United States Department of Agriculture
Research, Education and Economics

ARS * CSREES * ERS * NASS

Bulletin

OFFSITE MEETING WHICH COSTS EXCEEDS $25,000

This bulletin disseminates guidance recently received from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) regarding criteria, approval and advance notification of offsite meetings.

As background, Secretary Glickman reiterated the Department's travel policy for meetings and conferences and notified us that we must strictly adhere to Departmental policies regarding meeting site selection in a July 7, 1995, Secretarial memorandum. Additionally, a new policy was established which required approval from the Office of the Secretary for certain categories of offsite meetings in excess of $25,000. These categories included meetings or conferences where the primary purpose was overall management, strategic planning, or reorganization.

On May 8, 1996, Secretary Glickman amended the July 7, 1995, guidance. The revised guidance:

• Establishes an "advance" approval requirement, on a quarterly basis, for all offsite meetings with a cost exceeding $25,000;
  
• Delegates approval authority from the Office of the Secretary to Subcabinet Officers; and,
  
• Requires that the Chief Financial Officer review all Subcabinet approved events.
  

The May 8, 1996, memorandum also tasked the OCFO with providing and disseminating supplemental guidance regarding offsite meetings and conferences. A May 31, 1996, memorandum from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer provides interim guidance to Subcabinet Officers. The following information provides the new Departmental policy and guidelines for offsite meetings and establishes REE-wide procedures.

Revised Definition for Offsite Meetings, Conferences and Events

The CFO has amended the definition of "Offsite" as follows: (Please note, all offsite meetings in excess of $25,000 will require the advance approval of the Under Secretary REE.)

All meetings, conferences, and events, including training, which are sponsored by a USDA agency, held in a non-USDA facility with the total cost to USDA exceeding $25,000 or any meeting, conference or event sponsored by USDA agencies where the majority of attendees have traveled away from their normal duty station and the total costs to USDA exceed $25,000 will be subject to review by OCFO.

Supplemental Information.

• The term "away from their local duty station. is synonymous with entitlement to per diem. Please note: Within the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area, the parameter of the local duty station includes the District of Columbia, the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax and the counties of Arlington, Loudoun, Fairfax in Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland.

• For a meeting, conference or event, to be attended by employees of more than one USDA agency, the agency responsible for the planning of the meeting is responsible for obtaining approval for the meeting.

• For a meeting, conference or event which includes non-USDA personnel, approval is required if the meeting is "offsite" and the costs to USDA exceeds $25,000.

• When USDA personnel attend a meeting sponsored by another organization (e.g., a professional conference) the meeting does not qualify as an offsite meeting. However, good business practice should be considered when determining how many people should attend such a meeting.

Advance Approval Requirements

Departmental policy now requires submission of a "summary of planned events", 60 days in advance of the quarter in which the event will occur, to the Under Secretary for REE. The revised policies are effective commencing with the last quarter of fiscal year 1996. The Financial Management Division (FMD), ARS, will serve as the focal point for submission of all summary reports and will forward reports to the Under Secretary, REE, for approval and coordination with the CFO's office. To facilitate achieving the Departmental due dates for proposed meetings the supporting site selection cost comparison (if applicable) along with a completed Detailed Cost Analysis (Enclosure 1) must be completed and forwarded to FMD 70 days prior to the quarter in which the event will take place.

Individual requests for approval of meetings and conferences, which cost exceeds $25,000, will no longer be required unless the proposed meeting or conference is a last-minute, unscheduled event and was not approved on the summary of planned events for the quarter. These requests must also be forwarded through FMD.

REE agencies shall adhere to their internal approval processes and only forward reports for those events that have been reviewed and approved by your agency. Enclosure 1 is further criteria to consider when planning meetings, conferences or similar events.

The sponsor of the event should be able to respond to any of these questions if asked by the Under Secretary.

Planned events for fiscal year 1997 will require the submission of a site selection cost comparison and Detailed Cost Analysis and must be submitted to the Financial Management Division, Chief, Travel and Relocation Services Branch, within the following time frames in order for REE to comply to Departmental due dates:

Event In                          Due to FMD

October, November, December      July 19
January, February, March         October 18
April, May June                   January 17
July, August, September          May 16

Electronic access to the Detailed Cost Analysis form will be available through Informs in the near future. You may reproduce Enclosure 2 to meet your needs.

2 Enclosures.

Enclosure 1

PLANNING FOR OFFSITE EVENTS

SPONSORING OFFICIAL'S CHECKLIST

The Sponsoring official could be asked any one or more of these questions by the Under Secretary. Therefore, the sponsoring officials should consider the answers to the following:

Is the reason for holding the meeting critical to the agency mission?

Are there statutory or regulatory requirements that mandate the meeting?

Which alternative methods were considered and why were they discarded, e.g., video conference?

Is there sufficient reasons for holding the meeting or conference at an offsite location, i.e., at a non-USDA facility or a location that involves travel away from the normal duty station for the majority of the attendees?

Were Department policies on site selection followed, including the preparation of the site selection cost comparison?

Is a resort area being used? In-Season? Off-Season? What is the rationale for choosing the site and do those reasons for selection of a resort area offset potential poor public perception?

Do the accommodations and meeting sites meet requirements of the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act? If not, have you submitted a request to the Director, FMD to request a waiver from the OCFO?

Are accommodations and meeting sites accessible to disabled participants? If not, what accommodations will you make?

Is the cost of accommodations within the maximum per diem lodging amount? If not, were other accommodations considered and why were they not chosen?

Why is the event being planned for this specific time and what factors were considered in selecting this time frame?

Who are the attendees? What was the basis for selection and determining the number of USDA/non-USDA/nongovernment attendees?

Are the number of attendees justified given the President's concern for holding down attendance to the least number of participants?

What was done to hold down total costs, e.g., chartering vans/louse" to transport attendees to/from airports and meeting sites, limiting rental of vehicles?

Were accessible but less amenable accommodations considered, e.g., airport hotels?

Are there any adverse consequences if the meeting is not held?

Can the meeting pass exposure in the media?

Enclosure 2

Approval Process Chart

Site Selection cost comparisons, if applicable, and the Detail cost Analysis will be submitted to the Director, FMD a. follows:

Agency Submitting Officials:

ARS - Deputy, Assistant or Deputy Associate Administrators and Area Directors.

CSREES - Deputy Administrator.

NASS - Associate Deputy Administrator for Field Operation.

ERS - Director, Central Operations Staff

Director, FMD Will review all cost data submitted, summarize data for REE, and prepare necessary correspondence which transmits the Summary of Planned Events from the Under Secretary to the CFO.

Under Secretary, REE Will approve/disapprove planned events and forward the package to the CFO for review. FMD will be referenced in the transmittal letter as the point of contact  for resolution of issues. FMD will coordinate issues arising  with applicable Agency representatives.

CFO  Will review the approved proposed events, interacting as necessary with the FMD point of contact  and will return the approved list (with comments as applicable) to the Under Secretary.

Director, FMD Will prepare correspondence forwarding the approved list from the Under Secretary to the Deputy Secretary as required and notify Agency representatives.

To facilitate this review and approval process, Agency submitting officials will ensure that Agency Administrators have been apprised and support all offsite meetings forwarded to FMD.