2026 CRVS Research Forum

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), will organize the second CRVS Research Forum on 30 March - 1 April 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Along with transforming the Forum from a regional platform to a global one, the 2026 Forum will be run as a hybrid event at ESCAP's headquarters in Bangkok. Organisation of the forum is supported by funding provided by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Abstract submissions in English and French are open for the 2026 Research Forum, with a deadline of Friday 15 August 2025.

Abstracts should highlight the importance of the topic in relation to achieving universal registration, documentation for all, or the production of vital statistics based on civil registration records, in alignment with the goals of the Asia and Pacific CRVS Decade and the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS).

The event will offer another major research, information sharing, and capacity-building opportunity for participants.

In April 2023, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) organized the first Asia-Pacific CRVS Research Forum. Attended by 390 participants from 62 countries and territories, the fully online event offered a major research, information sharing and capacity-building opportunity for CRVS practitioners.

Based on the success of the 2023 event, ESCAP, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), are pleased to announce the 2026 CRVS Research Forum. Along with transforming the Forum from a regional platform to a global one, in 2026, the Forum will be run as a hybrid event at ESCAP’s headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. Organisation of the forum is supported by funding provided by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative.

Key Dates

Who can apply?

The primary target group for the Forum is CRVS practitioners (from National Statistics Offices, Ministries of Health, and Civil Registration/National Identity Authorities), however other participants include international organizations, academia, private institutions, and civil society. 

What types of research will be considered?

Authors may present cases or work that demonstrate or relate to any of the forum themes and types of research outlined. Authors will be requested to not restrict themselves to data or results that have been officially published, with presenters able to discuss methods or approaches that are being researched for possible future adoption. Practical applications that rely on specific case studies based on real data are encouraged. Authors may challenge existing frameworks and practices on the specific issue by reflecting on existing realities based on experiences.

Research is not confined to academia. Anyone engaged in the different aspects of CRVS can contribute. Research not only encompasses formal scientific methods of investigation but also covers a compilation of experiences and lessons learnt. Indeed, such experiences are often the most instructive for policy makers. Moreover, research also covers the use of evidence and knowledge to influence policy, programming, and planning across multiple sectors. Research for CRVS should be both locally relevant and applicable to regional and global utility. There are three main types of research envisaged for discussion at the 2026 CRVS Research Forum: 

1. Operational research: Addresses issues of concern on national and local levels of action, such as a local registration office or a local health facility where births and deaths occur. The findings of such research are mainly relevant to specific, local contexts and circumstances.
2. Implementation research: Predominantly of use to higher-level managers of civil registration and vital statistics, for example, when considering how to roll out a large-scale improvement effort. While contextual factors remain important, the findings can often be generalized to other settings within the country or even for other countries.
3. Systems-wide research: Primarily aimed at improving weaknesses in CRVS systems as a whole and is of most use to those who manage or need to design policies, programmes, and business processes for CRVS. Systems-wide research requires a high degree of cross-sectorial collaboration and use of interdisciplinary methods.

Preparing your abstract

• Authors may present cases or work that demonstrate or relate to any of the forum themes and types of research outlined. Authors will be requested to not restrict themselves to data or results that have been officially published, with presenters able to discuss methods or approaches that are being researched for possible future adoption. Practical applications that rely on specific case studies based on real data are encouraged. Authors may challenge existing frameworks and practices on the specific issue by reflecting on existing realities based on experiences. 
• Research is not confined to academia. Anyone engaged in the different aspects of CRVS can contribute. Research not only
• Title. Abstract titles are limited to 75 characters (including spaces). The title should be dynamic and conclusive, rather than descriptive.
• Authors. Each author should be added separately to the submission to ensure proper listing. Enter first (given) name, and last (family/surname) name for each author, contact details plus institution/affiliation. One person must be identified as the presenting author.
• Abstract text (formal papers). Abstracts should be 350–500 words (maximum of 3000 characters), organized under the following main sub-headings (do not repeat the question in the body of your abstract, they are there for guides only):
  • Introduction/motivation (Why was the study/research performed? Why is it important?)
  • Objectives (What unsolved problems were you addressing?)
  • Methods/work performed (How did you study this problem?)
  • Results/findings (Report the data, analyses, and/or outcomes)
  • Conclusions (What is the relevance to your country, the region, and/or globally?).
• Abstract text (extended abstract/poster displays). These abstracts should be 200–300 words and outline the main visual components of the poster.
• Notes. Abstracts do not need references.