The Conference on Innovative Data Systems Research (CIDR) is a systems-oriented conference, complementary in its mission to the mainstream database conferences like SIGMOD and VLDB, emphasizing the systems architecture perspective. CIDR was run every two years starting 2003, becoming the premier conference for practical data systems work. From 2020 on, the conference is organized every year, alternating between Amsterdam and the USA. CIDR 2026 will be held at Chaminade Resort & Spa, a mountaintop hotel in Santa Cruz, California.

The CIDR program consists of single-track keynote, paper and demo presentations. There are also evening sessions, including a lively gong show, and plenty of time for interaction among the delegates, who are researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry. CIDR encourages papers about innovative and risky data management system architecture ideas, systems-building experience and insight, resourceful experimental studies, and provocative position statements. Papers are encouraged to present novel approaches to data systems architecture and usage, to inspire discussions on the latest innovative and visionary ideas in the field. Authors are encouraged to submit their best systems work, and are limited to submit at most two papers.

We are still working on finilizing the details for CIDR 2026. Please check back later for more information on the important dates and submission guidelines. 

Overview

The annual Conference on Innovative Data Systems Research (CIDR) is a systems-oriented conference, complementary in its mission to the mainstream database conferences like SIGMOD and VLDB, emphasizing the systems architecture perspective. CIDR gathers researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry to discuss the latest innovative and visionary ideas in the field.

We invite contributions on novel approaches to data management systems, architecture, and usage including cloud based systems for data processing as well as related system issues such as data storage, networking, hardware acceleration, custom processors, memory hierarchies, processor interconnects, etc. in the context of data processing. We also encourage new approaches to data management and system building based on or in support of ML/AI technologies. CIDR encourages contributions about innovative and risky data management system architecture ideas, systems-building experience and insights, resourceful experimental studies, and provocative position statements. CIDR especially values innovation, experience-based insight, and vision.

CIDR 2026 invites two kinds of contributions:

    Papers (at most 6 pages). We invite both regular research papers and more visionary papers that promote interesting ideas and ongoing work.
    Demos (a video or a description of the demo in at most 6 pages).

To encourage authors to submit only their best work, each person can be an author or co-author of at most one submission of any kind. Authors who feel their work is best captured through a demo should submit a demo proposal. Demos and papers will be interweaved in a single-tracked program.

Papers, and demos will be reviewed by the program committee, who will select the final program in co-operation with the organizing committee.

The number of participants at CIDR is limited to allow an intimate single-track experience. In the past, CIDR reached maximum capacity several weeks before the conference. As in the past, registration for the 2026 conference will be carried out in two phases. Authors who co-authored a paper or demo submission are invited to register first. Then, registration is on a first-come-first- serve basis until the conference capacity is reached.