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The Abstract/Proposal Submission Process— It’s as Easy as 1-2-3!

The Abstract/Proposal Submission Process— It's as Easy as 1-2-3!

It’s time to prepare your Lean story to share at the 2026 LCI Congress conference this October. Get tips for a winning abstract proposal from Kevin Labrecque, Founder and CEO of Integration Point LLC, past LCI Congress Chair, and dedicated LCI Congress abstract review leader since 2018.

Enjoy this recap of Kevin’s latest tips and review process insights—and submit your presentation proposal before it’s too late! The deadline is Thursday, March 5.

The Big Picture

With Atlanta as the backdrop for the LCI Congress conference this year, and building on a record-breaking 2025 Congress, Kevin said, “We’re excited to see just how big it can get this year. We’re seeking the highest quality presentations for Congress. The selection committee is very serious about getting the best of the best.”

Kevin continued, “I want to reiterate that our community benefits the most from our collective vulnerable sharing of the challenges, struggles, and what you’ve learned along the way while practicing Lean in your businesses and on your projects—rather than skimming the top for the highlight reel. We want to hear your real story, warts and all.

The abstract selection process is key to the success of Congress. This is where the magic happens. The selected abstracts that become Congress presentations and Live Labs shape the Lean design and construction industry for the next year. Congress aims to reenergize industry professionals so we can continue to transform the built environment together.”

The mission is to bring together Lean practitioners to share their knowledge and lessons learned. Congress succeeds because of the dedicated volunteer planning committees, event staff who make improvements based on prior year plus/delta feedback, and the quality of the presentations.

Continuous Improvement at Congress

In discussing continuous improvement at Congress from year to year, Kevin offered, “We continue to ensure that both the base foundation of Lean principles and the advancing fronts are covered every year. We are honest in reflecting on the last four years of data, and that’s already yielded some improvements. We reworked the abstract submission questions to help eliminate redundancy in the responses. And we are evaluating attendee feedback on past presentations as we create the program for this year, which is a good reminder of how important it is for attendees to rate their sessions. We feed that into the event that gets presented the next year.”

Some of the top 2025 Congress presentations are great examples of continuous improvement built into Congress year after year, and can offer inspiration as you prepare your abstract submission. Kevin shared his thoughts on some of last year’s highly rated sessions:

  • From Lean Awareness to Competency—Bringing Congress Home: “This presentation by Cherry City Electric really resonates as one that drew attendees in, and helped them take the Lean learning home to make the most out of what they got at Congress.”
  • Game Film Review: Lessons Learned to Project Success: “This session was a great example of open and honest reflection, which goes right back to warts and all, from Robins & Morton.”
  • Championship Formula: 3D Takt & Tech Drives Production Gains: “This presentation from DPR interweaved the story of software with the actual improvement that was made, and was a how-to.”

Top Tips for Proposal Success

As you prepare your proposal, keep these tips in mind:

  • Align your abstract with this year’s theme and tracks, if possible. Each year is a culmination of the prior year’s thinking and learning. Ideally, your abstract aligns with the 2026 Congress theme: Building the Future Together: Lean at the Crossroads
  • Simplify your message. Keven noted, “We listened to both reviewers and submitters, and as a result, we updated the abstract submission questions. Please make sure each of your answers on the submission form is unique from the rest of your responses.” In addition, provide in-depth focus on key elements, concepts, or practices implemented—versus covering many topics. Show us exactly where and how Lean was implemented. Kevin added, “Think about those key elements and share your ‘aha’ moments.”
  • Include the full project team. Many of the best presentations have representation from the entire project team, including owners, designers, and trade partners. This helps attendees understand your presentation and lets them learn from the cross-functional team.
  • Try to include at least one LCI corporate member speaking. LCI corporate members help keep continuity in the language used around Lean tools and approaches.
  • Discuss challenges and failures. Everyone appreciates the humble learner who has successes to share, but don’t be afraid to share your mistakes and what you’ve learned. Kevin offered, “Leverage lessons learned. Discuss challenges and failures that were overcome by using Lean thinking and tools.”
  • Emphasize applied Lean principles over specific products. You can share how a product or service added value, but keep it in the context of how it supported implementing Lean approaches and methods.
  • Additional tips:
    • Provide robust learning examples and takeaways.
    • Identify waste reduction or elimination.
    • Emphasize specific Lean tools for success that can be applied right away.
    • Write concisely.
    • Include clear visual(s) and video(s).

A Deep Dive Into the Review Process

The review team

The 20-25-person abstract review team includes a mix of past and new reviewers, along with members of the LCI Congress Planning Committee. To ensure there are people with varied levels of experience, the team includes reviewers who have been regular attendees and those who are relatively new to Congress.

Initial review

Submitted abstracts are automatically routed to reviewers. Each reviewer will usually have 25-35 abstracts sent to them, and each abstract is analyzed by at least three reviewers before it moves to the next phase.

Abstract assignments are randomly generated, providing a healthy, constantly shifting mix in reviews. Though there’s no way to ensure a specific set of reviewers per abstract (for example, one designer, one owner, and one contractor), randomization is the most impartial way to handle the process. To ensure neutrality, the system does not allow reviewers to receive abstracts submitted by their own company. Analytics run in the background to aggregate the numbers.

Review criteria

Reviewers evaluate each abstract based on the following criteria:

  • Does the abstract support the 2026 Congress Conditions of Satisfaction?
  • What’s the abstract quality?
  • Can you easily understand the abstract’s meaning?
  • Is it unique?
  • Is it representing the expansion of Lean principles into a new market, geographic area, or project type?
  • Is it an open sharing of the submitter’s experience (as opposed to sounding like an advertisement)? Kevin again stressed, “Share your Lean story, warts and all. That’s how our community learns together.”

Review meeting

After the reviewer’s deadline, the data is collected and moves into the next phase. This is a two-day, in-person meeting (with a virtual option for those who cannot attend) that includes about one-quarter of the reviewers, LCI event staff, Congress board liaison, Congress chair, and abstract review team chair. The abstract selections are determined at this meeting. During the meeting, we try to ensure representation from all markets on the review committee.

Acceptances and LCI Congress champions

After discussing and reviewing the highest-rated abstracts that the team believes should move into Congress presentations or live labs, LCI sends acceptance notifications to the presentation teams. After selection, each presentation team is assigned a Congress champion. Their champion helps guide the team through preparing and refining their Congress presentation.

Our presenters are active LCI Congress participants

Congress brings Lean practitioners together to learn. We want our speakers to participate throughout the Congress Core Program, not just as a speaker at their presentation. By being an active participant throughout the entire event, you’re advancing the dialogue and spreading your knowledge further with others who are champions for Lean adoption.

Other avenues for sharing—your local CoP

While the team wishes it could accept the many valuable, high-quality abstracts received, there’s a limit in time and space at Congress. “Even if your abstract isn’t selected for Congress, engage with your local CoP and share it there. Don’t let it deter you from telling your story,” Kevin offered.

The Abstract Timeline

  • Abstract submission deadline: March 5, 2026
  • Speakers notified by: May 12, 2026
  • Presentation outlines and registration deadline: July 15, 2026
  • Final presentation submission deadline (with one draft submitted prior): September 30, 2026

We look forward to your presentation proposals and to seeing you at the LCI Congress conference!

Submit your abstract today!

Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Congress? Email or call Ilene Goldberg at (703) 785-9087 for more information.

Questions on the Congress program? Contact Joan Piccariello with any questions on the Congress program or abstract submission process.