12 - 13 NOVEMBER 2025 | ROTORUA

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Call for abstracts

We invite you to submit an abstract for an oral or poster and share your research,  practice knowledge or experience at the Cutting Edge 2025 national addiction conference.

Closing date of abstract Friday 02 May 2025

Notification of acceptance Friday 30 May 2025

Review submission guidelines below

Dapaanz and the 2025 Cutting Edge conference committee is welcoming abstracts now.

We encourage you to share your practice, service and treatment approaches, as well as innovations which address the needs of our communities. Feel free to be creative in how you bring this to life for your audience. 

We are interested in hearing about ways your work is improving service delivery, workforce wellbeing or innovations, and delivering success for whānau.

Our sector works across many settings with kaimahi from a range of disciplines and experiences. We particularly welcome abstracts this year which show how you deliver your mahi in the following areas:

  • Kaupapa Māori approaches

  • Working with specific populations e.g. Pacific peoples, Asian communities, LGBTQI+ / Rainbow, women, kaumātua/older people, rangatahi

  • Working with whānau

  • Consumer, peer support and lived experience

  • Programmes designed to support harm minimisation approaches for communities experiencing harm from gambling, alcohol or other drugs

  • New approaches to treatment or recovery support, including service development or workforce innovation

  • Working in adjacent spaces - housing, employment, education, primary care, social service or justice settings

  • Experiences in private practice

  • Health promotion activity and early intervention in communities

  • New approaches and innovations to support the workforce, from wellbeing to career development

  • Academic research, particularly in areas that are relevant to practice in Aotearoa

Submission guidelines

You will be required to have:

  • Contact details of lead contact - All communications and correspondence regarding this abstract submission will be sent to this person.

  • Abstract written in the correct format (see below)

  • Authors affiliations (organisation, city, region, country)

  • Short biographies of presenting authors (up to 100 words per author and no more than 400 in total if more than four presenting authors)

Please allow at least 10 minutes to complete the online profile and abstract submission process.

    • Microsoft Word document

    • Arial, 12 point

    • Maximum of 250 words

    • Single spacing without justified margins

    • You will be required to enter short biographies (maximum 400 words in total) on all presenting authors, during the abstract submission process.

    Click here to see an example of an abstract

  • Oral presentation
    This is a traditional presentation, which may be supported with audio visual aids. Oral presentations will be allocated 15 minutes to present (including time for discussion and questions).

    Poster presentation
    Posters are especially effective for information that can be presented visually (e.g., photos, charts, graphs, tables). If your abstract is accepted as a poster, you have to produce the poster prior to the conference, i.e., the conference does NOT print the poster for you. Poster guidelines will be provided at time of acceptance.

  • All abstracts are subject to review by the programme committee. In evaluating the abstract the reviewers will be mindful of the following criteria:

    • Abstracts are in plain language, free of specialist jargon, unless it is clearly appropriate.

    • The degree to which the abstract is of interest and relevant to the addiction workforce or addiction practice in Aotearoa.

    • Innovation and originality or application of existing ideas in ways that provide new insights and progress in the field.

    • Usefulness to a significant audience present at Cutting Edge.

    • The abstract clearly articulates the knowledge/experience being shared and explains what was done and how, and whether it made a difference.

    • The abstract describes how the project or initiative relates to Te Ao Māori or explains how it enhances Māori wellbeing.

    • If a research project or audit is presented, the abstract specifies aims, methods and findings, as well as practice implications.

    • Late submissions will not be accepted.

    • The organising committee will review all abstracts and may contact authors or their nominated referees as part of the review process.

    • A condition of acceptance is that at least one author presents at the conference

    • Presenters must register to attend for at least one day of the conference. They are responsible for their own travel, accommodation and registration expenses. Similarly, no speaker fee is paid to authors or presenters.

    • It is the responsibility of the submitting author to ensure the accuracy of the content, spelling, grammar and formatting of the abstract as it will be published as it is submitted.

    • By submitting an abstract you also grant the committee permission to publish the abstract in the conference proceedings in hard copy and/or electronic format.

Further information

If you are having difficulty submitting your abstract, then please contact the conference organisers, Composition:


cuttingedge@composition.co.nz
+64 3 332 4537 

GET INVOLVED

First-time Presenters

Have you not submitted an abstract before? Not sure of the process? Read below, we strongly encourage those who haven’t submitted an abstract to get involved and give it a go!

    • Firstly, print and read all the information on this website page. It’s important to note the close of submission date.

    • Next you need to write your abstract, following the format required. It’s often easier to download the example and type over this. A clear and concise title is a good start to your abstract.

    • When writing your abstract, it’s important to remember, that whoever reads it, will know nothing about you, or the topic you are writing on, so use simple easy language to convey what you will present on.

    • Often, it’s best to write your abstract and then ask either colleagues, mentors or family members to read it and provide feedback.

    • Once you are happy with the written abstract, it’s time to go online and submit the abstract. This is a simple online process, which you will be required to upload the abstract. At the conclusion of this process, you should receive a confirmation email.

    • You will be required to provide a short biography during the online submission process, if you don’t have one available, write one, prior to starting the online submission process. If you are accepted the biography is used by the facilitator on the day you are presenting to correctly introduce you.

    • The Organising Committee will review all abstracts and you will be notified by email if your abstract has been accepted or declined.

    • Please do not be dishearten if you are not accepted, less than 50% of abstracts are accepted.

If you are accepted, congratulations! Now the next part begins! Preparing for the presentation.

    • For this, practice does make perfect. You will receive tips on presenting, as part of the acceptance letter. Take the time to read these tips and learn how to improve your presenting style and delivery (including the preparation of slides).

    • Register for the conference, as part of the submission, you agree to register and pay for at least one day of the conference.

    • Once you arrive at the conference, go to the Speaker Preparation room with your slides on a USB stick. In the Speaker Preparation room, there will be an audio-visual technician who will load your presentation onto their computer, and run the slides, to ensure there are no hiccups. Once confirmed, they will ensure your presentation is loaded onto the computer loaded in the room you are presenting. If there are any audio-visual issues on the day, the technician will be available to sort it out (the facilitator will be able to locate them).

    • On the day you are presenting, go and find the room that you are presenting in, have a look at the space. Be in the room 15 minutes prior to presenting (this will usually be in a catering break) to meet the facilitator, confirm where you will be seated, how they will introduce you, have a go with the remote mouse etc.

    • Most importantly – enjoy yourself. People will be interested in what you have to say so take a deep breath,smile, keep calm, talk clearly and slowly and enjoy your presenting time. 

  • Any queries, please do not hesitate to email: cuttingedge@composition.co.nz

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