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 attendees of the 2026 National Conference on Ending Homelessness.

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 and data, are especially encouraged to submit proposals.

Selected presenters for Innovation Sessions 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.

Proposals are due by 11:59 P.M. PT on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Late submissions – or submissions sent via email – will not be accepted.

Submission Overview

The Alliance encourages submissions from people working across all roles in the homeless service sector, including system leaders, frontline workers, advocates, people with lived experience of homelessness, researchers, and more. 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:

• Frontline Responses: Outreach and Crisis Response
• Making Effective Use of Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, and Other Temporary Housing Options
• Permanent Housing Strategies
• Leading Homeless Services and Planning
• Leveraging Funders, Partners, and Other Resources to Expand Assistance
• Building Support and Political Will – Advocacy and Messaging
• Building and Demonstrating Evidence – Research and Data
• Equity & Lived Experience Innovation: Addressing Disparities in Outcomes for People Experiencing 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 their 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

• 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 in the session category. 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 this Call for Presentations. If more than two submissions are received per presenter, 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).

A laptop and LCD projector will be provided for all sessions. This does not include audio/visual support for videos.

To submit your proposal, please read through each session type and submission guidelines below, and submit through the button at the bottom of this page.

Once the proposal has been fully submitted, a confirmation of receipt will automatically be emailed to the submitter. The submitter will be notified no later than the week of April 6, 2026 on whether or not their submission has been selected.

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.

Proposals are due by 11:59 P.M. PT on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Late submissions – or submissions sent via email – will not be accepted.

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 core categories listed
• Shows an innovative approach or solution
• Submitted by deadlines listed below

Proposals are due by 11:59 P.M. PT on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Late submissions – or submissions sent via email – will not be accepted.

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.

Priority will be given to speakers and organizations who were not previously selected via the Call for Presentations process.

Timeline

ACTIVITY	DATE
Call for Presentations Announcement	February 3, 2026
Submission Deadline	March 17, 2026
Notification of Selection	Week of April 6, 2026
Presentation Days for 2026 National Conference on Ending Homelessness	July 8 – 10, 2026

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.
• 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 recent lived expertise of homelessness. Assistance must be requested by the applicant and approved by Alliance staff.

Proposals are due by 11:59 P.M. PT on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Late submissions – or submissions sent via email – will not be accepted.

Questions?

Please direct any questions to conference@naeh.org.

Ready to submit?