Trending GovCon events: September 13, 2026

The first four events below drew G2X community research on The GovCon Calendar over the last 24 hours. Six additional upcoming events round out the calendar, from small-business matchmaking and health research to customer experience and contractor operations.

1. Fort Benning Maneuver Warfighter Conference

The Fort Benning Maneuver Warfighter Conference runs September 15–17 in Georgia, with Federal Business Council organizing the industry exhibition. The program connects Army readiness with mobility, protection, lethality, sustainment, robotics, AI, and autonomy.

Exhibits at McGinnis-Wickam Hall include indoor and outdoor space, with an icebreaker alongside the conference activities. The audience includes operational commanders, capability developers, program managers, and acquisition leaders. For defense technology and equipment companies, the setting brings operational requirements and industry capabilities into the same conversation.

2. FedTalks 2026

FedScoop’s FedTalks takes place November 17 in Washington, D.C., with a hybrid format for government and technology-industry participants. Its themes span AI, cybersecurity, cloud, quantum computing, digital services, and zero trust.

The event centers on federal technology leadership and the practical choices behind modernization. For companies working across several agency portfolios, the mix of topics offers a broad view of how emerging technologies connect with security and service delivery. It is a technology and leadership gathering, rather than a briefing on one solicitation.

3. Go Green & Health Expo

The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County’s Go Green & Health Expo takes place September 23 at the Anaheim Marriott Suites in Garden Grove, California. The event brings small businesses and resource partners together around sustainability, conservation, health, and wellness.

An exhibition floor and informational panels cover eco-friendly practices and small-business growth. The opportunity is local relationship building for environmental, sustainability, and adjacent service companies. It is a broader business expo, rather than an agency procurement briefing or a source of solicitation-specific guidance.

4. GovAI Coalition Summit

Government Technology, the GovAI Coalition, and the City of San José are organizing the GovAI Coalition Summit from December 9–11 at the San Jose Convention Center. The in-person program brings government technology leaders, AI practitioners, procurement officials, and industry partners together.

Sessions cover AI roadmaps, budgeting beyond pilots, procurement, governance, cybersecurity, and operational use cases. A government town hall complements the main summit program. The focus reaches beyond selecting an AI tool to the organizational, financial, and acquisition decisions involved in putting it into public service.

5. Freedom 250 Supplier Matchmaking Expo

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Freedom 250 Supplier Matchmaking Expo is scheduled for September 18 at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. It connects small businesses with federal agency and corporate buyers.

One-on-one matchmaking and an exhibit hall create opportunities to discuss supplier capabilities, sourcing needs, and potential subcontracting relationships. The program also includes the finale of a small-business pitch competition. For a growth team, the practical preparation is a clear explanation of what the company supplies and which buyer needs it can address.

6. VIB Network 10th Anniversary National Conference

The Veterans In Business Network’s tenth-anniversary National Conference runs November 2–3 at La Quinta Resort & Club in California. The gathering connects veteran-owned and other diverse small businesses with corporations, government agencies, prime contractors, and business-resource organizations.

The program includes one-on-one matchmaking, an Opportunity Expo, business-development seminars, and corporate and government panels. Those formats give suppliers several ways to introduce their capabilities and explore teaming relationships. Legislative discussion and a veteran-business marketplace add context around the business environment in which those relationships develop.

7. ACT-IAC Customer Experience COI

ACT-IAC’s Customer Experience Community of Interest meets virtually on October 2. The session focuses on customer experience and citizen services, bringing together the community’s government and industry participants.

For teams working on public-facing services, the meeting offers a setting to compare priorities and discuss how customer experience is being framed across federal IT. Its value is a focused peer-community conversation and relationship building around service delivery, rather than a broad technology exhibition or a solicitation-specific briefing.

8. ARPA-H Emerging Health Innovators Proposers Day

ARPA-H’s Office of Commercialization will host a virtual Proposers Day for the Emerging Health Innovators initiative on October 13, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern. The session will discuss the initiative’s objectives and technical topic areas and offer guidance on proposal preparation.

ARPA-H encourages nontraditional participants, including small and medium-sized businesses, early-stage researchers, academic institutions, and nonprofits. Advance registration is required. Attendance is not mandatory to submit a proposal or be considered for funding, but the session is intended to help prospective applicants understand the research direction and prepare stronger submissions.

9. Cocktails & Conversations: GovCon Challenges

Federal Publications Seminars will host Cocktails & Conversations on September 23, with in-person participation at Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas and virtual access. The panel addresses changes affecting government contractors across acquisition rules, cost accounting, executive-order implementation, supply chains, and cybersecurity compliance.

The format combines a cross-cutting practitioner discussion with a reception for attendees in Las Vegas. It is relevant to contracts, pricing, proposal, and delivery teams assessing how those issues affect their work. The emphasis is contractor operations and compliance, rather than an agency buyer presentation.

10. Securing the Mission at Fiscal Year-End

Gordian’s September 22 webinar examines Intergovernmental Support Agreements as a way to obtain construction, repair, and maintenance services for federal installations. The virtual session focuses on installation resilience and the relationship between acquisition, project delivery, and workforce capacity.

The discussion covers procurement timelines, administrative effort, and cost predictability. It is aimed at acquisition professionals, infrastructure leaders, and contractors supporting installation work. For those firms, the session offers a closer look at a procurement approach and its delivery implications, rather than a supplier matchmaking program.

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