers more time to explain a topic in more detail and engage attendees in discussions.
• Educate attendees on new tools and resources.
• Increase collaboration and discussion on certain topics.

Submission Criteria:

Spotlight Session submissions shall not exceed the character limit of each section of each section overall and must include:
 

• Session title (no more than 75 characters)
• Session description (no more than 500 characters)
• Three learning objectives for session (500 characters per objective)
• Brief description of proposed session format. Preference will be given to proposals that reflect specific methods for ensuring an interactive experience, beyond simply including time for questions and answers (no more than 750 characters)
• Brief description of what findings or lessons learned will be presented. If relevant, include summary recommendations for others who may be considering a similar approach. (no more than 750 characters)

Transformation Talks

Transformation Talks are 10-minute presentations, modeled on TED Talks, intended to engage conference participants on a single idea or new development. Presented in concise, focused presentations, Transformation Talks feature one speaker per topic covering distinct points of view.

Structure:

Transformation Talks feature multiple speakers, each providing a brief presentation (no more than 10 minutes) on one specific topic or transformative idea, presented from their point of view. Speakers are encouraged to use audio and visual aids in their presentations. Presentations are scheduled back-to-back and do not include time for Q&A.

Submission Criteria:

Transformation Talk submissions shall not exceed the character limit of each section of each section overall and must include:
 

• Title for talk (no more than 75 characters)
• Talk description (no more than 500 characters)
• The Learning Objectives, Session Format, Findings and Lessons Learned fields in the application are not required for Transformation Talks.

Criteria

The Alliance will conduct a review of proposals using a cross-functional team of staff and stakeholders. The team will consider these criteria in evaluating and choosing abstracts to be presented at the conference:

• Meets all submission criteria
• Addresses one of the subject topics listed
• Shows an innovative approach or solution
• Submitted by deadlines listed below

Presentation proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Submissions that were received by 11:59 P.M. PT on Friday, October 25, 2024 will be considered for the 2025 Innovations & Solutions for Ending Unsheltered Homelessness Conference and may also be considered for the 2025 National Conference on Ending Homelessness. Submissions received between October 26, 2024 through 11:59 P.M. PT March 15, 2025 will be considered only for the 2025 National Conference on Ending Homelessness.

If your proposal is accepted, the Alliance reserves the right to make changes to the recommended presenters, program, and materials. Proposals that are similar in subject matter may be accepted and merged at the discretion of the Alliance.

Timeline

All selected presenters will be required to:

• Submit an outline of your presentation to conference@naeh.org confirming presentation content.
• Submit all final presentation materials (slides, handouts, etc.) to conference planning team.
• Complete and submit a speaker details form.

If a proposal is selected:

• Selected presenters for Innovation and Spotlight Sessions will receive complimentary conference registration. This registration is reserved for the presenter only and is non-transferable. Individuals who have already registered will be refunded for their registration fee upon conclusion of the event.
• Selected presenters for Transformation Talks will receive half-off their conference registration fee. Individuals who have already registered will be refunded half of their registration fee upon conclusion of the event.
• Additional registration slots will not be held for submitting presenters who are not selected.
• If you are a person with lived expertise of homelessness, and you will require travel assistance to participate, please check the appropriate box on the application.
• All presenters are expected to be available for all conference dates, as applicable, in order to facilitate session scheduling.
• Presenters are responsible for their own conference-related expenses, including but not limited to travel, lodging accommodations, and meals outside of those provided during the conference. However, the Alliance has a limited budget to support participation of presenters with lived expertise of homelessness.