In addition, the President’s Management Agenda  (PMA) has identified rightsizing as one of the administration’s priorities. A Number of State Bureaus Provide Embassy Support Remotely, with More Efforts Planned

State has a number of overseas regional bureaus that provide management  support remotely in a variety of ways. State’s functional bureaus also  provide remote support. In addition, the Bureau of African Affairs employs staff in Paris to  provide financial support to posts in Africa. In  particular, limits on what management functions non-American staff  perform might limit the extent to which services can be provided remotely. Also,  current funding arrangements for the various regional bureaus and posts  might limit opportunities for remote support to be offered from one region  to another. Finally, a reluctance to change further constrains opportunities  to expand remote support. Providing Support Remotely Offers Potential Advantages, but Cost Analyses and Performance Measures Are Needed

According to State officials, there are several potential advantages to  providing administrative support to posts from remote locations rather  than at individual posts, including potential cost savings, enhanced security  for American personnel, and improved quality of administrative support. However, at the time of our review, State had not conducted analyses of the  cost advantages associated with providing administrative support remotely  rather than at posts and had no systematic performance measures and  feedback mechanisms in place to assess the quality of support provided. For example, in 2002, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, Bahamas, requested a  full-time American financial management officer at post to handle its  financial management workload, according to the post management  officer. Providing Support from an Overseas Regional Center

According to officials in Washington and overseas, potential advantages  also could arise from providing support remotely from a regional service  center overseas. For example, the Deputy Director of the Florida Regional  Center told us that there had been no analysis on how much money has  been saved by serving posts from the Florida center rather than having  management officials at the posts, and he said that such a study would be  useful, not only for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, but also for  other regional bureaus when they consider using regional centers to  provide remote support. Therefore, we recommend that the Secretary of State take the  following three actions:   Identify and analyze the various costs associated with providing support  at individual posts versus at regional service centers in the United States  or overseas;  Develop systematic performance measures and feedback mechanisms  to measure the quality and customer satisfaction of support services  provided remotely; and  Use the cost analyses and feedback on quality and customer satisfaction   inform post management of which services could be offered  remotely, the various costs involved, and the quality of services  offered;  consider ways to improve the quality of remote support, when   determine whether additional posts, including posts that are  requesting new U.S. officer positions in management functions,  might be logical candidates for receiving remote support. GAO Comments

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Why GAO Did This Study

The President has emphasized the importance of safety, efficiency, and accountability in U.S. government staffing overseas by designating the achievement of a rightsized overseas presence as a part of the President's Management Agenda. One of the elements of rightsizing involves relocating certain administrative support functions from overseas posts to the United States or regional centers overseas, which can provide cheaper, safer, or more effective support. This report (1) reviews State's efforts in providing administrative support from remote locations, (2) identifies the challenges it faces in doing so, and (3) outlines the potential advantages and concerns associated with providing support remotely.

What GAO Found

State has a number of regional and domestic offices that provide some management support remotely to overseas posts in areas such as financial management and human resources. For example, State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs provides support to posts in its region through staff based in Florida. State announced in October 2005 it would identify and remove additional functions that do not need to be performed at post and could instead be performed domestically or at regional centers overseas. State faces several challenges in trying to expand its use of remote support. For example, restrictions on what management functions non-American staff can perform might limit the extent to which services can be provided remotely. In addition, current funding arrangements for various regional bureaus and posts might limit opportunities for remote support to be offered from one region to another, while posts' reluctance to change is a further constraint. State is assessing whether certain regulations could be waived or changed and how institutional challenges might be overcome. There are several potential advantages to providing administrative support to posts from remote locations, and several concerns. For example, one U.S.-based officer provides financial management support to multiple overseas posts, eliminating the need for an American financial management officer at each post served, which, according to State, could result in cost savings. Officials at posts we visited reported they were generally satisfied with the level of support and customer service at a regional or domestic service center, though some noted concerns. However, at the time of our review, State had neither analyzed the potential cost savings associated with providing remote support nor systematically assessed the quality of support provided. In addition, many officials in Washington and overseas were unaware of the full breadth of support offered by regional service centers.