Conference

The call for papers for the CLS Conference 2026 has now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted. We will be in touch as soon as possible with the outcome.

Collage of images of people at different stages of life

About the conference

For 80 years, the UK’s cohort studies have tracked generations of Britons, providing invaluable evidence on how our early lives continue to shape us as we grow up, and grow old.

The CLS Conference 2026 will bring together researchers from across disciplines, sectors and career stages to showcase outstanding life course research using cohort data. It is an opportunity to hear about the latest findings from the cohorts, share learning with colleagues, and network with fellow data users. The conference is also a chance to meet the staff running the studies, and give your input on the work of CLS and future direction of the cohorts.

General registration and a provisional programme will be available in May/June 2026.

Submission criteria

Submissions were invited from any researchers using CLS cohort data, across disciplines, career stages, sectors and geographic regions, which met the following criteria.

1. Submissions must use data from at least one CLS cohort study.

Submissions that use CLS data alongside other data sources are welcome. CLS cohort studies include:

2. Submissions must fit at least one of the conference themes:

  • ageing
  • child development
  • cognition
  • families
  • labour markets and skills
  • mental health
  • physical health
  • poverty, disadvantage and social mobility
  • statistical and survey methods.

3. Submissions must use robust methods and be of a good scientific standard.

In addition, submissions featuring any of the following are particularly encouraged:

Submission types

You can submit an abstract for a:

  • single paper
  • poster
  • symposium of 3-4 papers from different speakers that you will chair.

We will make every effort to respect authors’ preferences on submission type. However, submissions for single papers may be allocated a poster slot or added to a relevant symposium in order for us to accommodate as many good quality submissions as possible into the programme.

What to include in your submission

All submissions

  • Your name (as you would like it to appear in the conference programme)
  • Your email address
  • Your institution/organisation (as you would like it to appear in the conference programme)
  • CLS cohort study used (tick all that apply)
  • Relevant conference themes (tick all that apply)
  • Submission type (single paper/presentation, symposium, poster)

Single paper/presentation or poster

  • Presentation title (max. 200 characters with spaces)
  • Short abstract (max. 900 characters with spaces)
  • Extended abstract (max. 5,000 characters with spaces)*
  • Names and affiliations of any additional speakers or co-authors

* The extended abstract will be the main information reviewed by the Programme Committee. It should cover:

  • objectives/research questions
  • data
  • methodology
  • (preliminary) results.

Symposium

  • Symposium title (max. 200 characters with spaces)
  • Speaker details (minimum 3 speakers and up to 4 speakers)
  • Individual presentation abstracts (max. 1,300 characters with spaces)**

** Individual presentation abstracts will be the main information reviewed by the Programme Committee. Each abstract should cover:

  • relevance to the symposium topic
  • brief description of data and methodology
  • (preliminary) results.

Limit of two submissions

Contributors were allowed to make up to two submissions:

  • If you are proposing a symposium for which you are one of the named speakers, this will count as one submission.
  • If you have already made two submissions, you cannot be included as a named speaker in another person’s symposium.

Terms and conditions

Contributors agreed to abide by CLS’s terms and conditions for conference submissions.