Travel Funds
As director of a governmental research program, Edward oversees
the awarding of center grants to qualified universities. The grants
are awarded to twenty different centers across the United States
with five- to ten-year funding periods. The centers' annual budgets
average $1 million.
Each year Edward organizes an obligatory annual meeting of the
centers' program directors, associated faculty and graduate
students in Washington, D.C. Approximately 400 people will attend
the meeting this year, and Edward must select a facility that is
capable of accommodating a meeting of this size. He could choose
among numerous hotels and convention centers around the
metropolitan area. As the meeting location, he selects a luxurious,
historic hotel in downtown Washington where a number of the
presidential inaugural balls have been hosted. This four-star hotel
is one of the more expensive locations for accommodating this
meeting, but clearly a hotel of this distinction will offer quality
service to its guests. Edward signs a three-year contract with the
hotel to reserve the meeting space for future years.
Each center will fund travel to the meeting for its
participants, including airfare, hotel, additional transportation
and meals. Group-rate rooms at this hotel cost each participant
$200-$250. Each participant has a per diem meal allowance of $50.
Edward and the other government employees from Washington who are
attending the meeting decide also to stay at the hotel for
convenient access to the early-morning sessions.
The meeting is a great success, and the service at the hotel is
top-notch. On the last day of the meeting, participants completed
an opinion survey about the meeting. Later that week, while
reviewing the comments on the survey, Edward reads that several
people have requested a less expensive site for future meetings. In
fact, two of the program directors noted that the accommodations
seemed somewhat extravagant. Considering that there are several
other more economical options around the city, Edward decides to
change the meeting location (after this contract expires with the
present hotel) to a less expensive, three-star hotel.
Discussion Questions:
- What are the ethical issues surrounding immoderate spending of
taxpayers' money?
- Should travel money from research grants be allowed to cover a
stay at a four- or five-star hotel?
- Since conference participants generally cover their costs with
nonpersonal grant funds, should meeting organizers always choose
the most attractive site for a conference, convention or
meeting?
- What factors should play a part in their site-selection
decisions?
- Once the site is chosen, what could a meeting organizer do to
make the meeting more affordable to participants?
- Given that Edward's work location can accommodate groups of
this size, should Edward consider holding the meeting there in
order to further reduce the cost of future meetings?
- Since participants would be spending money for food whether or
not they were attending the meeting, should travel funds from
federal grants even cover food expenses?
- Given the "public" nature of this funding source, what is a
fair amount to offer travelers as a per diem food allowance?