IHS Chapter 1-40

CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT

IHS Chapter 1-40
General Administration Manual
IHS Transmittal 94.01 (09/09/94)

Subject:  CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT

IHS:
l-40-00 Purpose
1-40-10 Policy
1-40-20 Definitions
1-40-30 Responsibilities
1-40-40 Requirements and Procedures
1-40-60 Amendments
1-40-70 Selection of Site and Facilities
1-40-80 Management Control System

Exhibit 1-40-A IHS Conference Proposal
Exhibit 1-40-B IHS Conference Management Annual Report Form
Exhibit 1-40-C IHS Conference Cost Comparison Work Sheet

1-40-00 PURPOSE

The purpose of this directive is to establish policy, procedures, and responsibilities for preparing proposals for Indian Health Service (IHS) sponsored and funded conferences.  This chapter establishes the Division of Administrative Services (DAS), Office of Administration and Management (OAM), as the office responsible for administering the IHS Conference Management Program.

1-40-10 POLICY

The number of conferences to be funded by IHS shall be kept to a minimum number necessary to accomplish the IHS mission and goals.  Conferences sponsored and funded by the IHS must serve the best interests of the IHS, the Government, and the public.  Managers must exercise fiscal responsibility by selecting conference sites that will ensure administrative, travel, and time costs associated with IHS funded conferences are minimal.

1-40-20 DEFINITIONS

1. Conference.  A meeting, retreat, seminar, symposium, or similar event, that involves travel of attendees for whom the IHS pays the travel and per diem costs for 30 or more individuals.
2. Administrative Costs.  The costs of facilities, equipment,registration fees, speaker fees, and related administrative fees paid directly by the IHS, or reimbursed by the IHS, to travelers and/or others associated with the conference.
3. Travel Costs.  Attendees subsistence expenses, including costs for lodging and meals, incidental expenses, and transportation costs authorized by the IHS.
4. Time Costs.  The cost for an IHS employees time during attendance at a conference, including time necessary to travel to and from a conference site during normal duty hours.
5. Site.  The locality or geographic area in which a conference will be conducted.
6. Facilities.  The meeting rooms and lodging accommodations selected for a conference.
7. Approved Accommodations.  An approved accommodation is a place of public accommodation that meets the fire prevention and control guidelines.  These guidelines are in 15 U.S.C. 2225, Fire Prevention and Control Guidelines for Places of Public Accommodation, (a) Contents of Guidelines.
8. Resort Location.  A resort is any location known for its emphasis on tourist type activities, such as: dude ranch, spa, gambling center, golf and other recreational establishments, ski town, or beach area.  A location may have a number of attractions in or nearby (e.g., Orlando, Florida or San Diego, California) yet it is not considered a resort.  A named resort is any establishment that offers tourist type activities or recreational activities exclusively, such as Disney World.
9. Council.  The Council refers to the Council of Area and Associate Directors of the IHS.
10. Operations Committee.  The operations Committee is standing committee of the Council whose charge includes the responsibility for reviewing conference proposals and making recommendations for their approval or disapproval to the Director, IHS.
11. IHS Conference Plan.  This plan is a list of the IHS conferences approved by the IHS Director.
12. Area/Associate Office Conference Plans.  These plans list the IHS conferences for which the IHS funds the travel and time costs for fewer than 30 attendees.  These conference plans are approved by the respective Area and Associate Directors whose organizations are sponsoring the conferences and includes those conferences which appear on the IHS Conference Plan.

1-40-30 RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Director

   The Director, IHS, is responsible for assuring that a system for the review and approval of proposals for IHS sponsored and funded conferences is developed and implemented agency wide.  The Director, IHS, or his/her designee, is the only IHS official who may approve and sign the annual IHS Conference Plan and does so prior to the start of each fiscal year.  The approval and signature authority for IHS Conference Plans is retained by the Director, IHS.

2. Office of Administration and Management

   The Associate Director, OAM, is responsible for establishing and administering the Conference Management Program in the IHS, and has assigned responsibility for overseeing the IHS conference management program activities to the Director, DAS.  Within the DAS, the Conference Management Specialist is responsible for:

   1. Developing and promulgating policies and procedures for the agency-wide conference management program and providing technical guidance to Area and Associate offices during the preparation stages of conference proposals;
   2. Reviewing all conference proposals received from Area and Associate offices to ensure all required information is contained in the proposal packages prior to them being submitted to the Operations Committee of the council;
   3. Compiling an annual IHS conference management report from information provided by the Area and Associate Directors;
   4. Establishing and maintaining files for all approved conference proposals and related documents, i.e., cost comparison work sheets, conference agenda, conference reports and attendance sheets, annual conference management reports, etc. for a period of three years; and
   5. Implementing a management control system (MCS) for the conference management program that complies with the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA).  The MCS shall include program review/evaluation plans that assist in determining weaknesses in the program and allow for continuous improvement in conference management activities.
3. Area Directors and Associate Directors

   The Area and Associate Directors are responsible for implementing and operating an effective conference management program for their organizations that is consistent with this policy.  The Area and Associate Directors are responsible for:

   1. Reviewing conference proposals prior to transmitting them to DAS to ensure that they conform to the policy established by this GAM supplemental chapter
   2. Submitting all proposals for conferences planned for the next fiscal year to DAS prior to August 1 of each fiscal year;
   3. Submitting the required reports on conferences held during a fiscal year to the Conference Management Specialist, DAS, by October 15 of the succeeding fiscal year; and
   4. Maintaining a file on all approved conference proposals, regardless of the number of IHS funded attendees, and related documents, i.e., reports, conference agenda, conference attendance sheets, all procurement documents, etc., for a period of three years.
4. Operations Committee

   The Operations Committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending approval of conference proposals to the Director, IHS.

IHS:
1-40-40 REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES

The following procedures are established for the receipt and review of conference proposals.  Deadlines cited herein may only be extended by the Director, IHS or his/her designee:

1. Call for Conference Proposals.

   The Conference Management Specialist, DAS, shall issue a call for proposals for conferences to be held in the succeeding fiscal year by June 15.  Included in the written request shall be instructions for preparing all required forms, the proposal due date, and a projected time line for Headquarters and Operations Committee reviews.  The call for proposals memo shall be addressed to the Area and Associate Directors.

2. Conference Proposal Deadline.

   Area and Associate Directors must submit (in priority order) conference proposals reviewed and cleared by them to the Conference Management Specialist, DAS, by August 1 of each fiscal year.  Each conference proposal package shall include a completed Conference Proposal Form (see Exhibit 1-40-A), a narrative describing the purpose of the conference and benefits expected to be derived from the conference, a tentative agenda for the conference and a cost comparison.work sheet for proposed conference sites (see Exhibit 1-40-C)

3. Conference Proposal Review.

   Conference proposals that meet the requirements of section 1-40-B above will be transmitted to the Operations Committee by the Conference Management Specialist, DAS, by August 10 of each fiscal year.  The Operations Committee shall review each proposal and make recommendations to the Director, IHS, for approval/disapproval by September 10 of each fiscal year, or as soon as practicable after that date.

4. Approval of Conference Proposals.

   The Director, IHS, will act on the recommendations made by the Operations Committee for each conference proposal.  The Conference Management Specialist will be notified of the Director's decisions by return of each proposal to DAS.

5. Approval Notification.

   Each Area and Associate Director will be notified in writing of approvals and disapprovals of submitted conference proposals.  This notification will be in writing from the Associate Director, OAM.  Notices of disapproved proposals will include reasons why the proposal was not approved.  Notices will be released by the Conference Management Specialist, DAS, by October 15 of each fiscal year, or as soon as practicable after that date.

6. Report on IHS Sponsored and Funded Conferences.  Each IHS organizational component that has sponsored and funded conference approved by the Director, IHS, must submit a report (see Exhibit 1-40-B) on the conference.  This report is due to the Conference Management Specialist, DAS, within 30 working days after the date conferences are concluded.

IHS:
1-40-60 AMENDMENTS

Conference proposals which must be amended should be submitted to the IHS Conference Management Specialist, DAS, at least 60 days in advance of the planned conference.  Amendments include:

1. Changes to Approved Conferences
   1. Change of Site Location.  Changes in location of approved conferences must be reported to the Conference Management Specialist, DAS, as soon as they occur.  This notice must include the reasons why a selected and approved site is changed and a comparison of costs between the initially approved site and proposed new site.  An amendment is not required in the event of a facility change within the initially approved conference site unless such change causes an increase in estimated costs of 20 percent of what was initially approved.
   2. Increase in Estimated Cost.  A proposal amendment is required if the estimated cost for an approved conference (administrative, travel and time) is increased by more than 20 percent of the amount initially approved by the Director, IHS.  Information explaining and justifying the estimated cost increase must be included with the amendment notice.
2. Reconsideration of Disapproved Conference Proposals

   Area and Associate Directors may submit additional information regarding proposed conferences which have been disapproved by the Director, IHS.  This information should be directed to the Conference Management Specialist, DAS, as soon as possible after the official notices of disapproved conference proposals are received.  Requests will be submitted to the Operations Committee for their consideration and recommendations for decision by the Director, IHS.

3. Amending the Annual Conference Plan Additions to the approved conference plan may be made only by receipt of a conference proposal which has been reviewed by the Operations Committee and approved by the Director, IHS.  These proposals must be packaged in accordance with the requirements of Section l-40940B of this policy.  Information must also be provided that supports preparation and submission of the proposal after the deadline established in Section l-40-40B of this policy.

IHS:
1-40-70 SELECTION OF SITE AND FACILITIES

1. Site Selection.

   The basis for site selection for a proposed conference is to minimize administrative, travel, and attendee time costs.  Each IHS manager who proposes to conduct and fund a conference is responsible for avoiding selection of sites that appear extravagant to the public, such as resort locations.  The IHS components can save costs with attractive and competitive rates available during the off season in areas having seasonal rates.  Rate quotes from at least three sites must be documented on the Cost Comparison work sheet (see Exhibit C) required as part of the proposal package.

2. Conference Facilities Selection.

   Government-owned or government-provided facilities are to be used to the maximum extent possible.  All IHS sponsored and funded conferences may only be held at a place of approved accommodation.  The only exception would be that the use of a facility that does not meet the approved accommodation guidelines is in the best interest of the public.  This exception may only be granted by the Director, IHS, upon recommendation from the Associate Director, OAM.

IHS:
1-40-80 MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEM

To ensure compliance with the FMFIA requirements, managers shall institute management control procedures that cover the following conference management program requirements;

1. Handling of Receipts.  Responsibilities shall be separate for the physical handling of the receipts and the associated record keeping duties.
2. Pre-numbered Cash Receipts and Paper of Value.  All cash receipts and paper of value (e.g., meal tickets) must be pre-numbered and accounted for, including any voids.
3. Criteria for Handling Revenue.  Formal written criteria for handling revenue, expenditure, and refund transactions, must be established.
4. Deposits.  All receipts must be deposited daily.  The Conference Management Program is to be segmented and risk assessed by the Director, DAS, by November 30, 1994, and a formal management control system adopted and incorporated into this policy issuance by January 1, 1995.