On May 12 and 13, the Early Stage Researchers Conference “Delivering integrated employment policies: cross-sectorial policies in practice” took place at the University of Bordeaux in France. This event was held in the framework of the FP7 project LOCALISE, and funded by Ediburgh Napier University and the University of Bordeaux. 14 young researchers had the opportunity to present their work to experienced researchers in the field of social and employment policies and receive feedback. The event was perceived as exceptionally fruitful, interesting and valuable by all participants and discussants. As one of the participants framed it: “This conference was really great! I have never before received such valuable comments – and the networking opportunities were fantastic. I appreciated especially the “how-to-publish”-workshop with a lot of insights into the publication business! Thanks a lot to all commentators and the organisers!”