In January of 2009, the U.S. State Department took a bold step to make the administrative side of its global operations more transparent by releasing the "Citizen's Report, Fiscal Year 2008." It is a newly expanded and up-to-date version of the agency's regular, annual report. With a new format, more information, and a new commitment to usability, this latest Citizens' Report represents a dramatically strengthened standard of accountability.



By ensuring that financial data, operating results and performance ratings are more accessible to Congress, the American public, and important interest groups, the Citizen's Report will promote greater understanding of how the many parts of the American diplomatic service operate. In its pages, it reflects the continuing improvement and refinement of goals and policies, and attempts to apply what the State Department has learned in the past to new global challenges.

From diplomacy to immigration

The U.S. has over 250 diplomatic missions in over 160 countries around the world for the State Department to represent American interests, both to sovereign foreign nations and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In addition to the maintenance of diplomatic ties, the State Department supports the political, commercial, and development-oriented activities of numerous other government agencies. Such foreign affairs responsibilities as defining and promoting U.S. policies, administering assistance programs, and combating international crime all fall within the purview of the State department.

One of the most important activities of the State Department is overseeing the laws and regulations involved with international travel, immigration, and citizenship. Teamed with domestic civil servants in the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), American consulates around the globe offer important services and assistance to both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who wish to travel to the U.S. for the purposes of visits, vacations, or immigration.

A new initiative

Keeping this diverse array of activities going smoothly requires excellent management, as well as solid, sincere efforts at strict accountability. Part of the purpose of the Citizen's Report is to inform the public how American diplomats are incorporating the latest, most efficient management practices to make sure that the State Department is fulfilling its mission and working effectively for American citizens - as well as others hoping to become citizens.

With operations in more than 160 nations, it is certainly unacceptable for an effective organization to have that many different ways of doing the same things. Of course, the way the U.S. government conducts an operation in Bolivia can differ markedly from the way it does the same thing in Bahrain. There are different cultural considerations, and sensitivity to these differences is important. However, the State Department decided that it needed to work out a means of measuring operational efficiencies, which led to the development of the Collaborative Management Initiative (CMI). For people dealing with the State Department in a foreign country, particularly those interested in immigration and citizenship, this is the most important component of the Citizens' Report to learn about.

How it works

The CMI was designed to establish specific, standard, and "baseline" operational procedures so that, eventually, measurements of State Department effectiveness made in any country in the world could be compared with any other. This is a goal that will take some time to achieve, but the problem is being solved now within more limited regions. For example, while the CMI cannot yet easily compare what the State Department is doing in a South American nation to its similar operations in Asia, useful comparisons of operating results can be done among nations in the same region, such as Belgium and its neighbor the Netherlands.

In a recent interview, the State Department's Under Secretary for Management, Patrick F. Kennedy, emphasizes the improvements that are already being seen in the issuance of passports. He says his department has "beefed up our capability to issue American passports [and] developed a new passport card." Approximately "the size of a driver's license [the new card] is a proof of your American citizenship," reports Kennedy. Yet not all of the changes are for American citizens only.

Coming to America

Improvement of foreign mission operations has begun with the centralization of some tasks that have been spread, literally, all over the world. These new efficiencies will have a direct impact on the processing of visas, work permits, and other documents for immigrants. "We've also done other things" about streamlining the visa application process, Kennedy continues. "We have moved a number of our backroom functions back from overseas to the United States" for both increased efficiency and added oversight. "So it's a combination of always looking for opportunities to streamline, by reducing overhead, by looking for opportunities to do things in the United States which don't have to be done overseas," says Kennedy.

The State Department wants this information to get out to as many people as possible, including overseas, so it has posted the following statement on numerous government websites and sent it out, as well, in public relations messages: "The State Department's Citizen's Report for Fiscal Year 2008 is available online at the Bureau of Resource Management web site. For more information, visit www.state.gov and click on budget and performance at the bottom of the page."