THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR THE 2026 CQI CONFERENCE IS OPEN!
Conference Dates: October 13 & 14, 2026
Location: IHotel and Conference Center, Champaign, IL
Google RFP Form || Printable RFP Form (PDF)
ABOUT THE 2026 CQI CONFERENCE: "From Surviving to Thriving: The Next Chapter of CQI."
The 2026 Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Conference represents a pivotal moment for our field. As organizations navigate growing complexity, workforce pressures, and evolving community needs, CQI remains an essential framework for moving beyond day-to-day problem solving toward stronger, more resilient systems.
This year’s conference focuses on how CQI helps organizations stabilize what matters most, strengthen relationships and processes, and build the capacity to sustain meaningful improvement over time. Sessions will highlight practical tools, lessons learned from the field, and forward-thinking approaches that help teams move from managing challenges to creating environments where people, services, and systems can truly excel.
Attendees will explore how to:
- Strengthen system reliability and reduce inefficiencies
- Support and sustain the workforce through smarter processes
- Deepen partnerships with families and communities
- Use data as a tool for learning and insight
- Design systems that work in real-world conditions
- Advance equity through improvement efforts
- Grow leadership capacity at all levels
- Turn short-term fixes into sustainable change
PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE
The CQI Community Group’s annual conference is a capacity building and networking event that brings together leaders, practitioners, and visionaries from diverse sectors. It is an opportunity for people from a variety of professional backgrounds to come together to explore strategies for developing, managing, and participating in the CQI process that will lead to better outcomes for children, adults, families, and communities. The conference will have sessions for professionals of all levels from basic to advanced CQI knowledge and skills.
CQI IS FOR EVERYONE
When we say CQI is for everyone, we mean everyone. Our audience is primarily CQI staff, but also includes leadership and direct-service staff from community-based, academic, state, behavioral health, medical, and government settings. The CQI Community Group promotes diversity among workshop presenters and is committed to building a vibrant and empowered community.
We encourage submissions from a variety of professional affiliations (government, academic, corporate, non-profit, medical, behavioral health, or community-based providers), organization sizes (small, medium, or large), experience levels (whether you are a subject matter expert with a research team or a quality improvement peer with a great idea), and geography (both inside and outside Illinois). Collaborative sessions representing multiple organizations are also encouraged. We want to hear from you!
IMPORTANT DATESVirtual RFP Informational Sessions. Please register for one:
- March 23, 2026 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CDT. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fNyRCqR9QNCtbuxnc8a0Sg
- April 22, 2026 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CDT. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Vef7ej4tQpiJK8FRjKFk6w
- Proposals are due May 1, 2026.
- Proposals will be selected and presenters will be notified by June 22, 2026.
- If accepted, an informational session will be scheduled in early August 2026.
- Presentation(s) will be due October 9, 2026.
- Conference: October 13 & 14, 2026 at the I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center in Champaign, Illinois.
- Only 3 speakers per organization will qualify for the reduced speaker registration fee of $275.
In keeping with universal design for learning, speakers will be asked to send their presentation materials in advance so participants have early access to the content in support of diverse learning and accessibility needs. Materials will then be posted on the CQI Community website after the conference.