Fiscal Year 2015 Report on CDC-Hosted Conferences

January 31, 2016

About the Report

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services, and is recognized as the nation’s premier health promotion, prevention, and preparedness agency. The agency works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. As a health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish our mission, CDC conducts critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise.

Effective outreach to our partners, grantees, and the general public is central to our mission. Our success is also contingent on our ability to collaborate with the tens of thousands of healthcare and human services providers, scientific researchers, clinicians, advocates, and other key non-government partners across the country and internationally. Our support and attendance at scientific conferences and other related meetings is critical for our researchers to leverage and advance the biomedical, scientific, and public health mission of CDC.

This report is submitted as required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum on Promoting Efficient Spending to Support Agency Operations (M-12-12), dated May 11, 2012, which requires federal agencies to report publicly on all agency-sponsored (hosted) conferences where the expenses exceed $100,000.

 Top of Page

Description of the Report

In compliance with OMB Memorandum M-12-12, this report includes:

• Information about the net conference expenses for FY 2015, as well as general information about conference activities throughout the year.
• A description of all CDC-hosted conferences for FY 2015 where the net expenses associated with the conference exceeded $100,000, along with:
  • The date of the conference
  • The location of the conference
  • A brief explanation on how the conference advanced the mission of the agency
  • The total conference expenses incurred by the agency for the conference
  • The total number of individuals whose travel expenses or other conference expenses were paid by the agency

 Top of Page

Fiscal Year 2015 Summary

CDC continues to take positive steps in support of the agency’s initiatives to gain efficiencies in the use of appropriated funds for conferences and meetings. At the forefront of these efforts was CDC’s work to implement improvements to conference/event management practices through the release of updated training materials and resources. Additionally, CDC refined its Integrated Conference Approval Portal (ICAP) tool, an online workflow system for conferences (as described in HHS’s policy on promoting efficient spending).

The following summarizes information about CDC-hosted conferences in FY 2015 that exceeded $100,000[1]:

• Total number of conferences: 11
• Total cost of the conferences: $4,626,900
• Total number of attendees: 5,072
• Average cost per attendee: $912
• Percent of conferences held near agency: 82%
• Percent of attendees traveling at CDC expense: 69%

 Top of Page

Related Material

• HHS FY 2014 Report on Conference Spending by Agency
• HHS FY 2014 Report on Conferences Sponsored by HHS
• FY 2013 Report on Conferences

 Top of Page

---

[1] Total estimated costs are based on readily identifiable and known costs for contractor support, venue, and audio-visual related expenses, as well as registration fees.