U.S. Department of State Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report

communication includes surveys, emails, and department notices as well as participation in focus groups on the learning agenda and the capacity assessment to begin in fall 2020. The Department is also implementing Title 2: Open Government Data Act, and Title 3: Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. Management Challenges: Providing an Independent Statement of the Agency In the 2020 annual statement, the Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) identified the most serious management and performance challenges for the Department. These challenges were identified in the areas of: protection of people and facilities; management and oversight of contracts, grants, and foreign assistance; information security and management; financial and property management; operating in contingency and critical environments; workforce management; and promoting accountability through internal coordination and clear lines of authority. The OIG statement may be found in the Other Information (OI) section of this report (see pages 115-129). In response to the OIG’s recommendations, the Department took a number of corrective actions. Information on management’s assessment of the challenge and a summary of actions taken may also be found in the OI section. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun meets with OSCE Troika, including the current, past, and future Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), in Vienna, Austria, August 27, 2020. Department of State M ore information on the Department’s Program a nd Project Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation P olicy can be found at: https://fam.state.gov/ f am/18fam/18fam030104.html the Department’s deliverables required per the Evidence Act and OMB Memorandum-19-23: learning agenda; capacity assessment; and annual evaluation plan. The Evidence Act implementation activities go hand in hand with the Department’s strategic planning activities, as development of the next Joint Strategic Plan. The stakeholder and leadership input and adoption are key to effective Evidence Act implementation, as well as required by law, the Evidence Act Team first carried out an extensive stakeholder analysis. The Evidence Act Team developed a stakeholder engagement plan to ensure transparent engagement with stakeholders throughout the enterprise, across leadership and working level staff. As part of this plan, the team regularly meets and coordinates with the Performance Improvement Officer, Director of Foreign Assistance, Chief Data Officer, and Statistical Officer as appropriate. In July 2020 focus groups were convened to contribute to the Evidence Act deliverables, as well as strengthen bureaus’ learning agendas. The Evidence Act deliverables will reflect the results of this ongoing engagement. Continued stakeholder 20 | U ni ted S tates D epartment of S tate 2020 A gency F inanci al R eport MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS | PERFORMANCE SUMMARY AND HIGHLIGHTS