You may have heard the news by now. If not, though, let me catch you up. FCW recently reported that the General Services Administration (GSA) is considering implementing a Meetings Management Program (MMP) for itself.

“The MMP would offer a disciplined, enterprise-wide approach to managing conferences and events, including the activities, processes, suppliers and data regarding the meetings,” Matthew Weigelt reported. “The program would aim to save money, mitigate risk and improve meetings overall. The scope of the services, or level of complexity an agency orders, would be based on each agency’s own requirements.”

What could this mean for the industry at large?

“When the GSA scandal broke, we all questioned why the agency wasn’t responding with data showing that its meeting was worth the spend,” said Jessie States, MPI’s content and education manager. “The lack of this information directly reflected our own research—that less than five percent of meetings are measured for business value. But we’re seeing more interest in this area. Measurement and strategic meetings management sessions are becoming more popular among our members and at our partner events. It’s with this knowledge that I’m pleased, but not necessarily surprised, by the news that GSA has launched an MMP. The next time taxpayers question a GSA events’ necessity, the agency will have the facts it needs to present a business case.”

GSA officials wrote in a Request for Information that the corporate world has adopted meeting management programs, and that they’re seeking to see how a similar program would work on the federal level.

“A MMP would afford a government agency the ability to tailor meetings management to meet their needs while controlling meeting spend, and consolidating meeting and event planning into a centralized planning office,” the RFI says. “MMP offers a comprehensive approach to what has been a decentralized function.”

GSA’s direction toward centralization is a positive step forward, says Roger Rickard, founder of Voices In Advocacy and president of Revent. 

“Any attempt by government to become more efficient and effective in the meeting process should be seen as a positive sign that GSA understands the organizational value of face-to-face engagement,” he said.

Still, contracting services may not be the best approach.

“There are so many highly qualified federal government planners—some with CMPs, some with CGMPs—who could do this versus contracting it out,” said Joan Eisenstodt of Eisenstodt Associates LLC. “If I understand what was written, they want to contract this, thinking it will save money. Why in the world would they do that when most government contractors have mark-up on their prices, when the Feds have qualified people, when, through the Society of Government Meeting Professionals, they could get assistance to put internal staff in place?”

That’s a great question, and one of many to consider about this topic. What do you think? Please let us know in the comments. 

Continuing its efforts to raise the political bar of the meetings industry and build broader awareness of its strong role in creating jobs and economic growth, the U.S. Travel Association will host a session at IMEX America 2012 October 9, from 4 - 5:30 p.m./16.00 - 17.30 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas.

"Building a Stronger Meetings Industry—In Washington and Your Community" speakers will feature Roger Dow, CEO of U.S. Travel; Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and chair of U.S. Travel; and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.

Heading the panel discussion, Geoff Freeman of U.S. Travel will speak about the meetings and business travel industry as a critical asset to the nation and provide an update on the success of recent political advocacy efforts. He comes to this issue as a well-versed member of the Washington, D.C., community having been a key driver behind the “U.S. Travel Meetings Mean Business” campaign and the Travel Promotion Act. He was also recently made a member of the Passenger Advocacy subcommittee of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee of the Department of Homeland Security.

Ralenkotter, as both chair of U.S. Travel and president of the LVCVA, will provide an inside look into how Las Vegas excels at hosting more than 19,000 meetings annually—an industry that makes a US$6.3 billion impact on the local economy and supports 58,000 jobs.

Adding even more leadership power to the session, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman—a champion for tourism as the “lifeblood” of the Southern Nevada economy—will also address attendees. Her remarks will focus on efforts to keep Las Vegas on the cutting edge of the travel and tourism industry and the evolution of Las Vegas as a destination already offering 150,000 hotel rooms and 10.6 million square feet of meeting space.

“IMEX’s recent Power of 10 global study showed that one of the most pressing challenges for our industry in the next decade is to measure and effectively communicate the strategic and economic value of events and meetings to local, national and global economies,” said Ray Bloom, chairman of the IMEX Group. “This new political advocacy session will provide an update on how far the industry has come in making sure that this true value is fully understood, especially in the U.S. It builds on the efforts we have made over the past 10 years with the Politicians Forum in Frankfurt, but will also offer a distinctly North American perspective. Everyone involved understands that we must keep acting, keep talking and keep working in unison to achieve meaningful and positive change by policy-makers. IMEX America is proud to play its part in helping to drive this effort and in providing a global platform for the continuing debate.”

Please visit our One Industry. One Voice. page for further resources on industry advocacy. 

There are some new developments about the attack on our industry due to the GSA fallout since our last update (e.g., the Executive Order from the President). While there have been some positive steps led by ASAE, the way many people have not reacted reminds me of a famous social psychology study conducted in the 1960s about individuals responding better to a crisis than groups in the same situation. In the study, Columbia University students sat in a room filling out a survey. Some students were left alone, while others were in rooms with two other students. As they filled out the survey, smoke poured into the room through a vent. It continued to flow into the room until there was a haze. 

The resulting actions were quite amazing. Of the students sitting alone, 75 percent of them got up and notified someone about the smoke. However, of the three-student groups, a meager 38 percent of them reported the smoke. They sat there, breathing in smoke, each looking to the other to do something. 

For the meeting industry, that smoke pouring into the room is proposed U.S. government legislation that will limit government spending on and participation in conferences. These proposals are due to the GSA fallout. Last week, ASAE and other industry organizations delivered a letter to Congress with 2,100 signatures on it asking the government to reconsider these proposals introduced in the House and Senate. 

Think about that. Out of an industry of tens of thousands of meeting professionals, only 2,100 people signed the letter. That's unacceptable if we want our industry to survive (i.e., One Industry. One Voice.). 

We've offered several ways you can get involved. However, information can only go so far without action. It's imperative that you do something, because behavior is very contagious. Either you sit there and let the smoke in or you get up and let someone know about it. Either way, this industry's life is in your hands. 

The General Services Administration just didn't follow them. 

And the U.S. Travel Association has preemptively submitted suggested legislation on government travel in the wake of a scandal that has rocked the event sector. (Not sure what that is, click here.) The proposal would strengthen oversight of government conferences and ensure that federal agencies can still use meetings and conferences to provide valuable services. (For the full proposal, click here.)

U.S. Travel is now meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate its proposal, while dissuading members of Congress from supporting other measures that could have unintended consequences for the meeting industry. U.S. Travel is also continuing to focus resources on informing lawmakers of the value of meetings, events and conferences. 

The organization recommends that Congress: 

• Extend and enhance oversight provisions enacted in FY2012 by requiring federal agencies to report all conference-related expenditures and conference contracting procedures to its inspector general at the end of each fiscal year and
• Ensure that agencies select conference locations based solely on cost-effectiveness by permanently eliminating the “blacklisting” of American cities for government conferences and meetings.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics plans to severely limit the ability of federal government employees to attend events sponsored by industry trade groups. And industry and business alike are pushing back.

Says Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which owns and produces CES, the world’s largest technology trade show: 

“As we increasingly restrict the ability of government employees to participate in these events we hurt smaller U.S. companies that rely on trade shows to display their wares. If we want to increase our exports, we need government to view these events as part of our national strategy to encourage jobs and exports. The International CES attracts more than 30,000 visitors from overseas, including many government officials. The present White House restrictions on political appointee participation is embarrassing, problematic and not helpful to our hosting responsibilities. 

"They also hinder efforts to expand travel to the U.S. Extending this requirement to career civil servants will deny government employees the ability to learn about what is happening in business, forge relationships and understand how their actions impact jobs-creating businesses."

Says Steven Hacker, FSAE, CAE, president of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events: 

"This reckless intrusion into commerce, if adopted, will further isolate regulators from the industries they must understand. The learning and communications that routinely take place during trade events are among the most important ways that government officials and business leaders can exchange views and ideas. 

"The very predictable results of this kind of Orwellian measure is to ensure that the U.S. economy will continue to be mired in uncertainty and fear that will only prolong the destructive levels of unemployment and economic malaise that have characterized the last three years. All responsible leaders of the business community, for profit companies as well as not for profit associations, must view this latest attack by the federal government on business as a call to arms. We must come together to reject this absurd and potentially harmful set of rules or we will have only ourselves to blame."