The PHE Canada Research Forum offers a platform for PHE Canada research community to come together to discuss and (re)define/(re)build who we are, what we do and share some of the valuable lessons we have learned as a result of the last few years.
The PHE Canada Research Council (PHECRC) is pleased to invite presentation proposals for the 2026 PHECRC Research Forum, held on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations in Vancouver, BC.
The Research Forum will take place on April 29, 2026 and will bring together academics, graduate students, and research partners dedicated to advancing scholarship in physical and health education.This event provides a unique platform to share current research, exchange ideas, and build connections across diverse fields of inquiry.
The deadline for proposal submissions is Friday, November 7, 2025 at 11:59PM (Eastern).
Review and selection process
The PHECRC Forum Planning Committee strives to represent the Research Council in a way that is both transparent and inclusive. For the 2026 event, certain policies and procedures have been updated to ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of the PHEC research community.
For the 2026 Research Forum, abstract reviewers will consist of PHECRC Executive Members only. Each submission will be blind-reviewed by two or three reviewers (depending on the number of abstracts received), and scored using a rubric that takes into account significance to the field, study design/theoretical rationale, rigor of methodology, and overall clarity (see rubric here). Submissions will then be ranked accordingly. Unfortunately, feedback will not be provided to those not accepted due to limited staff and resources.
Format of the Presentations
All presentations will be in person.
Proposals
When preparing your abstracts for submission, some discussion points to consider could include: Who is our PHE community? Who is responsible for teaching our children and youth? Who is conducting meaningful PHE research in our community? What lessons have we learned? How do we move forward? What do we leave behind?
Proposals are being accepted in one of four formats:
- Graduate Student World Cafe: Work from graduate students at any point in their program is invited (masters or doctoral). With this format, graduate students will begin with a 3-MinuteThesis (3MT), and then participate in an active World Cafe, which will allow students to discuss their work with other attendees at the PHECRC Forum. This format is intended to take the place of the traditional poster presentations and promote dialogue and mentorship. Graduate students will be asked to post a 1-page summary and/or their slides to the conference app prior to the World Cafe beginning.
- Oral Presentation: For research that has been completed but not yet presented at the PHE Forum in previous years, presenters will have 12-15 minutes to present their research followed by 2-3 minutes of questions (presentation time will depend on the number of submissions received).
- Oval Table: A non-traditional round table discussion as a space for sharing projects and ideas that may not necessarily be identified as research in the traditional sense. This may include community-based work, collaborative projects, and other relevant topics/ideas. Presentation (20 minutes) and facilitation of a discussion (7-10 minutes).
- Disrupt and Dismantle Panel Discussion: These are NOT research presentations but rather an opportunity to discuss a controversial issue in Physical or Health Education (e.g., sport influence on PHE, use of fitness testing, uninformed/political opinions on curriculum development, etc.) with a solution-oriented focus. For this presentation type, the presenter(s) will propose the topic for discussion and invite 4-5 ‘experts’ to present varying points of view on the topic. Please also consider opportunities to engage the audience and their knowledge as well. The session will last approximately one hour. Format may follow: introduce the topic, panel members share their views, possible solutions discussed, audience engagement.
Please note:
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All presenters must be a PHE Canada RC member in good standing. You can check your PHE Canada Research Council membership status by logging into your PHE Canada membership account or emailing your request to [email protected].
- All presenters are required to register online as a delegate for the RC Forum.
- Presenters may submit only one proposal for which they are the lead author.
- ALL proposal submissions will be assessed by a blind peer review.
If you have any questions please e-mail us at [email protected].
Please note that abstract submissions via email will not be accepted.
Opportunity: Special Issue Publication
If you wish to have your abstract included in the special issue, it is imperative that you format your submission in the following manner. Due to personnel and resource constraints, any abstract not meeting the format guidelines will not be considered for the special issue; this will still be blind reviewed as per the process for conference abstracts.
Submit an abstract; please use the following formatting (Note: abstracts submitted that do not align with the following formatting may not be accepted for special issue publication following the conference due to personnel and resource limitations):
Submit an abstract