Originally posted by Kedar Pavgi on GovExec
New limits on conference spending are preventing federal scientists and engineers from collaborating and working on technical research, according to several organizations representing the scientific community.
In a letter dated Sept. 10, a group of scientific organizations asked the White House and members of Congress to exempt them from the restrictions on conferences.
Originally posted by TIM MAK and LEIGH MUNSIL on Politico
This isn't your granddaddy's Army convention.
In the post-GSA-scandal environment in which the very industry of convention organizing is under siege, the annual U.S. Army association's exposition at the Washington Convention Center is aiming to be a "gold standard" for military trade shows -- without the emphasis on gold.
Originally posted by Kedar Pavgi on GovExec
More than 60 percent of conference spending that Commerce Department bureaus reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was not based on actual costs incurred, according to a new report from Commerce's inspector general.
In an analysis of the department's spending on 24 conferences, the IG's report found that $772,282 of the total $1.7 million in reported spending was based on estimates. Auditors labeled another $282,637 of the total as unsupported costs.
Originally posted by Jolie Lee on Federal News Radio
No more motivational speakers, musicians or promotional swag. The Defense Department is banning entertainment-related expenses at its conferences.
The Pentagon memo on conference oversight also prohibits conference participants from receiving gifts, such as tickets to recreational events outside of the conference. And DoD conference organizers can't use funds to produce videos not related to the conference.
Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive
Among the many lapses the Veterans Affairs Department may have committed in planning two lavish training conferences in Orlando, Fla., in 2011 was a failure to adhere to contracting procedures.
The inspector general's report on the $6.1 million pair of employee gatherings, which led to the resignation of the department's Chief Human Capital Officer John Sepulveda, focused mostly on overspending, wrongful acceptance of gifts by employees and unnecessary advance trips to plan the conferences.
