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Before you submit your proposal, you may want to read our guidance.
Congress 2026 will be an in-person event and, where agreed and appropriate, ELDP sessions may be recorded so they are available to watch on demand at a time that suits individuals following the event. All ELDP presenters, chairs and panel members are expected to be onsite to deliver their session. For more information, please contact congress@rcn.org.uk.
Please note, only RCN “entities” can submit for this programme. Entities include RCN forums, boards, branches, networks, groups, or RCN departments and country/region offices. The RCN entity will be asked to confirm and agree the submission before it is sent for review.
The closing date for applications is 5pm, Wednesday 7 January 2026.
As only RCN “entities” can submit for this programme, applications made on behalf of third parties by RCN “entities” are not permissible. For enquiries regarding sponsored sessions and exhibiting, please contact congressexhibition@rcn.org.uk.
Congress 2026 Education, Learning and Development Programme
The ELDP will be aligned with the RCN Institute, the organisation’s own centre of excellence for education, learning, research and policy. As such, the themes for the programme have been linked to each of the institute’s five academies – nursing workforce, nursing practice, nursing leadership, international nursing, and activism.
The themes are:
International Nursing Academy may apply to any of the themes.
Please select one theme for your submission:
Please select the additional RCN entities working in collaboration on this submission (working in collaboration is desirable, there is no maximum):
Please note, submissions must be RCN led, external organisations are not eligible to be the main submitting entity or to host a session.
Please let us know if you are not able to hold your session on a particular day or time, due to speaker availability (please note we cannot guarantee time slots).
While we try to accommodate all requests, we cannot guarantee that your preferred time and/or date will be available. We will contact all accepted submissions in February 2026 to confirm allocated time slots.
Please provide names and contact details, if known, and whether they are RCN members or externally invited speakers.
This is to help avoid scheduling clashes.
Presenters attending Congress exclusively to deliver an ELDP session will have travel and accommodation covered in line with the RCN expenses policy.
Travel and accommodation must be arranged with the relevant supporting RCN Directorate/Department/Professional staff lead who will make the booking through the RCN’s approved travel agent.
The RCN will not cover travel and accommodation costs if the presenter is already funded to attend Congress and it is unable to pay speaker fees or honorariums, any additional AV requirements, over and above the standard package, or any other costs related to your session.
Submitting authors are asked to be mindful around costs when planning - sessions are only 45 minutes in length and so up to 3 contributors for each lecture or seminar is considered a reasonable maximum. Panel discussions or debates may justify additional contributors and approval via congress@rcn.org.uk should be sought in advance.
All expenses are paid in line with the RCN expense policy. Please refer to this document, particularly pages 7-11, for guidance on booking arrangements and eligibility for travel and accommodation before inviting or agreeing presenters for your session.
For your proposed session, please estimate in £ sterling anticipated presenter travel, accommodation and expenses costs:
Please refer to the RCN expense policy for guidance on travel and accommodation.
Justified reasons, among other reasons stated in the policy, include departure from home before 6am or arrival back at home after 10pm or where there is a demonstrable health and safety issue.
By submitting this form, you are giving the RCN permission to contact you about your submission.
The information you provide in this form will be stored by the RCN.
Protecting your privacy is very important to us. Please view our privacy policy to find out more about the information we collect and how it is used.
