The Foreign Service Journal, October 2009

40 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 9 embassy level and become decen- tralized, with each PAO having greater leeway to design and imple- ment programs in consultation with the country team. In support of this approach, pub- lic affairs officers should be able to direct resources from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in much the same way that they al- ready direct some International In- formation Programs Bureau funding. Just as IIP gives PAOs “I-Bucks” to spend on a variety of programs, it would be highly useful if PAOs had access to “E-Bucks” that would allow them to allocate resources across all ex- change and cultural programs in the way they wish. For example, in Ethiopia two exchange programs had to be cancelled in 2008 and 2009 because of the low return rate of participants (at least half of the participants stayed in the U.S.). Yet those resources could not be redirected to bring more Americans to Ethiopia or to pursue other cultural or edu- cational programs there. Likewise, political developments in a country might well argue for putting all E-Bucks into a large In- ternational Visitors program in one year, while a year later the embassy may want to respond to the estab- lishment of a new university by ar- ranging for a team of American experts and professors who can kick-start curriculum de- velopment. With a combination of significant I-Bucks and E-Bucks, the PAO could design a country-specific strat- egy that would effectively utilize all available resources in support of our foreign policy objectives there. Spend Wisely, Not More We can all agree that many people around the world are helped every year through the generosity of the American F O C U S In conducting exchanges, we should put more emphasis on sending Americans abroad than on bringing foreign participants here.