Recapping CII Research in 2025 and Looking Ahead to 2026

CII had another strong year in research, continuing to fulfill our mission as the leading R&D platform for our members.

By the Numbers

• Member Engagement: 160+ members joined new Research Teams (RTs)—a 54% increase compared to the average in recent years. This level of engagement is critical to the success of our initiatives.
• New Projects: We launched six new RTs and extended another ongoing project.
• Streamlined Approach: Several new projects are shorter, one-year efforts, reflecting our commitment to delivering fit-for-purpose research.
• Broad Participation: Members from 78 organizations actively contributed to RTs.
• Growing Attendance: Research team meetings saw attendance by more than 1,600 industry members; a 10% increase compared to 2024.
• Annual Conference: Our Research Teams delivered six presentations at the CII annual Conference in Nashville with topics spanning workforce, AI, and safety. Learn more here.

Innovation Spotlight
We proudly launched CII-GPT, developed in collaboration with Dr. Krishna Kumar at UT Austin, marking a major step toward integrating AI into our research ecosystem. You can access it here (members-only).

Looking Ahead to 2026

• New Research Teams: Invitations for new RTs will be announced soon — stay tuned!
• Academic Engagement: We are bringing back the Student Poster Session at the Annual Research Conference to strengthen ties with academia.
• Conference Updates:
  • Our conference is being rebranded as the Annual Research Conference, emphasizing research as the centerpiece of the event.
  • Six RTs will report at the 2026 conference in Denver, on topics including modularization implementation guidance and application of practices in small projects.
• Advancing CII-GPT: We will continue enhancing CII-GPT and explore AI agents to help members implement CII tools.
• Fit-for-Purpose Research: Expect more short projects and event-driven initiatives designed to share knowledge and deliver actionable insights.

Thank you to all our members who contributed to CII research in 2025—particularly the Funded Studies Committee members. We look forward to building on this momentum and creating new opportunities for collaboration in 2026!