Meetings With Department And Agency Officials

Author : Lorelei St. James
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 17 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (642 download)

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Download or read book Selected Federal Agencies' Policies for Choosing Conference Locations written by Lorelei St. James and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conference planning at the 10 departments and 2 agencies we reviewed is a decentralized activity that is typically performed at the bureau or component level, below the agencywide level. Budgetary considerations largely influence the agencies' conference location selections. For example, officials from most of the agencies we reviewed explained that after identifying locations that meet the requirements of a particular conference, such as the capacity for large numbers of attendees, the comparative cost of locations was the key criterion used for selecting a conference location. Eight of the 12 agencies that we reviewed had developed agencywide policies for conference planning; these policies were consistent with the governmentwide policy on conference planning in the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), and specified that conference locations be selected on the basis of cost-effectiveness. The other 4 agencies either allowed bureaus and components to develop their own policies, were in the process of developing agencywide policies, or conducted agency level review and approval of conferences that were proposed at the bureau or component level. While cost-effectiveness is the principal criterion and the selection of resort locations is not prohibited among the agencywide policies we reviewed, three agencies had policies that mentioned resort locations. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) policies currently state that the selection of resort locations for conferences and meetings is discouraged and should be minimized. USDA officials said they are in the process of revising their regulations to clarify and strengthen conference and training location selection. Similarly, the Department of Health and Human Services policies state that meeting sponsors should not hold meetings at resort areas unless that area is the location best suited for the purpose of the meeting in terms of program needs and cost factors. The Department of Justice (DOJ) policies require additional justification for conferences and meetings held in resort locations. DOJ officials said that, consistent with FTR and DOJ policies, they will continue to follow this policy to ensure that conference locations provide the best value for the government. One of the 12 agencies we reviewed, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), reported moving a conference from a resort area to another location in 2009 to avoid potential negative perceptions associated with holding a government conference in a resort location. However, VA officials said managers recognize that resort locations may, in some cases, offer more cost-effective alternatives to other locations and rely on cost comparisons to determine conference locations.