Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Report on CDC-Hosted Conferences

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 (HHS), and is recognized as the nation’s premier health protection agency. CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.

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 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 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 Operationsexternal icon), dated May 11, 2012, which requires federal agencies to report publicly on all agency-sponsored (hosted) conferences where the expenses exceed $100,000.

Description of the Report

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

• Information about conference expenses for FY 2019, as well as general information about conference activities throughout the year
• A description of all CDC-hosted conferences for FY 2019 where expenses associated with the conference exceeded $100,000, including:
  • The date of the conference
  • The location of the conference
  • A brief explanation on how the conference advanced the mission of the agency
  • A description of exceptional circumstances for conferences where net expenses exceeded $500,000
  • The total 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

Fiscal Year 2019 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 (as found in HHS’s policy on promoting efficient spendingexternal icon). At the forefront of these efforts is CDC’s work to implement improvements to conference management practices through the release of updated training materials and resources.
The following summarizes information about CDC-hosted conferences in FY 2019 that exceeded $100,000[1]:

• Total number of conferences: 8
• Total cost of the conferences: $3,823,675
• Total number of attendees: 4,020
• Average cost per attendee: $951
• Percent of conferences held locally near CDC headquarters in Atlanta, GA: 88%
• Percent of attendees traveling at CDC expense: 25%

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