New Study: Government Event Cancellations and Travel Restrictions Negatively Impacting Innovation and Collaboration

Originally posted on FedConnects

Both industry and government believe that event cancellations and federal travel restrictions are negatively impacting innovation and collaboration, which will adversely impact government contractors' ability to influence and service government customers.

This is one of the key findings of a Market Connections, Inc. and Boscobel Marketing Communications, Inc. PulsePoll™, which was released today.

Focusing on current and future plans regarding event attendance in light of federal budget cuts and travel restrictions, 161 government contractors and 383 federal government employees across civilian, defense and independent agencies responded to the survey.

Government employees are attending fewer events: Nearly 72% of agency respondents are attending fewer events this year than in 2012. Here are some of the key findings.

• Contractors are also cutting back: Half of contractors said their company's plans for exhibiting in 2013 are lower.
• Government will become siloed: Two-thirds of agency respondents agreed that it will be more difficult to maintain best practices in their fields (66%) and that government will become more siloed (62%).
  

"It is clear that event cancellations and travel restrictions present barriers for government and industry collaboration and may threaten innovation in government," said Lisa Dezzutti, president and CEO of Market Connections, Inc., in a recent press release (link).  "Fortunately, this study provides some key indicators of ways contractors can continue to reach government customers with information, best practices and new solutions."

According to the results, contractors and government agree that industry will need to become more creative in informing and educating government customers. The PulsePoll™ revealed how government employees are planning to obtain their information, as an alternative to events and trade shows. The poll also revealed how government contractors are planning to reach their government customers in light of the new era of event cancellations.

"Government employees are aware of the impact that budget constraints and travel restrictions are having on their ability to stay current on trends and knowledge. They see collaboration opportunities diminishing, and anticipate long-term effects to their agencies, technology and innovation in government," said Joyce Bosc, president of Boscobel Marketing Communications. "This poll shows us that contractors can benefit from investing in thought leadership programs, hosting webinars and leveraging the reach of trade publications."

Be sure to stay tuned for more coverage about this study, where we highlight key recommendations about how contractors can best influence government employees in light of these challenges.  In the meantime, please be sure to download a copy of the white paper here.  You can also download all of the infographics from this study here.