Behind the Curtain: 2016 Federal Forum

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FedForumFor this edition of "Behind the Curtain" we're taking a look at the 2016 Federal Forum taking place on June 14 in Washington, D.C. The Federal Forum, sponsored by Brocade and produced by FedScoop, is in its fifth year and provides a unique platform for government and industry to discuss network modernization. The network infrastructure is 20 years old and today's environment demands that data be available anywhere anytime. The network must be able to reach the efficiency and speed needed to support mobility as well as cloud.

This event is focused on defining and discussing the New IP Network that begins with infrastructure upgrades to fabric-based physical networks and evolves to software defined virtual services and advanced methods of control and orchestration.  This network evolution can deliver the rich performance and experience that federal end users, citizens, and war fighters demand.[Tweet "The 2016 Federal Forum is focused on IP network evolutions for #Fed users and beyond. #GovEventsBlog"]

The 1,000 attendees include a mix of government and industry but they all share a focus on the network. Outside of the three government keynotes and a special presentation on Machine Learning, the event is divided into a general session track with numerous government/industry panels and a technical track giving attendees the depth of discussion that applies to their position.

We spoke with Ginger Kessler, Federal Marketing for Brocade, to get a sense of what we can expect from this year's event and see what goes into planning this network-focused event.[Tweet "Brocade's Ginger Kessler provides a look inside the 5th Federal Forum. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Recognizing Public Service

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public serviceFor over 30 years Public Service Recognition Week has been honoring the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county and local government employees. The goal of this event is to raise the recognition both within the government and citizenship at large of the 20 million people who make our government run.[Tweet "Public Service Week May 1-7: Honoring the 20 million people who make government run. #GovEventsBlog"]

Recognition Week is organized annually by the Public Employees Roundtable (PER) and includes a number of events May 1-7. The week will kick off with a 5K run that includes other health and wellness events. Proceeds from the race will be donated to the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund. The group has also organized outings to DC area sporting events. Federal employees outside of DC are invited to participate virtually by organizing their own events across the country. All of these events are designed to celebrate public servants and draw attention to the critical role they play in our government.[Tweet "Events are designed to celebrate public servants and the role they play in government. #GovEventBlog"] Continue reading →

Behind the Curtain: Sea-Air-Space

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SASIn this peek behind the curtain we look at the work that goes into the planning and execution of the Sea-Air-Space event, the largest maritime exhibition in the United States. The exposition is produced by the Navy League, a non-profit organization designed to communicate the challenges and successes of the U.S. sea service to the American public and government at large. This event has become a key platform for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to interact with each other as well as the private sector.[Tweet "A look at what goes into planning the Sea-Air-Space event. #GovEventsBlog #SAS16"]

This year's event takes place May 16-18 at the Gaylord National Convention center just outside Washington, DC. We spoke with Kevin J. Traver, Staff Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Membership with the Navy League of the United States, about what goes into planning a show of this scale and what trends are shaping the content and delivery of information to our maritime forces.

Q: What impact have the shifts in training and travel budgets had on your event?

There has been a shift away from the hard restrictions to travel and training requests. With a few years of strong cut backs in these areas, I think government has seen, more than ever before, the value in gathering in large groups and having discussions. They see how this powers the innovation that is being called for across government.

We were "lucky" in that the majority of our audience is within an easy day trip to DC so we did not see a huge impact in attendance numbers. We do see that people are able to get approval easier and earlier than in recent years. Also, being an official non-profit of the Navy we are able to provide this event free of charge to government. This includes any exhibit space that government organizations want to use. We have also increased our bussing from various locations around the DC region. Attendees can hop on a bus in Quantico, Mechanicsburg, and the Pentagon (among others) making it easy for people to get to the event.[Tweet "As an official non-profit of the #Navy, Sea Air Space event is free for Government. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

A Check-Up on Healthcare Events

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Healthcare is a critical topic in the federal market. From the Affordable Care Act to HIPAA compliance, to cyber threats, the federal healthcare community is facing an enormous amount of change and outside pressures.[Tweet "Federal healthcare community is facing an enormous amount of change. #GovEventsBlog"] While providers need (and want) to focus on delivering more personalized medicine leading to better patient outcomes, all of these "back-office" issues need to be addressed to help them do just that.

Like any topic, there are a wide range of events that meet the education and training of the healthcare community. HIMSS is widely recognized as the must-attend event for the healthcare IT community. But beyond this annual event, there are many other options for the government health community to learn about and discuss the latest trends in care and health IT management.[Tweet "There are many event options for the government health community. #GovEventsBlog"]

We've pulled together a number of valuable events happening through the end of this year that span the wide range of topics that impact the federal health community. Continue reading →

How Ambassadors Extend a Brand

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Our connected world has enabled everyday people to become trusted sources for news and information. Take for example, buying a car. "Historically," you would do research through the mainstream media reading Consumer Reports and car magazines. You'd get the input of professionals in the car industry, likely someone you had never heard of before, but trusted them because cars were their job.

Today, you may still do some traditional research, but you may also put a post on Facebook or Twitter asking your friends and connections their thoughts on the models you are considering. What you get back is first hand knowledge from the people you know. The feedback is in more than the words they offer in their response. What you know about their personality and lifestyle will likely impact how you view their input. Those offering positive feedback have become ambassadors for the car brand.[Tweet "Those offering feedback have become ambassadors for the brand. #GovEventsBlog"]

Now, let's move this to the event world. Events are not objects like cars - they are living, breathing entities that are powered by the people that plan and attend them. Because of this, the perspective of people is critical in making decisions about what events to attend. With this in mind, a formalized event ambassador program should be part of event marketing. Continue reading →