In accordance with OMB's Memorandum M-17-08, Amending OMB Memorandum M-12-12, Promoting Efficient Spending to Support Agency Operations, dated November 25, 2016, the Department of Defense shall publicly report agency-sponsored conferences from the previous Fiscal Year (FY) where net expenses associated with the conference were in excess of $100,000.
In summary, the number of qualifying DoD hosted conferences during FY22 that exceeded the $100,000 total cost threshold was 60, an increase of 44 conferences from FY21. The major increase in FY22 was primarily due to the decline in the number of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. and the lifting of pandemic-related mass gathering restrictions by the CDC in 2022. Costs were mainly attributed to the following: travel, food, audio-visual, and contracts for conference support and services.
In comparison to FY21, the aggregate total cost of FY22 DoD hosted conferences was approximately $14,547,297, an increase of over $10.8M from FY21. The average FY22 cost per conference was $242,454, higher than the FY21 average ($231,353).
As a reference, the FY21 Annual Conference Report is provided below:
The number of qualifying DoD hosted conferences during FY21 that exceeded the $100,000 total cost threshold was 16, a decrease of 27 conferences from FY20. The major reduction in conferences held in FY21 was primarily due to COVID-19 pandemic-related cancellations. Costs were mainly attributed to the following: travel, food, audio-video, and contracts for conference support and services.