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Overseas Presence: Rightsizing Framework Can Be Applied at U.S. Diplomatic Posts in Developing Countries
Since the mid-1990s, GAO has highlighted the need for the Department of State and other agencies to establish a systematic process for determining their overseas staffing levels. To support this long-standing need and in support of the President's Management Agenda, GAO developed a framework for assessing overseas workforce size and identified options for rightsizing. Because the framework was largely based on work at the U.S. embassy in Paris, GAO was asked to determine whether the rightsizing framework is applicable at U.S. embassies in developing countries. To accomplish this objective, we visited three U.S. embassies in West Africa--a medium-sized post in Dakar, Senegal; and two small embassies in Banjul, The Gambia; and Nouakchott, Mauritania--and applied the framework and its corresponding questions there. GAO's rightsizing framework can be applied at U.S. embassies in developing countries. Officials from the Bureau of African Affairs, and U.S. embassy officials in Dakar, Senegal; Banjul, The Gambia; and Nouakchott, Mauritania, said that the framework's questions highlighted specific issues at each post that should be considered in determining staffing levels. Officials in other State bureaus also believed that the security, mission, cost, and option components of the framework provided a logical basis for planning and making rightsizing decisions. At each of the posts GAO visited, application of the framework and corresponding questions generally highlighted (1) physical and technical security deficiencies that needed to be weighed against proposed staff increases; (2) mission priorities and requirements that are not fully documented or justified in the posts' Mission Performance Plans; (3) cost of operations data that were unavailable, incomplete, or fragmented across funding sources; and (4) rightsizing actions and other options that post managers should consider for adjusting the number of personnel.
There have been recurring calls to evaluate and realign, or "rightsize," the number and location of staff at U.S. embassies and consulates and to consider staff reductions to reduce security vulnerabilities. The Office of Management and Budget is implementing this rightsizing initiative by analyzing the U.S. overseas presence and reviewing the staffing allocation process. This report uses a systematic approach to assess overseas workforce size and identifying options for rightsizing, both at the embassy level and for making related decisions worldwide. GAO's framework links staffing levels to the following three critical elements of overseas diplomatic operations: (1) physical/technical security of facilities and employees, (2) mission priorities and requirements, and (3) cost of operations. Unlike an analysis that considers the elements in isolation, GAO's rightsizing framework encourages consideration of a full range of options, along with the security, mission, and cost trade-offs. Policy makers could use this information to decide whether to add, reduce, or change the staff mix at an embassy.
I am pleased to be here today to discuss our ongoing work on rightsizing the U.S. overseas presence. For our purposes, we define rightsizing as aligning the number and location of staff assigned to U.S. embassies1 with foreign policy priorities and security and other constraints. To follow up on our November 2001 report on the executive branch s efforts in this area,2 you asked us to determine what rightsizing actions may be feasible to reduce costs and security vulnerabilities while retaining effectiveness in meeting foreign policy objectives. We reviewed reports, including those of the Accountability Review Boards,3 the Overseas Presence Advisory Panel (OPAP),4 and a State Department-led interagency rightsizing committee,5 and we discussed overseas staffing issues with officials from the State Department, other U.S. agencies operating overseas, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is currently implementing the president s management initiative to rightsize U.S. embassies. We also performed fieldwork at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. We selected this embassy as a case study because it is a large embassy that has been the subject of substantial rightsizing discussions, including recommendations by the former ambassador to France to reduce the number of staff in.
Overseas Presence: Framework for Assessing Embassy Staff Levels Can Support Rightsizing Initiatives