2018 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy & International Broadcasting Focus on Fy 2017 Budget Data
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N ON IO PU SS B I L M I C UNITED STATES M O D C I P L Y ADVISORY COMMISSION O R M O A S I C V Y D A ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 2018 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL REPORT ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY & INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING FOCUS ON FY 2017 BUDGET DATA 1 TRANSMITTAL LETTER To the President, Congress, Secretary of State, and the American people: The United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD), authorized pursuant to Public Law 112-239 [Sec.] 1280(a)-(c), hereby submits the 2018 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting Activities. The ACPD is a bipartisan panel created by Congress in 1948 to formulate and recommend policies and programs to carry out the Public Diplomacy (PD) functions vested in U.S. government entities and to appraise the effectiveness of those activities across the globe. The ACPD was reauthorized in December 2016 to complete the Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting Activities, as well as to produce other reports that support more effective efforts to understand, inform, and influence foreign audiences. This document details all reported major PD and international broadcasting activities conducted by the State De- partment and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM, also referred to in this report by its former name, the Broadcasting Board of Governors or the BBG). It is based on data collected from all State Department PD bureaus and offices, the Public Affairs Sections of U.S. missions worldwide, and from all USAGM entities. The 2018 report was researched, verified, and written by ACPD members and staff with continuous input and collaboration from State Department Public Diplomacy and USAGM officials. The information focuses on fiscal year (FY) 2017 actual funds spent and provides a complete accounting of Public Diplomacy and broadcasting activity at the time. Wherever possible, the report also examines FY 2018 planned spending, strategy, and activities, in addition to FY 2019 budget requests. The report reinforces the ACPD’s work over the last four years on research and evaluation for Public Diplomacy and broadcasting, the organizational structure of Public Diplomacy at the Department of State, and the career trajectories and professional development of PD professionals. It also previews an upcoming 2019 special report to be issued by the ACPD on Public Diplomacy efforts to counter state-sponsored disinformation. It is important to note that the State Department transitioned during the reporting period from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Sec- retary of State Mike Pompeo and the position of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs was vacant as of printing. For a portion of the year, the State Department was also undergoing an institutional redesign/impact initiative. Despite these transitions and adjustments, PD priorities, organizational structures, and programming were maintained and executed. We are dedicated to producing a quality, highly vetted document of record each year with our limited annual budget of roughly $434,000 for operation and salary costs for 2.5 fulltime employees. We also welcome the opportunity each year to get a closer view of the many informational, educational, and cultural activities the U.S. government supports worldwide. We greatly admire the commitment and the talent of America’s Public Diplomacy practitioners and international broadcasters and are encouraged by our interactions with lead- ership and staff at both agencies. We hope that by making a number of thoughtful, data-driven recommendations, and by promoting transparency in budgets and spending, we can strengthen Public Diplomacy’s essential role in achieving U.S. foreign policy goals and bolstering America’s national security and prosperity. Respectfully submitted, Sim Farar, Chair (California) Anne Wedner William J. Hybl, Vice Chair (Illinois) (Colorado) UNITED STATES ADVISORY COMMISSION ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 2018 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting Focus on Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Data Edited by: Andrew Loomis, Ph.D. Senior Advisor, Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources, U.S. Department of State Shawn Powers, Ph.D. Chief Strategy Officer (Acting), U.S. Agency for Global Media Jennifer Rahimi Senior Advisor, U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy The views represented herein are those of the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission’s administrative home, the Department of State. 1 INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN Since 1948, the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy has represented the public interest by overseeing the United States government’s international information, media, cultural, and educational exchange programs. The Com- mission is a bipartisan and independent body created by Congress to recommend policies and programs in support of U.S. government efforts to inform and influence foreign publics. It is mandated by law to assess the work of the State Department and to report its findings and recommendations to the President, the Congress, the Secretary of State, and the American people. Commission members are appointed by the President with advice and consent of the Senate. All commissioners are private citizens who represent a cross-section of professional backgrounds. They volunteer their time and share the conviction that public diplomacy is indispensable to the achievement of U.S. national security objectives. For nearly 70 years, Commissioners have applied insight and critical judgment to the activities of government agencies and private sector organizations engaged in public diplomacy. ACPD Commissioners have contributed to building public diplomacy institutions in the years after World War II, the evolution of America’s public diplomacy throughout the Cold War, the integration of public diplomacy into the State Department’s mission and organizational culture, and recently, charting a course toward a more integrated, synchronous, and strategically-oriented public diplomacy apparatus. Throughout, Congress has recognized that the Commission’s effectiveness as an advisory body depends on its independence, continuity, genuine bipartisanship, and broad professional composition. We believe the Commission’s role today is more crucial than ever. The importance of international communications efforts continues to grow, as does the complexity of media landscapes and the sophistication of foreign audiences. The public component of America’s diplomacy—that is, explaining U.S. policies, communicating ideas, sharing our diverse and historic national experiences, and engaging foreign communities through collaboration and exchange—is increas- ingly central to the effectiveness its foreign policies. The Commission plays a pivotal role in improving the effective- ness, coordination, innovation, and efficiencies across the Public Diplomacy family. We offer the findings and recommendations in this report in the hope that Congress and those charged with the con- duct of Public Diplomacy will benefit from them. As private citizens, we believe oversight and evaluation contribute to sound Public Diplomacy and an enhanced appreciation by the American people of its necessity and importance. Sincerely yours, Sim Farar, Chair William J. Hybl, Vice Chair (California) (Colorado) 2 U.S. ADVISORY COMMISSION ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) is grateful to State Department and U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) leadership who helped us with the collection of strategy documents, budget data, and program descrip- tions. We are thankful to the State Department’s Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs for its support of the ACPD. We must acknowledge the assistance received from the leadership of the Office of Policy, Plan- ning, and Resources, who helped us access vital information. This leadership includes, but is not limited to, Brian Heath, Amy Grier, Carol Keith, Andrew Loomis, Emilie Bruchon, Anita Ghildyal, Paul Kruchoski, and Rekio Benton. Without the direction and skill of Andrew Loomis in particular, who dedicated countless hours to the report’s production, this publi- cation would not have been possible. Many thanks also to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ leadership team, including Assistant Secretary Marie Royce, Ambassador Jennifer Galt, Alyson Grunder, Rick Ruth, Stephen Guice, and Ed- ward Kemp. The Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), under the leadership of Senior Bureau Official Nicole Chulick, continued its support of the ACPD, with special thanks to Alexis Sullivan, Virginia Blakeman, Marina Mansour, and the Bureau’s staff assistants. We thank Assistant Secretary Michelle Giuda, Susan Stevenson, Jennifer Schaming, and the team at the Bureau of Public Affairs. We are also grateful to Acting Coordinator Daniel Kimmage, Jonathan Henick, and Adele Ruppe at the Global Engagement Center for collaborating with us on research and reporting. Thank you to Bruce Wharton, Shawn Powers, Jonathan Henick, Will Stevens, and Elizabeth Fitzsimmons for their thought-provoking contri- butions to the ACPD report. University of Southern California Fellow Robert Dunbar and IIP’s Oliver Mertz, in particular, went above and beyond, providing assistance to finalize this report’s layout and design on a tight deadline. Oliver’s exper- tise and determination were indispensable to the completion of