The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

before) entering the senior officer ranks. Identifying a Private Host Organization and Funding Leadership for the proposed new interagency seminar might come from a private institution with strong international education interests, such as a university. Georgetown, George Mason, Johns Hopkins, American and George Washington are all obvious candidates. Hosting such a seminar for senior career professionals would be a pres- tigious challenge. It would also offer many opportunities to relate the pro- posed program to other university activities. For example, parts of the seminar could be open to university faculty and graduate students. Vari- ous professors could prepare curricu- lum segments on issues of their spe- cialty, and their interaction with sem- inar participants would be mutually beneficial. Seminar members could be mentors for students doing foreign affairs research and those interested in foreign affairs careers. The primary administrative contri- bution of the host institution would be a secure seminar meeting room and offices for the seminar staff. Only a dean and assistant dean plus one administrative assistant would be needed if the institution’s administra- tive apparatus could handle budget- ing, security and other support func- tions. (It might be desirable if either the dean of the seminar or the assis- tant dean were a university dean or department head, giving only half time to the seminar.) All agencies would be expected to continue the salary and benefits of the officers assigned and to con- tribute speakers and exercise person- nel. In addition, the uniformed ser- vices would be expected to provide transportation for visits to military facilities. To initiate this advanced educa- tion program an initial grant of only $4 million would be required. These funds would finance the first three seminars and about a year of work developing the curriculum and diplomatic exercises before the first seminar convenes. Once a track record of providing educational development of great value is estab- lished, it is envisioned that annual appropriations would be provided by Congress. In the meantime, funding of the startup by a foundation or other NGO would allow the seminar to start quickly. Developing a Core Curriculum During the preparatory year the dean and assistant dean would coor- dinate activities. They would draw on the experience, wisdom and talents of active and retired officials from many agencies and on the experience of participants in earlier senior intera- gency education programs, as well as on the resources of the sponsoring institution. Retired FSOs would be a major resource in developing the overall curriculum, including specific roleplaying exercises and other pro- grams. The program content would encompass the following themes: Current foreign policy issues , with an emphasis on interagency coordination in both policy formula- tion and implementation. National Security Council staff and agency officials would be supplemented by representatives from academia, NGOs, think-tanks, businesses and the media in these presentations. Agency-by-agency familiariza- tion focused on approaches and problems in implementing policies. Leaders from each agency, both poli- tical and career appointees, would describe how they accomplish their missions, how they are organized and something about the culture of the organization. The embassy country team. Retired ambassadors known for inno- vation in maximizing the effectiveness of their team might explain their methods. Roleplaying exercises would give participants practical experience as they play the roles of country team members confronting a series of chal- lenging situations. Military organizations below the Pentagon level , particularly the specialized and regional commanders who bear the primary responsibility for planning and implementing. The commanders-in-chief are particularly important because they interact so closely with the countries in their region and with the U.S. embassies there. The military has substantial capa- bility for designing and running war games that often have a substantial diplomatic component and other facets. It already runs courses for newly promoted general officers; war/diplomatic exercises with such new generals and the members of the proposed seminar would be particu- larly useful for both groups. The seminar would bring together a diverse group of largely civilian offi- cials to join in such games. Development of leadership skills. Significant time should be devoted to analysis of various models and discussion of best practices in interagency leadership, both in terms of policy formulation and implemen- tation. Roleplaying exercises and war/ diplomatic games. Such exercises would give a real-world feel to prob- lems seminar members may face in the future while providing valuable leadership and interagency team- building experience. For example, an exercise based on a global epidemic might be developed drawing on the considerable work already done by 14 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 S P E A K I N G O U T