First of all, please read our CFP announcement to learn how our programme and CFP process have changed from last year.

What kind of proposals do you want?

We want 45 minute talks, and 90 minute workshops.

What talk types do you want? 

We want experience reports:

• Organisation experience. A story that covers in depth one organisation you've worked in, e.g. first steps towards an agile NHS by Robert Macadam
• Career experience. A story that covers in breadth the lessons learned you've learned from two or more organisations during your career, e.g. e.g. the strategy sprint by Rachel Dubois

Experience reports can be anonymised if company approval is unavailable until speaker acceptance ("a retailer", "a financial services firm"). We prioritise career experiences and organisation experiences equally, and we don't accept any theoretical talks. AI has replaced them.

Organisation experiences are labelled by AI usage - no AI, AI assistance (human driven with AI review e.g. copilot), and AI native (AI driven with human review e.g. agents). AI disasters as well as AI successes are welcome. It's OK to be an AI sceptic, an AI centrist, or an AI advocate.

What workshop types do you want?

• Game. An all-session interactive event, e.g. Dragons Den product showdown by Muneesh Malik and Mohit Chandna
• Applied Learning. Multiple interactive group exercises, e.g. Liberating Structures toolkit by Nicola Schoonderwoerd

We prioritise games over applied learning, we don't want Lego activities (it's been done), and we don't accept any talkshops (Gwen won't allow it).

What kind of speakers do you want?

Anyone with a great story to tell. We're looking for a range of speakers, so if you have never spoken at a conference before please don't be shy.

We have blind review. Your name, gender, skill set, and location are all unavailable to reviewers. You are scored purely on the merits of your proposal. We follow the Berlin Code Of Conduct and publish a diversity report each year e.g. our 2025 CFP report.  

What are your experience report tracks? 

• Engineering. Microservices, data, GenAI, machine learning, architecture, Continuous Delivery, e.g. migrating from a monolith at Stack Overflow by Connell Sharp
• Design & product. Service design, user research, user experience, product management, e.g. how Dutch Railways made bike sharing a big hit by Veerle Verhagen 
• Teams. Ways of working, leadership, team feedback, e.g. how psychological safety at Rowe helped me to release my true self by Terri Lamerton
• Organisations. Agility beyond delivery teams, e.g. scaling delivery for 50 teams at Just Eat Takeaway by Francesca Salvati

Do you have any proposal hints?

If you want to do a talk, put yourself at the heart of the experience report. Give examples from your experience in the proposal, so reviewers can relate to you. If it's an organisation experience report, mention the one organisation as best you can e.g. it's name or 'at a bank' in the description and outline. If it's a career experience report, mention 2+ organisations as best you can.

If you want to run a workshop, put yourself at the back of the room (metaphorically, if not literally). The less time you spend speaking in a workshop, the better. Make it about what attendees can learn.

Do or don't use AI assistance in proposal creation. Do include some rough session timings in the outline. Don't put any hyperlinks to previous events, blogs in your proposal, as they have to be removed before blind review. 

Do you provide a free speaker ticket?

Yes, for speaker and co-speakers.

If you buy a ticket for yourself before you're confirmed as a speaker, we'll refund it. f you'd like to bring a guest, they need to buy a ticket. 

Do you provide free speaker accommodation?

Yes, for speakers and co-speakers, on campus for 1-3 nights. 

You'll have a free room in the student village on the Falmouth University campus. It's a scenic, eco-friendly campus, and a 10 min walk to our AMATA venue. It's basic student accommodation. If you wish, you can book alternative accommodation near the university, at your own expense. 

Do you provide speaker travel expenses?

Yes, for speakers only, who live outside Cornwall.

We're very grateful every year for the long distances that speakers travel to be with us, so we provide a flat fee to speakers who need it. We can't afford to cover co-speakers, or long-haul travel.  

We cover:

• £150 from the rest of the UK to Cornwall
  
• £300 from Europe to Cornwall

And we're a not-for-profit conference with a limited budget, so please check pre-CFP if your employer can cover your travel expenses. It really helps us out.  

Do you publicise your review process?

Yes. You can read all the details in last year's AOTB CFP report. It describes the process, session scores, and diversity data from last year. We had a 50/50 balance between the over-represented majority, and under-represented minorities. 

We'll notify people of the results in mid-December. If you're successful, you'll have a week to accept our speaker invitation. If you're unsuccessful, we'll share some aggregated reviewer feedback and a ticket discount code. 

If you have any questions, we're at cfp@agileonthebeach.com. Ask away!