The Foreign Service Journal, May 2010

M A Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 15 action, right after investing in people. It states: “Senior department leader- ship need to raise the profile of tech- nology within the State Department and place technology more effectively in the service of business practices. The department must fund technology more consistently across its bureaus.” It continues: “The department should also establish a Technology Center at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center that would serve as a demonstration and instruction facility for technology and new business prac- tices; partner the center with embassies as testbeds for technology innovation; and establish a special fund for tech- nology innovation at posts.” The 2007 report of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Advisory Commis- sion on Transformational Diplomacy lists “Harness 21st-century technology” as one of its key recommendations: “Technology is the key to transforma- tion. The Department of State is a knowledge-based organization, but it has lagged behind in adopting and in- tegrating information technology into its processes and culture. The ultimate success of transformational diplomacy will in large measure depend on the aggressive deployment of IT and the effectiveness with which the depart- ment can acquire, analyze and respond to the global flow of information. Seri- ous IT transformation and consolida- tion is an urgent priority that will require a multiyear effort.” The same issues apply when look- ing at our development assistance. In May 2009, the Brookings Institution’s report “Strengthening America’s Glo- bal Development Partnerships” said: “The U.S. government could establish a global development equivalent to the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. … At a minimum, as the U.S. development agency deepens its technical expertise, it should estab- lish more systematic links and funding relationships with domestic research institutions that are pioneering new technologies for the developing world.” Some Scenarios to Consider So what can technology do for diplo- mats and development professionals that they can’t already do? Here are a few examples. • A Provincial Reconstruction Team leader visiting a village consults a secure handheld device that brings her reports from previous visits by other officials, biographical information about local leaders, and critical real-time informa- tion about local security conditions. When confronted with complaints from officials about a promised project, she instantly taps into a database that pinpoints the exact location of key items being delivered. She can then initiate a purchase of additional materi- als or put new information into the sys- tem, getting a response frommilitary or other officials before the meeting ends. • A new political officer about to meet with the head of a regional party must deliver an unwelcome message. Because his predecessor left post sev- eral weeks ago, the new officer taps into the embassy wiki. This contains bio- graphic material from both State and other sources, links to news articles about the contact, and notes from pre- vious meetings with the individual that provide a detailed picture of the con- tact and how to engage him. It turns out that the contact has had a difficult relationship with the em- bassy, so the officer’s preparation in- cludes time in an internal online community discussion to get advice frommore seasoned officers on how to best manage the situation. Another feature provides the officer with a window into the party leader’s personal and professional network of associates and advisers, revealing that one is the head of a company that does a lot of business with the U.S. and is well known to the embassy. The polit- ical and economic sections schedule meetings with the individual, and work together to help shape the party lead- er’s reaction. • A consular officer makes a trip out to a remote city in her district. Using a secure encrypted laptop and mobile biometric scanners, she is able to ac- cept visa applications from several local contacts, verify the citizenship of an American citizen who has lost his identification and issue him a travel letter, and access both the U.S. and host-country records of a citizen im- prisoned in the local jail before mak- ing a visit. • USAID workers arriving to set up disaster assistance put up a solar-pow- ered, portable generator that obviates the immediate need to tap into stressed local power and fuel supplies. To quickly establish communications with various U.S. agencies, local government officials and nongovernmental organi- zations, they link all the players into their portable universal communica- tions platform. They then get real-time imagery from satellites and unmanned aerial ve- hicles to help pinpoint roads that are passable and validate routes to trans- port relief supplies. This information is shared over the multiactor network they have just established. The common thread in all these sce- narios is freedom. Freedom from hav- ing to reinvent the wheel with each Foreign Service rotation. Freedom to escape the chains that often keep offi- cers at their desk in fortified embassy S P E A K I N G O U T