Getting inside the ethics of meeting with government customers

We are producing a free event on Nov. 4 that's focused on the ethics of talking to your government customers. What's allowed and what isn't?

In our most recent WT Insider Report we examined the spending plans of government buyers in the company year.

One of findings of the report dealt with the challenges of government buyers face when trying to interact with industry. While we are seeing some improvement, there are still a significant number of buyers (41 percent) who said there are restrictions on how they can meet with companies.

In many ways it is counterintuitive that during a time of rapid advances in technology coupled with constrained budgets that buyers and sellers feel they cannot have an open dialogue. Now, more than ever, is the time for industry and government to be talking.

The ironic thing is that at the top levels of government dialogue between private and public sector is encouraged, but something is lost as the message moves down the ranks.

The question is, what is allowable and what isn’t? What are the ethics?

In a free event Nov. 4, we’ll explore these questions. Click here for information on registering for the event. The event will be held at our offices in Tysons Corner, Va.

In a panel discussion we'll explore how you can engage with federal executives without breaking the rules. We'll address questions such as who can you invite to what kind of event? What are the limits on gifts? And more importantly, was is considered a gift anyway?

Following the ethics session, there will be a presentation on the Top 5 Lessons Learned from the 2015 Government Buying Guide. The buying guide is what we based our Insider Report on.

Again, to attend the free event, click here.