Needed: An Inventory of State Department Public Diplomacy Programs

With Ms. Judith McHale leaving her post as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, I have a suggestion for her successor, whoever it may be.

Instead of trying to create yet another vague "roadmap" or "strategic plan" for public diplomacy, initiate a far more concrete, down-to-earth project: have your staff compile an inventory of all the programs currently implemented/funded by the State Department in the area of public diplomacy, organized in two ways (a) alphabetically (b) by subject. Each entry would have links leading to further information about the program.

Such an inventory would include all information, educational, and cultural programs. Right now, the State Department homepage, organized as it is by bureaus (e.g. "Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs"), does not not provide a clear, easily accessible listing of State PD programs.

The new Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs should expect considerable bureaucratic lack of interest, if not opposition, regarding such a simple-sounding project. While in the Foreign Service as Cultural Affairs Officer in Moscow (1998-2001), I tried to compile, with the assistance of my colleagues at post, a list of all the State Department cultural/educational programs pertaining to Russia. To my great regret, I did not succeed, in part because headquarters was too "busy" (or uninterested) to provide the basic information needed for such a list.