The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

report back to Washington. The Office of Strategic and Performance Planning within the Bureau of Resource Man- agement actively uses GIS to augment performance planning activities as well as strategic planning, and produces numerous map products for a variety of bureaus. In the field, Consulate Chengdu embraced the technology several years ago at the initiative of then-Consul General Jeff Moon, with expert sup- port from the GIU and eDiplomacy Office. The results have been impres- sive. Officers are able to monitor eco- nomic trends, plan and document trav- el within the consular district, and report on various events within the region using GIS tools approved for use on OpenNet. A digital camera with a GPS unit records the precise position of digital images used to depict diplomatic visits and situations of poli- cy interest. These pictures are then linked within the GIS so that, with a click of a mouse button, the image can be viewed along with ancillary docu- mentation, all tied back to a specific location for visual clarity. The con- sulate has also succeeded in using satel- lite imagery imbedded in the GIS as a “base layer” to enhance understanding of the topographic features (and chal- lenges) of the consular district. Similar techniques are employed by Embassy La Paz, where, among other things, a recent science fellow at post created visual documentation on various safe routes in and out of the city for embassy personnel. Recently, IRM’s eDiplomacy office assisted a number of offices in explor- ing the utility of GIS technology in their work. The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs’ Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs created a basic interactive online map derived from Google Maps to provide news feeds and current information pertain- ing to specific countries or regions. The Bureau of Economic and Busi- ness Affairs, working with the eDiplo- macy office and the Bureau of Human Resources, has tested mechanisms to regularly produce GIS products that visually depict various economic indi- cators and trends around the world. For example, how does raising the price of oil a specific amount affect the gross domestic product of countries (e.g., in the Middle East) in terms of gains and losses? It is much easier to grasp the information in visual repre- sentations than shuffling multiple spreadsheets or textual documents; and once the basic template is con- structed, the GIS system allows the user to look at historical data, trends and projections. Survey Reveals Widespread Interest A survey of individuals in the department, conducted in early 2006 by eDiplomacy in collaboration with other offices, revealed that interest in GIS is widespread. Survey results showed that there are numerous issues that could benefit from representation via this technology. Respondents described applications spanning the full range of the department’s strategic interests: crisis monitoring, regular reporting on international economic and political developments, domestic concerns and routine internal adminis- trative and logistical work. Staff from many bureaus and quite a few posts described a wide range of data that they collect, review, analyze and report on, noting that the sources of such data are largely external to the department. Personnel are interested in obtain- ing additional varied data, in fields ranging from economics, narcotics, crime, trafficking, the environment, and consular affairs, to descriptions of U.S. physical assets and the distribu- tion of our human resource expertise across the globe. All those surveyed expressed a keen interest in data that State could make available department wide, such as infrastructure location and integrity, populations, political boundaries and city data. Many respondents lamented the fact that customary reporting is usual- ly text-based, often giving incomplete or confusing information that could be better represented through visual tools. Not surprising, perhaps, the preferred method for reporting is e- mail with attachments or PowerPoint; cables rank lower on the preference list due to their text-only nature. Although there is neither widespread demand nor expectation — and no recommendation by management — employees do realize that trending, analysis and depiction of related but disparate data are best done visually. A number of individuals noted that interactive Web-based materials would be quite useful, in addition to paper products and static digital renditions of maps such as those embedded in a presentation or made available on a Web site. In light of the favorable response from the work force, what will it take to motivate the department as a whole to take advantage of the power of GIS? Many employees already realize the value of using such tools and have expressed as much in the survey responses, in e-mail feedback and the strong positive response to sporadic GIS users’ meetings in the past. Can the department as a whole push its text-based culture to adopt such pro- ductive visual technologies? Or, as retired USIA FSO Wilson Dizard 40 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 We are aware of the power of mapping and visualization systems every time we consult mapquest.com .