The Foreign Service Journal, October 2006

programs — a major dissemination tool for the VOA. When one considers the limited assets available for public diplomacy and the power of voice and image, one begins to question the rationale for their separation. Surely public diplomacy can find ways to integrate and magnify broadcasting while protecting independent news programs. It could start on the Web, through cross-pro- motion links and activities outside the newscasts and news pages. As it stands, that firewall is sealing off an asset costing half a billion dollars per year. Where It All Comes Together: Field Operations Broadcasting, educational exchange and information programs all come together in each embassy’s public affairs section. This is where most dialogue and persua- sion happen. This is also where accountability rests: in order to make the public diplomacy apparatus account- able to Congress and the taxpayer, the 180-plus public affairs sections must account for their contribution to the overall strategic objectives, as well as to their ambas- sadors. And it is here — not in the realm of dissemina- tion of information, but in the realm of internal manage- ment and missing links at the field level — that public diplomacy’s real technology gap lies. Using technology strategically would promote a more unified global effort and would enable measurement so as to evaluate success. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation presents an example of how to do this. In addition to supporting scientific studies and experiments on HIV/AIDS, the Gates program offers grants for the creation of standard criteria to measure success or failure, and for the establishment of a new secure Web site to share all data resulting from the research in real time. Measurement and shared expertise are the two funda- mentals. Today, Washington cannot quantify even the most basic outputs of its embassies. Let’s say the Africa Bureau wants to build support in key regional capitals for a multi- national force deployment. One public affairs objective F O C U S O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 49 Get Your Finances In Line With SDFCU Online You can depend on State Department Federal Credit Union for the ultimate in security and convenience with SDFCU Online banking. This FREE service allows you to access your Credit Union accounts via the Internet anytime, from anywhere in the world. Just go to www.sdfcu.org and click the SDFCU Online logo. You can conduct the following Credit Union business: Transfer funds between accounts Check current account balances View your account history over the last 15 months View check images View and pay your credit card bill online Pay Bills and much more!* See just how easy SDFCU Online is! Visit us at www.sdfcuonline.org and check out the easy demo! If you’re interested in becoming a member of State Department Federal Credit Union, give our Member Service Center a call at 703- 706-5000 , or outside the D.C. Metro area at 800-296-8882 . You can also email us at sdfcu@sdfcu.org . SDFCU Online puts us at your service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever you need us the most. Sign up today! *The Bill Payer service is available at no charge for Capital Club members. Otherwise, there is a low monthly fee of $3.95 for unlimited transactions.