Tag Archives: government conferences

Senate Committee Examines Government Meetings

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Originally posted on Meetings & Conventions by Cheryl-Anne Sturken

On Jan. 14, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on "Examining Conference and Travel Spending Across the Federal Government," and M&C listened in, following the no-holds-barred proceedings, which at times were downright contentious.

The committee, led by Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), heard testimony on the steps being taken to cut government meetings spending from Beth Cobert, deputy director of management for the Office of Management and Budget; Dan Tangherlini, administrator of the General Services Administration; and inspectors general for the Department of Justice, the General Services Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.
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Friday Update: New Event Postponements and Cancellations Due to Government Shutdown

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We have a few more event updates for next week to share:

NDIA Air Armament Symposium in Ft. Walton Beach, FL scheduled for October 8 & 9, has been rescheduled for November 5-6, 2013. POSTPONED.

Government Technology's Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA scheduled for October 8, 2013. POSTPONED.

Potomac Forum's Navigating the Federal Financial Management Shared Services Landscape Training Workshop in Washington, DC scheduled for October 8, 2013.  POSTPONED.

Global Health Care's 7th National Emergency Management Summit in Atlantic City, NJ scheduled for October 8-9, 2013.  CANCELLED.

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Government Conferences Pay for Themselves, Industry Says

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Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive

Agency spending on travel to conferences is "vital to making government more efficient and effective," says a study released this month by the U.S. Travel Association. It argues that current Obama administration guidelines and legislation to curb conference spending is counterproductive.

Government travel for meetings and events had a total economic impact of $24.4 billion in 2011, supported 343,800 U.S. jobs and $14.5 billion in U.S. wages, and contributed $5.5 billion in tax revenue, according to the data compiled by Rockport Analytics LLC.

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DoD moves meetings online, but IT systems can’t keep pace

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Originally posted by Jared Serbu on Federal News Radio

As budget cuts take their toll on in-person conferences within the Defense Department, more meetings are shifting online, specifically to DoD's in-house Web conferencing service, Defense Connect Online.

The system has seen so much traffic recently that usage is starting to outstrip the system's capacity. And DCO may be about to see even more users. The Defense Information Systems Agency and the contractor that runs DCO have just released an app that lets defense employees host or log into meetings from their iPhones and iPads.

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Government Conferences Attacked: Is the Solution Virtual?

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Originally posted by Emily Jarvis on GovLoop

As you know, government conferences are under fire. Two officials have now resigned from the VA owing to excessive expenditures, rules are being tightened, and budgets are shrinking.
 
So what is the future of government conferencing? Are they still necessary for the good of government? Yes says Theo Mayer. But in a different form. Mayer is the cofounder and CTO of Hybrid.