The Foreign Service Journal, March 2012

M A R C H 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 I n the latest installment of the State Department’s Tech@State conference series, nearly 300 peo- ple from a range of technology and foreign affairs fields converged at the Kennedy Center on Sept. 22 and 23, 2011, for a discussion of how informa- tion relevant to foreign affairs may best be portrayed visually. Organized by the State Department’s Office of eDiplomacy, the event brought to- gether visualization technologists, so- cial scientists, representatives of nongovernmental organizations and foreign affairs professionals. Kerri-Ann Jones, assistant secretary of State for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs, who holds a Ph.D. in molecular bio- physics and biochemistry, opened the conference by telling the audience this: “From the perspective of a scien- tist, it is important to be able to pres- ent data and findings to public audiences and to our peers. Pictures and charts are, of course, a big help in this. Data visualization is something more [that] is being used effectively in so many arenas already. “It is being used in disaster re- sponse and coordination, strengthen- ing the ability of communities to respond. It is helping information be- come more transparent and accessible to society in general. It is allowing donors to see how their money is being used in projects ranging from disaster relief to climate change. Data visualization shows progress being made, bumps along the road and pledges being fulfilled.” To meet the challenge of using data visualization to achieve greater effec- tiveness in diplomatic work, here are two important questions for the State Department to consider: How do we evolve beyond text-only formats, to be able to see the world in increasingly rich and vivid detail? And how can policymakers process enormous quan- tities of data in meaningful ways to better inform policy decisions? Data Visualization and Foreign Affairs To use smart power to advance U.S. foreign policy interests in a com- plex world, the State Department needs to harness technology to pro- vide greater clarity, detail and focus on a myriad of difficult questions. In other words, State must literally see the world differently. For this to happen, foreign affairs professionals must become comfort- able with new technologies and methodologies in an information envi- ronment characterized by a rapidly in- creasing pace, volume and complexity. Faced with a deluge of information, we must not insulate ourselves from the world, but use technology more effectively to cope with complexity, see subjects in new ways, and find bet- ter solutions to hard problems. The State Department needs to jump, and not timidly, from a reliance on text and documents to an embrace of a much richer media and informa- tion world. It is helpful to realize that the field of knowledge management is built on the idea that information is distilled from raw data, and from information comes knowledge. That knowledge then leads to understanding and is the key element of decision-making. Historically, information was often scarce or inadequate, and the primary challenge was gathering it. Perhaps as a result, we assume that the greater the quantity of accurate information, the better for decision-makers. But too much information, coming too fast, can overwhelm cognition and lead to indecision. As a result, we may not focus on what matters most, may skip analysis, or be tempted to choke How Data Visualization Can Change Diplomacy B Y C HRIS B RONK AND S COTT S MITH S PEAKING O UT To use smart power to advance U.S. foreign policy interests in a complex world, State must literally see the world differently.