2026 Hybrid Structure

The 2026 Hybrid Conference

In 2026, the Housing Studies Association is excited to host our fifth hybrid conference. The last few years have seen significant changes in learned society events. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift to online events, and we offered online conferences in different formats, welcoming delegates from around the world. In 2022, we introduced our first hybrid offering and continued with a similar format in 2023.

For 2026, we will return with a hybrid conference, but with a new updated format. 

We strongly believe that having online access to our conference provides the opportunity for inclusion for those from across a broad geographical reach, but also offers inclusion for those whose personal and/or professional commitments, finances, and circumstances would prevent them from attending in person.

At the same time, we do not want to lose the in-person connectedness that our pre-pandemic conferences have offered. For many of our members, the in-person conference is a calendar highlight. There are significant benefits to having several days away from the (home-)office to be immersed in all things housing research, to think without disruption from competing commitments, to catch up with friends, to meet new people and to find inspiration from a conversation in the coffee queue.

We have been actively listening to the feedback from delegates and members over the past few conferences to learn how to ensure that our conference is actively inclusive while balancing the voluntary nature of the organising committee and the broader Housing Studies Association board. Organising a large conference on a voluntary basis is a substantial undertaking, and adding a hybrid offering contributes to further complexities. Therefore, we have decided to evolve our offering this year into a different format.

Our hybrid conference structure

We will host an "in-person summit” in Sheffield between 20th and 22nd April 2026. There will be online access to the summit. 

We will host an online international housing symposium in June 2026. This will be w/c 1st June 2026. 

Delegates will be able to access both elements of the conference, but in different ways depending on the ticket type (more information below). 

Keynote/Plenary sessions

We will have keynote/plenary sessions at both the in-person and online elements of the conference. 

We will have three keynote/plenary sessions at the in-person element between 20th and 22nd April 2026, and these will be streamed in real-time to online attendees. 

We will also have a keynote/plenary session during the online international symposium w/c 1st June 2025. 

The sessions will be recorded and available to watch at a later date for all attendees.

Workshop sessions

We have taken onboard feedback regarding the mixing of in-person and online presentations. This type of event has posed challenges for chairing sessions, complexities in developing a programme (including last-minute changes to in-person and online presentations), increased workloads, and feedback from delegates. This year, we have decided to change how we will organise our workshop sessions.

In-person sessions

This year, we have decided not to include online presentations during the in-person summit. During the in-person summit, all presentations will be in-person. However, we will have online access to select workshop streams.

Online attendees will be able to access one of the workshop streams and actively ask questions and get involved in the discussions, supported by a new conference platform.

We will put in place new guidance for chairs and the community that we hope will actively promote our conference as a safe space for discussion across different mediums.

Online sessions and presentations

The Housing Studies Association board actively wants to support the inclusion of presentations, discussions, and networking from those unable to attend in person.

An online element to a conference provides the opportunity to innovate, not only in how presentations are accessed but also in how and what delegates can present.

In previous years, we have asked online presenters to pre-record their presentations, which would then be made available before a Q&A session where a discussion could be had. We have noted that, while this was designed to be inclusive, there have been challenges in managing the presentations and session attendance. Therefore, we have decided to return to live online presentations and Q&A.