The Challenges of Realigning US Foreign Assistance with US

Foreign Policy Goals

The Role of State/F in Foreign Assistance

International Consortium on Governmental Financial

Management
October 2009 DC Forum

Denise M. Fantone
US Government Accountability Office (GAO)

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• Role of the F Process in “Transitional Diplomacy”

• Challenges to consolidating State/USAID assistance

strategies & establishing performance measures

• Objective and Finding of GAO’s April 2009 report

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 Role of the F Process
in Transformational Diplomacy

• Bush/Rice’s Transformational Diplomacy Goal – “to help build & sustain democratic, well-governed
states that will respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty & conduct themselves
responsibly in the international system.” 1/2006

• Problem: fragmented assistance within State & across agencies leading to little coherency & poor
accountability

• Goal: leadership structure for coordinating policy, planning & oversight -- more strategic, results-
oriented & long-term focused

• Strategy:
• create F Bureau with merged State & USAID staff for planning, budgeting & evaluation functions
• consolidate authority in a single individual as Director of Foreign Assistance/USAID Administrator.
Assume a leadership role in assistance delivered by other U.S.G. entities

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 Role of the F Process
in Transitional Diplomacy

Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance (F Bureau)

responsibilities:
• Establish a coherent, coordinated US government foreign
assistance strategy
• Provide guidance for foreign assistance delivered by other
federal agencies
• Consolidate foreign assistance policy, planning, budget
functions & integrate State/USAID staff
• Develop multi-year country-specific assistance strategies
& annual operating/performance plans

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 Challenges of Planning
& Performance Measurement
Planning -
• (What) Define common purposes & desired outcomes
• (Who) Agree on roles & responsibilities
• (How) Implementation strategies
• (Means) Identify & address needs by leveraging resources

Foreign Assistance:
• Major reform 1961 & 1985
• Organizational fragmentation: 12 departments, 25 agencies, ~ 60 offices
• Different cultures, policies, & procedures
• Disparate account structures, legal authorities & constraints
• State/USAID: a microcosm of these issues

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 Challenges of Planning
& Performance Measurement

• Why measure?
• To demonstrate progress towards goals, to identify gaps/needed
improvements, to show accountability for funds provided & to justify
new funding

• Challenges:
• Difficulties in identifying contributions to a larger effort
• Tradeoffs between capturing the “unique” & “common”
• Design weaknesses: data limitations; overlaps & gaps in
measurement; data quality/reliability
• What is valued differs across agencies
• Incentives

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 GAO Report:
Objective & Approach

• What GAO was asked to do:

• Examine actions taken by State/F to reform & consolidate processes for
State/USAID
• Identify challenges
Two additional requests:
• Provide legal opinion on the delegation of authority to the DFA & review data
information systems (FACTS & FACTS Info)

• Approach:
• Analyzed budget, planning, management & workforce planning documents
• Interviewed State & USAID officials in Washington, DC & 6
embassies/missions

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 GAO Report Findings:
U.S. Foreign Assistance Strategy

• State/F
• developed a foreign assistance framework tied to the
transformational diplomacy goal. Used to inform
planning, reporting, & analysis for State/USAID.
• has not developed an inter-agency strategy for U.S.
foreign assistance. Reasons given: anticipation of a new
administration & need to get the F bureau operational.
• guidance in developing country assistance plans
encourages input from other relevant U.S. agencies

• Currently a gap between National Security Strategy & joint

State/USAID 5-year strategic plan (updated 5/2007)

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 GAO Report Findings:
Planning Strategies

• State/F initiated a pilot project in 2008 – “whole of government”

multi-year country assistance strategies (CAS) in 10 countries.
Implementation in all countries 2010 or later
• Suspended USAID “4R” planning in 2006, which left some
missions without a current strategic plan. Interim strategies
developed at missions without a CAS in 2008
• Concerns raised that the CAS will be of limited use
• Annual planning & reporting
• Confusion over purpose & process, particularly operating
plans & relationship to other documents; increased
centralization
• Types of measures for reporting on performance

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 GAO Report Findings:
Budget Processes

• Developed a standardized program structure for

State/USAID foreign assistance programs – common
definitions, goals, indicators.
• Instituted a joint State/USAID budget formulation process
beginning with FY2008 budget request. Increased attention
to FA resource requests in internal deliberations
• Produced a combined Congressional Budget Justification
• Challenges: excludes billions of dollars within and outside
State & USAID; reduced ability to shift resources once
allocated; lengthy approval/review process; regional
activities not well captured

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 GAO Report Findings:
Organizational Transformation

 Workforce:
 Staff reassigned to new F bureau in June 2006
 Job descriptions & skills defined 3 – 9/2007
 New position descriptions completed as of 10/2008
 October 2008 internal management review - skills
mismatched with needs or not used to best advantage
 Defined core functions, but for internal State/F use. As of
our review, no workforce management plan
 Communications:
 Ad hoc, inconsistent, limited two-way opportunities
 Limited explanation behind restructuring & streamlining efforts.
Expectation of greater buy-in (transparency) & efficiency gains not
supported by experience
 Existing relationships disrupted & not replaced by State/F
 Mission & vision statements; after action reviews
provided forum for learning & improvement

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 Recommendations

• Secretary of State:
• Develop & implement a comprehensive foreign assistance strategy,
w/ time frames, measures & involvement of other affected agencies
• Develop & use compatible goals & measures

• Secretary of State direct the DFA:

• Establish time frames for implementing CAS and operational
reforms. Benchmark & measure progress.
• Ensure timely, two-way communication
• Consider an operational plan structure that captures regional
functions & activities
• Develop a long-term workforce management plan

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 www.gao.gov

Foreign Aid Reform: Comprehensive Strategy, Interagency

Coordination & Operational Improvements Would Bolster
Current Efforts
GAO-09-192 (April 17, 2009)

Foreign Assistance: State Department Foreign Aid Information

Systems Have Improved Change Management Practices
but Do Not Follow Risk Management Best Practices
GAO-09-52R (November 21, 2008)

Delegation of Authorities to the Director of Foreign Assistance

GAO B-316655 (October 29, 2008)

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