Conference Management Reporting and Spending – FY 2015
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), on May 11, 2012, issued a memorandum to all agencies that contained steps to improve operations, increase efficiency, and cut unnecessary spending. Consistent with this guidance, the Department of Energy (DOE) is taking aggressive steps to ensure that conference-related expenses are appropriate, necessary and managed in a manner that minimizes expenses to taxpayers. As part of this commitment, the Department continues to identify new cost saving opportunities and reduce conference-related expenses wherever possible.
Following are DOE-sponsored conferences for this reporting period in which net conference expenses were in excess of $100,000.
Conference Title | Purpose of Conference | Date of Conference | Location | DOE Attendees | Total Net Costs |
EFCOG Safety Analysis Workshop | This annual Workshop is an important forum to share best practices and lessons learned, to provide training, and in gathering experts together to help solve some of the Department's nuclear safety challenges. | 10-17 October 2014 | Pleasanton, CA | 59 | $129,977 |
35th International Meeting on Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors | The purpose of the RERTR Annual Meeting is to present and review project progress toward the core conversion of research reactors from highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuels with international collaborators of GTRI's HEU minimization programs, primarily the reactor conversion, fuel development and spent fuel removal efforts. | 12-16 October 2014 | Vienna, Austria | 43 | $184,107 |
2014 Leadership Development Summit | The event is a leadership summit for managers, supervisors, team leads and foreman IIIs. At this summit, training and updates were given on critical activities within the Western Area Power Administration. | 20-22 October 2014 | Denver, CO | 218 | $168,864 |
2014 Nuclear Explosive Code Development Conference | This scientific conference takes place in alternate years to encourage and facilitate technical exchanges between staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and the United Kingdom's Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). | 20-24 October 2014 | Los Alamos, NM | 242 | $156,614 |
Strategic Weapons in the 21st Century | This conference provides a forum for senior government officials and academicians to engage in an ongoing, in depth dialog on topics related to the roles of strategic weapons, both nuclear and conventional in national and international security with special attention to the interface between technology and policy. | 22-January 2015 | Washington, DC | 75 | $150,623 |
2015 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit | This summit is dedicated to discussing and showcasing transformative energy solutions. This annual event brings together leaders from academia, business, and government to discuss cutting-edge energy issues and facilitate relationships to move technologies into the marketplace. | 9-11 February 2015 | National Harbor, MD | 217 | $420,223 |
DOE Acquisition and Project Management Workshop | This workshop is provided for the DOE federal acquisition and project management workforce. The workshop covered a wide range of topics including recent changes in procurement and financial assistance-related policies and procedures, OMB initiatives, small business initiatives, strategic sourcing, as well as project management successes, benefits of implementing an earned value management system (EVMS), importance of independent cost estimates and cost reviews, and other current project management issues. | 24-26 March 2015 | Washington, DC | 369 | $249,258 |
2015 Lab Ideas Summit | This summit brings together subject matter experts from DOE’s Science and Applied Energy programs, the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis (EPSA), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the National Laboratories. The conference content is designed to inform participants on the Department’s planning for future investments and priorities. | 15-17 April 2015 | Washington, DC | 203 | $107,456 |
DOE Cyber Security Training Conference | This conference promotes collaborative activities to increase Department-wide awareness of cybersecurity threats and protection measures, share practices to improve the Department’s security posture, and inform the Department regarding the enterprise risk management approach and related activities. | 20-23 April 2015 | Kansas City, MO | 180 | $295,809 |
Nuclear and Facility Safety Programs Annual Workshop 2015 | This workshop includes a plenary session for senior Departmental management to speak to the safety oversight community; recognize exceptional performance by field element safety, oversight professionals; sessions for presentation of best practices and lessons learned in fire safety, operations oversight, and engineering safety oversight; and a venue for a face-to-face meeting of the Federal Technical Capability Panel (FTCP). The workshop also provides training courses related to Facility Representatives (FR), Safety System Oversight (SSO), Fire Protection, and Operational Readiness Reviews. | 4-8 May 2015 | Las Vegas, NV | 173 | $219,604 |
39th Actinide Separations Conference | This conference provides a forum in which U.S. scientists and engineers meet to present and discuss problems, experiences, results or research in progress, and other matters of interest concerning development, testing and application of actinide and fission products, and the recovery and separations processes, and waste processing issues associated with both. | 18-21 May 2015 | Salt Lake City, UT | 59 | $104,824 |
2015 Better Buildings Summit | This summit is focused on the progress partners are making through their participation in the Department's Better Buildings Initiative. It is an annual forum convening partners to showcase solutions and share their proven strategies with others. | 27-29 May 2015 | Washington, DC | 211 | $493,415 |
2015 Information Management Conference | This conference provides information exchange and training to Federal and contractor staff. The goal of the conference is to advance the Department’s mission through policy, standards, and services, which meet mission requirements, balance risk and innovation, and set clear performance goals and expectations for the information ecosystem. | 14-18 June 2015 | Nashville, TN | 166 | $268,560 |
14th Annual DOE Small Business Forum & Expo | This conference is conducted in alignment with a Departmental policy in support of small business that directs all departmental elements to examine and expand their contract opportunities with small businesses, including small disadvantaged, 8(a), woman-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, historically underutilized business zones (HUBZones) businesses, as well as the Department's mentor-protege program. | 16-18 June 2015 | Phoenix, AZ | 90 | $153,421 |
Bioenergy 2015 | This is the eighth annual conference sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). BETO’s annual conference is the primary vehicle for the Office to communicate program accomplishments and strategic goals for the upcoming year. The conference brings together experts from industry, academia, and government, from along the entire bioenergy supply chain. The event is also pivotal for helping to educate the banking and investment community, and help facilitate the alignment of investors with technology providers. | 23-24 June 2015 | Washington, DC | 80 | $213,193 |
Research Frontiers of Plasma Science Town Hall Meeting | This meeting is part of a series of scientific workshops that the Office of Science was directed to hold by Congress in the FY 2015 Appropriations Act, in order to seek community engagement on the strategic planning process for the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program. | 30 June - 1 July 2015 | Bethesda, MD | 40 | $102,817 |
12th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation | This conference provides a forum that brings together experts in synchrotron radiation from around the world. The conference includes information about the new developments in synchrotron radiation research and to highlight connections between synchrotron instrumentation, methods, and related technology. | 6-10 July 2015 | New York City, NY | 160 | $298,927 |
2015 Emergency Management Issues Special Interest Group Annual Meeting | This is an annual meeting, which includes participation by representatives within the Department's and the National Nuclear Security Administration's emergency management community. The meeting brings together key emergency management personnel from Headquarters, Field Elements, and contractor staff from sites and facilities across the country to discuss a wide variety of topics related to the 15 elements of the DOE Emergency Management Program as described in DOE Order 151.1C and continuity programs as described in DOE Order 150.1. | 6-10 July 2015 | Shepherdstown, WV | 146 | $286,123 |
DOE National Lab Day on Capitol Hill | This event is conducted to provide important insights to members of Congress and their staff about the vital work performed by the Department's system of National Laboratories, in support of the nation’s energy strategy. The event program is designed to convey how the Labs and their work are part of an interdependent and multidisciplinary network – The National Laboratory System. | 8-July 2015 | Washington, DC | 71 | $150,891 |
Basic Research Needs for Environmental Management | The purpose of this workshop is to identify basic research needs and opportunities related to DOE’s Environmental Management program. The workshop will provide a thorough assessment of the scientific issues associated with safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from five decades of nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. | 8-11 July 2015 | Bethesda, MD | 109 | $197,078 |
Office of Audits and Inspections All Staff Training Conference | In accordance with provisions set forth within both the Inspector General Act and Government Auditing Standards, the Department’s Office of Inspector General conducted this conference to satisfy training requirements for the fiscal year 2015. The conference content is applicable to all employees within the Office of Audits and Inspections who are responsible for audits, inspections, and attestation agreements. | 19-25 July 2015 | Tucson, AZ | 199 | $377,144 |
2015 Energy Exchange | This conference is designed to satisfy training requirements mandated by and address requirements outlined in EPACT1992, EPACT 2005,Executive Order 13423, Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), Executive Order 13514, Executive Order 13221, National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA), Federal Building Personnel Training Act of 2010, FY2012 Defense Authorization Bill Section 2826 and Section 2915a, and the ESPC Challenge (Dec 5, 2013). | 11-13 August 2015 | Phoenix, AZ | 26 | $355,755 |
Resilience Week 2015 | The purpose of this symposium is to extend and endorse particular concepts that will generate research and codify resilience in next generation control, cyber, cognitive and communications system designs. | 18-21 August 2015 | Philadelphia, PA | 30 | $124,401 |
Research Frontiers of Plasma Science: Scientific Grand Challenges Workshop | This workshop is part of a series of scientific workshops that the Office of Science was directed to hold by Congress in the FY 2015 Appropriations Act, in order to seek community engagement on the strategic planning process for the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program. | 20-21 August 2015 | Rockville, MD | 48 | $126,057 |
15th International Conference on the Chemistry and Migration Behavior of Actinides and Fission Products in the Geosphere | This conference is part of a series of events conducted for the environmental chemistry and geochemistry of actinides and fission products associated with nuclear subsurface contamination and long-term repositories. The conference program integrates basic and applied multidisciplinary research in the solubility, redox properties, sorption, microbial effects, colloidal transport and modeling of actinides and fission products in the environment. | 13-18 September 2015 | Santa Fe, NM | 38 | $113,370 |
Department of Energy Analytical Services Program 2015 Workshop | This workshop supports the DOE Analytical Services Program (ASP), which advances the DOE mission/interests by ensuring the validity, reliability, and defensibility of environment data services as provided by external analytical labs. | 14-17 September 2015 | Charleston, SC | 54 | $130,009 |