Policies and Procedures for the Stone House

The following policies and procedures apply when using faciliaties located in the Lawton Chiles International House (Stone House), which are part of the Fogarty International Center and located on the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) main campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

For information about availability and reservations, please contact:

FIC Stone House Scheduler
Email: FICStoneHouseScheduler@nih.gov
Phone: 301-496-1213

Operations

The house is normally open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; therefore, conferences should be scheduled to adjourn no later than 5:00 p.m. with attendees vacating the building by 5:30 p.m., advance arrangements must be made with the conference center manager and will be accommodated, if possible. Consideration will be given to scheduling events at other times when a special need is demonstrated.

Approval

Contact should be made with the building manager (301-496-1213) to determine the availability of the facility and then the request can be submitted via email. The email should include the following:

description of the international or scientific nature/purpose of the function;
approximate number of people expected;
time and date(s) desired;
meal and or coffee services required;
equipment needed; and
the name, telephone number, and building/room number of the coordinator responsible for the event.

The serving of alcoholic beverages requires an IC EO and ORS approval and will be limited to official receptions and dinners for international visitors and must be requested following the NIH Manual Chapter 1130 - General Administration #31 "Alcohol for Official Entertaining".

Reservations

The following timetable indicates the maximum time in advance that reservations may be made:

Fogarty Functions - No time limit
NIH Director/Office of the Secretary Functions - Six months ahead
NIH I/Cs - Three months ahead

On an occasion, it may be necessary to book an event earlier than three to six months. However, if an event is booked more than six (6) months in advance, an alternative site should be considered in the event the facility would not be available.

A tentative reservation will be held by the building manager for a maximum of two (2) weeks to allow the requesting memorandum to reach the Fogarty Executive Officer.

The sponsoring organization may be required to find alternate space in the event a higher priority need arises which is beyond the control of Fogarty.

Rules

The event sponsor will be responsible for complying with the following rules governing the use of the facility:

Use of the first floor only; the second floor and third floors are restricted to Fogarty staff
A maximum occupancy of 75 persons seated in the conference room
A maximum occupancy of 175 persons for official social functions for the entire first floor
No smoking in the building
No food or beverage in the conference room
The serving of alcoholic beverages, which requires approval from the IC Executive officer and the Director of ORS, will be limited to official receptions and dinners for international visitors
Prior to the event, the requestor must furnish to the building manager a full agenda and final list of participants (in alphabetical order by last name) for the event

The event sponsor should keep in mind the restrictions on occupancy when announcing a public meeting or planning a social function.

Event Sponsor

The sponsoring organization must provide all staff, supplies, and necessary funding for catering services, etc. for the event scheduled. Fogarty has a small staff that can provide minimal assistance. Information on the availability of such assistance may be obtained from the building manager.

The sponsor of the event is responsible for clean-up, trash removal, and for repairing damage to government property.

Security

The event sponsor will be responsible for obtaining any required security clearance from the NIH Office of Research Services.

Updated January 9, 2024