The Pervasive Role of Science, Technology, and Health in Foreign Policy Imperatives for the Department of State (1999) / Chapter Skim
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3 Broadening and Deepening STH Competence Within the Department of State
3 Broadening and Deepening STH Competence Within the Department of State
Pages 35-47
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From page 35... ...
Such a broadly based appreciation of the relevance of STH developments to foreign policy and the ability to obtain appropriate advice when necessary are preferable to past approaches, which have placed excessive reliance on a relatively small number of STH specialists operating amidst large staffs of FSOs and civil servants with limited STH perspectives. STH-content issues are simply too pervasive to expect that specialists will always be available to recognize or handle them.
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From page 36... ...
The following recommendation addresses one crucial aspect of the mixed generalist-specialist strategy: Recommendation: The Department's leadership should expect all FSOs and other officials of the Department to achieve a minimum level of STH literacy and awareness relevant to foreign policy while stimulating attention to STH throughout the Department by establishing promotion and career incentivesfor successful service in STHrelated positions.7 This recommendation recognizes that the goal of the mixed strategy will be embraced throughout the Department only if STH competence is widely viewed as a career-enhancing asset (i.e., STH-related assignments are recognized as stepping stones to advancement to senior positions within the Department)
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From page 37... ...
Almost all AAAS fellows and some Presidential Management Interns have strong STH competence, although there have been financial limitations on the number of such positions.2 This personnel situation has evolved largely by happenstance. Each senior manager responsible for STH-related activities obviously wants to have the best staff that he or she can assemble.
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From page 38... ...
However, current recruitment procedures remain heavily oriented toward specialists in history, economics, international relations, area studies, and other fields that are normally very distant from STH curricula. The FSO examination does not effectively screen applicants for even a minimum level of STH literacy.
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From page 39... ...
At the same time, the Department's experiment with more flexible entrance procedures is commendable. The current recruitment effort to fill 25 junior FSO positions with civil servants who are already serving within the government will probably include some new entrants with well-developed STH skills.
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From page 40... ...
However, the bureaus seldom encourage these FSOs to maintain and use their competencies over an extended period. Indeed, the committee received reports of FSOs with significant STH competence being discouraged from remaining in STH-related assignments lest they jeopardize their promotion potential.
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From page 41... ...
Therefore, the Department should consider establishing a requirement that each FSO who is en route to a senior position must have experience in addressing STH or other global issues. For example, candidates for Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission positions could be required to have completed an assignment handling global issues prior to selection for the most senior positions.
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From page 42... ...
Training Many aspects of STH-related issues are not easily understood by FSOs who have not had the benefit of scientific or engineering training. Concepts of scientific uncertainty, for example, are often unfamiliar, and factoring such uncertainty into assessments of foreign policy options is not an easy task for even technically trained and politically attuned specialists.
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From page 43... ...
FSI leadership is aware of STH training limitations of the past and is interested in developing a broadened set of offerings, including part-time courses that do not take individuals completely away from their jobs. The STH content of the A-100 course for all new FSOs, the economics training program, the Deputy Chief of Mission preparatory course, and the Senior Seminar for FSOs picked for top-level assignments could easily be expanded and tailored to stimulate greater interest in STH developments as they interrelate to foreign policy.
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From page 44... ...
Appropriate personnel policies are necessary to ensure that civil servants who are particularly well qualified to address STH-related issues also have the opportunity to advance to the senior ranks within the Department and overseas. Meanwhile, a particular problem is that many civil service personnel remain indefinitely in their positions and thus close off potentially attractive assignments for FSOs interested in STH developments, although most FSOs would require training to be able to handle the responsibilities involved.
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From page 45... ...
This authority was very important in attracting specialized skills to address critical technical aspects of important arms control issues, and the authority has recently been transferred to the Department. The Department should broadly utilize as necessary the special hiring authority that has been transferred to it from ACDA to recruit highly qualified specialists, generally for terms of one to four years.
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From page 46... ...
Prompt implementation of the IT five-year plan should also improve the job satisfaction of many young Department employees who have grown up in the information age. Modern IT systems are well suited for facilitating distance learninga useful approach for FSOs, civil servants, and specialized STH staff who have difficulty committing to specific training schedules but who would like to participate in training programs from remote sites (either in formal programs of FSI and other providers or informally through the Internet)
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From page 47... ...
BROADENING AND DEEPENING STH COMPETENCE WITHIN STATE 47 There is no better example of the impact of STH developments on the development and implementation of foreign policy than IT systems. Whether they are used to enhance the internal processes of the Department, to expand outreach to constituencies and information sources around the world, or to offer new opportunities for increasing the skill levels of diplomats and other personnel, they are clearly transforming the art of diplomacy and powerfully affecting the international issues nations must confront.
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