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Exhibit 2: Typical Meetings and Events That Are Not Conferences

December 16, 2013

In accordance with Section 1.2 A of the policy, the following meetings and events are not considered conferences and are exempt from the request and approval and reporting requirements of the policy.  They are based on the travel purpose codes as outlined in Appendix C to Chapter 301 of the FTR.  Therefore, any travel authorized for such meetings/events should apply the relevant codes (travel to conferences should be coded as: Conference - Other Than Training).

Mission (Operational):

  • Federal Employee’s day-to-day operational or managerial activities that may in certain instances involve limited travel.
  • Hearings such as before governing oversight boards, appeals boards, courts, etc.
  • Site and Technical Assistance visits of a specific site or series of sites to fulfill a specific program’s oversight or assistance requirements.
  • Inspections of a specific site or series of sites to fulfill a specific program’s oversight requirements.
  • Audits to fulfill a specific oversight or enforcement requirements.
  • Investigations to fulfill a specific oversight or enforcement requirement.
  • Examinations to fulfill a specific oversight or enforcement requirements.
  • National / Federal Advisory Council meetings governed Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
  • General staff meetings that are a daily or regular occurrence and within the normal course of business [that may in certain instances involve limited travel], such as a meeting that takes place bi-weekly to discuss the previous week’s events and/and where certain employees from another region attend to weigh in on the specific topic. 
  • Program Review/Kickoffs if with a specific grantee or contractor regarding a specific program, grant, or contract.
  • Peer Review meetings if conducted to fulfill a statutory requirement to review grant application.
  • Evaluation Panel meetings if ‎conducted to fulfill regulatory requirement to evaluate contractor proposals.
  • Solicitation / Funding Opportunity Announcement Review Board meetings between the awarding agency and only those individuals selected to serve on a particular review board.
    • Industry Days, Pre-solicitation, and Pre-proposal conferences, to the extent they involve official federal attendee travel, are considered conferences.
  • Tribal Compact or Contract Negotiation meetings if held with one Tribe or Confederation of Tribes regarding that Tribe’s specific compact or contract.
  • Trade or Third-Party/International Negotiations regarding a specific agreement.
  • Scientific meetings with a specific investigator or investigating team regarding a specific item, area of scientific inquiry, or public health need.

Special Agency Mission:

  • Security missions conducted for specific, programmatic purposes.
  • Emergency response/recovery such as civil, natural disasters, evacuation, catastrophic events.
  • Technical assistance or regulatory oversight or monitoring meetings to fulfill a specific program’s oversight, monitoring, or training requirements such as to send subject matter experts to state, local, and international sites to provide and share expertise in disease intervention, public health practices, research, etc.
  • Evaluations such as to fulfill a specific program’s oversight or monitoring requirements.
  • Assessments such as to fulfill a specific program’s oversight or monitoring requirements

Training (Non-Conference):

  • Classroom or instructor based certification and/or job training of federal staff to become proficient or qualified in one or more areas of responsibility.
  • Classroom or instructor based certification and/or job training of federal staff to receive instruction or education, in scientific, professional, technical, mechanical, trade, clerical, fiscal, administrative, or other fields.
Content created by Division of Acquisition
Content last reviewed on January 26, 2015