The Foreign Service Journal, May 2015

18 MAY 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A Strategic Approach to Public Diplomacy BY JOE B . JOHNSON I n Santo Domingo, U.S. Ambassador Raul Yzaguirre believed that educa- tion was the key to economic devel- opment and social stability in the Dominican Republic, and that improve- ment in education required an increase in the country’s budget. So Todd Haskell, the public affairs counselor, developed a strategic plan that included training and support for pro-education groups, a focused social media and traditional media campaign that supported educa- tion, and forward-leaning speeches and articles by Amb. Yzaguirre to endorse the efforts of a civic coalition. The goal was to build political support for a long-ignored constitutional require- ment that 4 percent of national income be devoted to education. Eventually, both major political party presidential can- didates endorsed the concept; and after a closely fought election, the legislature enacted implementing legislation. One commentator called the ambassador’s vocal support a “tipping point” for its passage. In Algiers, Public Affairs Officer Tashawna Bethea used English study to cultivate young leaders throughout Algeria. Her strategy incorporated schol- arships, educational exchange programs Joe B. Johnson teaches courses in public diplomacy at the Foreign Service Institute after a career in the Foreign Service and seven years with CSC, a global information technology and business services company. SPEAKING OUT and an alliance with Berlitz. She also opened the embassy’s Information Resource Center to the public, gaining 1,100 members with cultural events, and proactively engaged with news organi- zations to publicize selected embassy initiatives in country. Ambassador Henry Ensher said Bethea’s work during a three-year assign- ment enhanced the overall political and commercial relationship between the United States and Algeria. There should be no question that these examples demonstrate effective public diplomacy. Yet many in government are dissatisfied with how the global PD enter- prise is measured and evaluated. The Challenge of Measuring PD Work The State Department and its predecessors have been trying various measurement and evaluation techniques for nearly a century. In 2006, the Office of Management and Budget rated public diplomacy field operations as “not per- forming—results not demonstrated.” The first problem, according to OMB, was that there was no “master strategy” to evalu- ate. If you don’t have clear objectives, how can you evaluate performance? In September 2014, the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplo- macy issued a report, “Data-Driven Public Diplomacy,” that analyzed this challenge andmade specific recommendations on how the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors could use research to inform and evaluate PD campaigns and broadcasting programs. The report reviewed major past proj- ects like the “Advancing Public Diplomacy Impact Study,” which a few years ago compared favorability toward the United States among PD program participants to that of nonparticipants in seven countries. It looked to future improvements in Web and social media analytics, and made con- crete recommendations: more research staff and money, exemptions from laws that restrict government surveys and data collection, and systematic data sharing among State and other agencies, notably the Defense Department. The report marks an important step forward, and its recommendations are compelling. However, I think it’s fair to say that the commission’s viewpoint is Washington-centric. In my estimation, one improvement also described and endorsed by the commission outweighs all the others: making public affairs sec- tions more strategic. The heart of public diplomacy resides in U.S. embassies, advancing U.S. inter- ests and improving bilateral relations. Yes, there are important cross-cutting global issues that appeal to multilateral audiences, and they are being addressed in Washington and in the field. But most key decisions are still made in the capitals and major cities of the 189 coun- tries where the United States maintains embassies and consulates. Every mission has a specific list of priorities to protect American security and national interests, and most of those priorities require sup- port from sectors of the national public.