The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) hosted an event on January 22, 2015 designed to bring clients, federal agencies, and large prime contractors together in order to allow everyone to discuss working together in the future. More than 300 vendors attended, and they participated in over 400 one-on-one matchmaking appointments.
Management of this large gathering — including the massive amount of appointment-making needed for the event — was made possible through the use of a new technology application developed by the IVSN Group LLC for GTPAC. The app featured automated appointment-making capability on smart phones, tablets, laptops and PCs. Once registered, each vendor representative received automatic confirmation via the app and email. Confirmations included a bar code that attendees utilized to print their own name tags at the event’s check-in desk.
The event, entitled “Building Partnerships and Collaborating for Success,” was held in the auditorium and break-out rooms at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Midtown Atlanta. The GTPAC team used IVSN’s new technology on-site to expedite extra registrations, and to supplement the one-on-one appointments. Helpful messages were “pushed” through the app to attendees throughout the day. Any attendees who did not download the app in advance used a QR code on display in multiple locations at the event to allow them to download the app on-site.
Here’s a summary of what was accomplished:
- All pre-registrants were given instruction on how to come prepared with an elevator speech and a written capabilities statement.
- GTPAC’s program director Joe Beaulieu acted as emcee of the event with speakers from the CDC, EPA, and VA – and featuring the Regional Administrator of GSA, the Regional Director of SBA, and the Executive Director of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA).
- Training seminars were held on the subjects of proposal-writing, project management, government contracting strategic planning, and business development.
- All attendees benefited from individual matchmaking appointments with buyers from nine federal agencies, the State of Georgia, the City of Atlanta, and six major federal prime contractors, including big names like IBM, Lockheed Martin, and Northrup Grumman.
- Scores of the small businesses in attendance also took advantage of this occasion to receive contract-related counseling from the team of GTPAC counselors who were on hand.
- All of the day’s program elements and related resources were made available on an app which was downloaded by attendees to their mobile devices, laptops and PCs.
Presenting sponsors of the event were the Atlanta Chapter of the National Contract Management Association and the Small Business Administration. Supporting sponsors included Axiom Corporation, IVSN Group, and Unitech America.
Presently, GTPAC is soliciting event evaluations from all participants and plans to use the resulting feedback to improve future events and refine the event management app.
Copies of all presentations made at the event can be downloaded below. They are listed in alphabetical order:
- Axiom Presentation
- Better Proposals Presentation
- Bobcat Academy Presentation
- CDC Presentation
- Corps of Engineers Presentation
- EPA Presentation
- GSA Presentation
- GTPAC Presentation
- Opportunity Hub Links
- Power of Relationships Presentation
- Strategic Approach to Govt Contracting Presentation
- The Contracting Education Academy
- VA Presentation
