Working With Government Agencies – Some Helpful Tips
Whether you’re in Washington, D.C. or Los Angeles, CA, government entities can be a different breed of client to work with when planning meetings. It’s never an easy task when dealing with multiple entities with different rules. Your goal is to understand the differences between state run agencies and federal agencies and their rules and work your plan around those differences. Following are a few tips to help get you through the quagmire.
State Guidelines vs. Federal Guidelines
One of the most important things to understand is that there are differences between the guidelines that state agencies must follow and the guidelines that federal agencies must follow. In a nutshell, the state is only required to do the minimum federal guidelines, however, states like Texas have their own additional rules that must be followed. The easiest way to ensure that you have the proper guidelines is to utilize the U.S. General Services Administration and check which rules you must follow and what the agencies are required to do. Another option is to take the new designation course offered by the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) and become a certified government meeting planner.
Accepted Practices
Most government agencies aren’t allowed to cover the cost of food and drink. However, a savvy meeting planner who understands this can bundle meeting rental and break service rather than itemizing everything separately. Another avenue to explore is a joint project between SGMP, the Convention Industry Council and Meeting Professionals International called the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX). This group offers standardized contracts, RFPs and other tools that will help you with government meeting planning.
Working as a government planner can be very rewarding. The sealed bids can be worth thousands, but understanding the rules of the game is an incredibly important step on the road to success in this segment of the industry.
