FDA receives thousands of requests each year from trade associations and industry-based groups for speakers to participate in external meetings, conferences and workshops that involve cross-agency staff from the Office of the Commissioner, the FDA Centers, the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), and the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR).

The Office of External Affairs (OEA) resides within the Office of the Commissioner. OEA is responsible for handling these requests and works closely with the Agency’s Centers and Offices to plan industry programs and to identify the appropriate Agency speakers and topics that support our regulatory, scientific and compliance mission-oriented activities.

The Cross-Agency Speaker Request Questionnaire streamlines and enhances speaker request clearances internally among various Agency units and externally with our industry stakeholder groups. Please note that this is NOT an event planning or travel-related service.

More Information on how to Submit Cross-Agency Requests

How: To request speakers from across FDA, please read For Trade and Industry Groups: Speaker Requests for instructions on how to submit a request and see the bottom of the page for Frequently Asked Questions. The next step is to fill out the Cross-Agency Speaker Request Questionnaire.

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When: For events within the contiguous United States, please allow 3 to 4 months' advance notice. For events abroad, as well as in Alaska and Hawaii, please allow 4 to 6 months' advance notice.

What do I need before filling out the questionnaire:

• Name, date and location of the event
• Name of organization(s) sponsoring the event
• Invitation letter and agenda (PDFs and Word documents smaller than 5MB are acceptable, including active HTML links to web pages or websites)
• Topic of speakers’ presentation and desired length of presentation
• Targeted audience and expected number of attendees
• Organization contact information (name, phone/fax number, email)
• Complete program agenda with all invited speaker(s) and topic(s) (draft agenda is acceptable)
• Specify media coverage (i.e., general media and/or trade press)
• Other pertinent information

What happens after a request has been submitted:

The Office of External Affairs (OEA) works closely with the various Center speaker liaisons to determine the appropriate speaker. If more information is needed, OEA will work with the requesting organization to gather it.

Some factors that might be used in considering requests include: timeliness of the topic, geographic location of the event, the event’s target audience, FDA staff availability, expected number of attendees and availability of funds to cover travel costs (if necessary).

Once your request has been processed, OEA will contact you. For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of For Trade and Industry Groups: Speaker Requests.

Who to contact with questions: Please email [email protected] with questions.

Contacts for Requesting an FDA Speaker