STATE DEPARTMENT WILL HOLD MEETING ON OVERSEAS BUILDING PROJECTS

The following excerpt is from the U.S. Department of State "Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Announces Dates for 2012 Industry Advisory Panel Meetings Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC February 9, 2012 The Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) will hold its 2012 meetings on Tuesday, April 17 and Tuesday, October 30 in the Loy Henderson Conference Room of the U.S. Department of State, located at 2201 C Street, N.W. (entrance on 23rd Street) Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) will host the nine-member advisory panel, which provides the Department with extensive knowledge and expertise on topics related to design, construction, value engineering, facility maintenance, and security. The committee serves the U.S. government in a solely advisory capacity concerning industry and academia's latest concepts, methods, best practices, innovations and ideas related to OBO's mission to provide secure, safe, functional and well-maintained facilities for the conduct of U.S. diplomacy and the promotion of U.S. interests worldwide. The meetings will be devoted to an exchange of ideas between the Department’s senior management and panel members on the topics of design, operations, and building maintenance. There will be reasonable time provided for members of the public to provide comment. The public may attend these meetings as seating capacity allows. Admittance to the State Department building will be by means of a pre-arranged clearance list. Those interested are encouraged to email IAPR@state.gov to be added to the IAP distribution list for meeting registration requirements and updates. Information on clearance procedures will also be included in the Federal Register notices announcing each meeting. The IAP has been noted in two separate GSA government-wide surveys for providing valuable “best practices” and continues to draw participants from all parts of the design and construction industry. Since 1999, OBO has completed 88 new diplomatic facilities and has moved more than 27,000 individuals into more secure, safer and functional facilities. The Bureau currently has over 41 major projects in design or construction.