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National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 

INSTRUCTION 

NUMBER 7000.1 

25 June 2015

Administrative Update 03 March 2016 

FM

SUBJECT: Conference Planning, Execution, and Reporting 

References: See Enclosure 1. 

1. PURPOSE. This NGA Instruction (NGAI):

a. Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the planning, hosting, cosponsoring, attending, and reporting of conferences at NGA. 

b. Incorporates and rescinds NGAI 7000.1, same title, 30 April 2013.

2. APPLICABILITY. This NGAI applies to the NGA workforce including personnel

temporarily assigned to NGA performing official duties under NGA guidance, 

supervision, or contractual employment that host or attend a conference. 

3. DEFINITIONS. See Glossary.

4. POLICY. It is NGA policy:

a. To follow Office of Management and Budget, Department of Defense (DoD), and

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) oversight guidance for conference 

activities and expenditures (References (a) through (j) and (l) through (n)) by adhering 

to approval and reporting procedures (Reference (o)). 

b. To ensure NGA senior leadership is aware of the costs and purpose (intended

audience or participants, location, duration, and schedule) associated with NGA 

conferences. 

c. To substitute technology (i.e., video teleconference, dial-in, etc.) for Temporary

Duty travel when practical. 

d. To exercise discretion and strict fiscal responsibility to determine whether

conferences are necessary and proper. 
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e. To not finalize conference plans or make any commitments to a vendor that 

obligate NGA’s appropriated funds until the required approval has been obtained from 

the appropriate approval authority (Reference (o)).

f. To host NGA-sponsored conferences at an NGA facility, if possible. NGAsponsored conferences hosted at an NGA facility provide the government the greatest 

benefit because this is the lowest cost option and requires a documented cost 

comparison between only NCE and NCW facilities. If an NGA-sponsored conference 

(hosted or funded) is planned at a non-NGA government facility (and involves a fee) or 

at a commercial facility (regardless of cost), a documented cost comparison of at least 

three alternate sites must be conducted regardless of the number of attendees. All 

NGA-sponsored conferences should be held at no-cost Intelligence Community (IC) 

element facilities or other no-cost government facilities, unless none are available or 

those facilities are not suitable or practical. All possible options, including a change of 

location or dates, must be exhausted prior to hosting at a non-government facility.

g. To avoid prohibited conference expenses as defined in the Glossary.

h. To ensure compliance with all applicable law and policy and to coordinate with the 

Office of General Counsel (OGC) before approving a conference. 

5. RESPONSIBILITIES. See Enclosure 2.

6. PROCEDURES. See Reference (o).

7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Instruction is effective on the date of signature.

Enclosures:

1. References

2. Responsibilities

Glossary
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ENCLOSURE 1

REFERENCES

(a) OMB Memorandum M-12-12, “Promoting Efficient Spending to Support Agency 

Operations,” 11 May 2012

(b) OMB Memorandum M-11-35, “Eliminating Excess Conference Spending and 

Promoting Efficiency in Government,” 21 September 2011

(c) OSD Memorandum, “Consideration of Costs in DoD Decision-Making,” 27 December 

2010

(d) Deputy Secretary of Defense Memorandum, “Implementation of Conference 

Oversight Requirements and Delegation of Conference Approval Authority,” 29 

September 2012

(e) Department of Defense (DoD) Deputy Chief Management Officer Memorandum, 

“Delegation of Conference Approval Authority,” 16 October 2012

(f) DoD 7000.14-R, “Department of Defense Financial Management Regulations 

(FMR),” Volumes 10 and 12, October 2012

(g) DoD Directive 4515.14, “Washington Local Commuting Area,” 29 December 1998

(h) DoD (CAPE) Guide, “Cost of Hosting an Event, Guidance Document,” 16 September 

2011

(i) OUSD(I) Memorandum, “Delegation of Conference Approval Authority and Additional 

Guidance,” 3 December 2013

(j) OUSD(I) Memorandum, “Delegation of Selected Conference Approval Authority,” 

26 December 2012

(k) Procedural Guidance for Conducting DoD Classified Conferences, June 2012

(l) ODNI Memorandum CFO-12-1246, “Supplemental Guidance Regarding NIP Funded 

or Partially Funded Conferences”

(m) ODNI Memorandum E/S 00649, “Eliminating Excess Conference Spending and 

Promoting Efficiency in Government,” 15 November 2011

(n) The Joint Travel Regulations, Uniformed Service Members and DoD Civilian 

Employees, Appendix R, “Conferences,” 1 October 2014

(o) NGA Manual 7000.1, “Conference Planning, Execution, and Reporting,” (revised) 

TBD 08 May 2015
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ENCLOSURE 2

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Director, NGA (D/NGA), ensures all NGA-related conferences comply with oversight 

guidance and policy for planning, executing, and cost reporting in accordance with NGA 

procedures in Reference (o).

2. Requesting NGA Key Component (KC) Director or designee.

a. Limits the number of personnel attending a conference to only that necessary to 

accomplish the Agency’s mission.

b. Determines whether a conference is mission critical.

c. Prepares and approves all mission-critical conference request packages and 

modifications in accordance with procedures in Reference (o).

d. Obtains Office of General Counsel (OGC) concurrence for compliance with 

applicable fiscal and legal policy and law, as necessary.

e. Obtains OGC concurrence for food/refreshments, if applicable.

f. Submits conference request packages to the Chief Financial Executive (CFE) for 

review.

g. Prepares and submits quarterly cost reports with planned and actual costs to the 

Financial Management Directorate in accordance with NGA procedures in Reference 

(o).

h. Appoints a primary conference point of contact.

3. CFE or designee.

a. Serves as NGA’s conference data collector and primary point of contact.

b. Reviews all conference requests submitted by the NGA KC Director or designee.

c. Obtains OGC concurrence for compliance with applicable fiscal and legal policy 

and law as necessary.

d. Prepares and submits conference staff packages requiring approval of an NGA 

Executive Leader (D/NGA or Deputy Director, NGA) or oversight agency.

e. Coordinates with Office of Corporate Communications (OCC) for public disclosure 

of conference attendance and cost, as required.
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4. Director, Security and Installations (D/SI).

a. Appoints an NGA conference coordinator to consolidate NGA’s conferences in 

both the east and west for coordination with the CFE designee (FM Conference Team).

b. Assists NGA KCs in completion of Vulnerability Assessments at conference 

locations.

5. OCC.

a. Coordinates on all conferences to ensure the event is in alignment with NGA’s 

strategic goals.

b. Releases public disclosure of conference attendance and cost as provided by the 

CFE when required.

6. OGC reviews conference requests for compliance with applicable NGA fiscal and 

legal policy and law during the reporting process.

7. KC Conference Point of Contact.

a. Serves as the liaison between FM and the Component for all conference-related 

activities.

b. Ensures that KCs are aware of and adhere to all NGA conference-related policies 

and procedures. 
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GLOSSARY

DEFINITIONS

Conference A meeting, retreat, seminar, symposium, training, or 

event that involves attendee travel and/or conference 

expenses. The term conference also applies to 

training activities considered to be conferences under 

the following conditions:

a. The announced purpose of the conference is 

educational or instructional

b. More than half of the time is scheduled for a 

planned, organized exchange of information 

between presenters and audience

c. The content of the conference is germane to 

improving individual and/or organizational 

performance, and

d. Development benefits will be derived through 

the employee’s attendance

Exclusions to conference reporting requirements are 

as follows:

a. Meetings that discuss business matters internal 

to NGA or other topics with little relevance 

outside the Agency and that have no 

conference-related expenses incurred 

(excluding travel-related expenses).

b. Formal classroom training. This exemption 

would include activities such as regular courses 

of instruction or training seminars. These 

activities may be offered by government 

organizations, institutions of higher learning or 

professional licensure/certification, or other 

training entities. However, events are not 

exempt simply because they offer continuing 

education credits or the equivalent.

c. See Enclosure 3 of Reference (o) for additional 

exclusions.
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Conference 

Expenses

All direct and indirect conference costs paid by the 

Government, whether paid directly by agencies or 

reimbursed by agencies to travelers or others 

associated with the conference, but do not include 

funds paid under Federal grants to grantees. 

Expenses include any associated authorized travel 

and per diem expenses, rental of rooms for official 

business (facility fee), audiovisual use, light 

refreshments, registration fees, ground transportation, 

and other expenses as defined by the Federal Travel 

Regulation (References (d) and (n)).

Prohibited 

Conference 

Expenses

Vulnerability 

Assessment

Entertainment-related expenses are expressly 

prohibited as part of DoD conferences, and approval 

authorities must ensure that funds, including those 

paid through travel disbursements or conference fees 

are not used to pay such expenses. Examples of 

entertainment-related expenses that are prohibited 

include fees for motivational speakers (in contrast with 

speakers having specific subject matter expertise in 

the topic of the conference), hiring costs for musicians 

or other entertainers to perform at conferences, 

procuring extraneous promotional items, decorations, 

or other goods or services for participants that are 

unrelated to the purpose of the conference, procuring 

tickets to recreational activities outside of the 

conference setting, or using funds to produce nonsubstantive audio/visual materials. Common sense 

and good judgment must be used throughout the 

conference planning process. If there is any doubt as 

to the appropriateness of certain expenses, coordinate 

with appropriate officials, including legal counsel 

(Reference (d)). 

The comprehensive evaluation of an installation, 

facility, or activity to determine preparedness to deter, 

withstand, and/or recover from the full range of 

adversarial capabilities. This evaluation is based on 

the threat assessment, compliance with protection 

standards, and risk management (Reference (k)).