First of all, please read our 2027 CFP announcement to learn how our CFP process has changed from last year.

What kind of proposals do you want?

We want a 45 min talk proposal from you, or a 100 minute workshop proposal. It doesn't matter if you're a first time, occasional, or regular speaker. If you've got a great story, we want to hear from you! 

We have a blind review process. Your name, gender, background, and location are unavailable to reviewers. We follow the Berlin Code Of Conduct and publish a diversity report each year. See our 2026 CFP report for more.  

What talks do you want? 

We're looking for 36 talks across 4 tracks, that are:

• Organisation experience. A story that covers in depth 1 organisation you've worked in, e.g. first steps towards an agile NHS by Robert Macadam
• Career experience. A story that joins the dots between the lessons learned in 2+ organisations you've worked in, e.g. the strategy sprint by Rachel Dubois

We'd like to know about your AI usage in organisation and career experiences (not in your proposal!). It might be no AI in your organisation, AI assisted e.g. copilot to review work, or AI native e.g. agentic to deliver work. AI disasters in experience reports as well as AI successes are welcome.

Put yourself at the heart of the proposal. Mention the organisation(s) involved as best you can. They can be anonymised if company approval is unavailable e.g. a large retailer, a startup fintech. Details matter more than a name. Give examples and some rough timings. 

What workshops do you want?

We're looking for 6 workshops that are:

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

Imagine yourself at the back of the room, and make it about what your attendees can learn. Forget the Lego, it's been done before. Include task by task timings in the outline. We prefer game proposals. 

What are your experience report tracks? 

• Engineering. Microservices, data, 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 provide a free speaker ticket?

Yes, for 1 speaker and 1 co-speaker per session. It covers the conference, the beach party, and the boat trip if you want. If you want a family member or friend to attend your session, they have to buy a ticket at full cost.   

Do you provide free speaker accommodation?

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

You'll have a free room in the student village on the Falmouth University campus. It's a 10 min walk from our venue. It's basic accommodation, functional but not plush. If you prefer, you can arrange your own paid accommodation nearby. 

Do you provide speaker travel expenses?

Yes, for main speakers who live outside Cornwall. We cover:

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

We can't cover long-haul or co-speaker travel. We're a not-for-profit conference with a limited budget. We don't have any partner sponsorships, remote speaking options, or travel grants. If we're concerned your travel costs will significantly exceed your travel expenses, we'll ask you to connect us with your manager, so they can confirm they'll cover additional costs.

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!