10 FAH-1 H-030
MANAGING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY FINANCIAL RESOURCES
(CT:ASH-6; 11-16-2018)
(Office of Origin: R/PPR)
10 FAH-1 H-031 MANAGING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY FINANCIAL RESOURCES
(CT:ASH-1; 06-21-2017)
One of the most important responsibilities of the PAO is managing public diplomacy financial resources, including the oversight of funds awarded through grants/federal assistance. At a small post, the PAO is directly responsible for the management oversight of PD resources. At a large post, the PAO may assign responsibility for program/resource management and the handling of financial requests on a daily basis to another American officer and/or LE staff member. Whichever way it is handled, the head of the public diplomacy section (PDS) bears ultimate responsibility for the effective and responsible management oversight of all PD resources.
(1) PD financial resources consist of: a budget allocation (.7 funds) that is approved through a budget review process with Washington and allotted to post; an exchanges portfolio (“ECE” funds); representation allowances; and other resources that may vary from post to post. These additional resources may include: Economic Support Funds (ESF), President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA). The PDS may also work with budget resources generated locally, for example through fundraising. The PAO is the approver of ICASS billed services charged to the PD billing code. The PD Funding Matrix in 4 FAH-3 H-160 governs the division between PD and D&CP funding for PD operations.
(2) The PDS has responsibility for maximizing utilization of PD funds and determining the use of PD “discretionary” funding (i.e., funds that are not used to cover fixed costs). However, to ensure good resource management and adequate management controls, it is essential for the PAO or other designated individual to work closely with the Management Section of the Embassy, especially the financial management office. Under 4 FAM/FAH, the Financial Management Officer (FMO) is responsible for account management, allotment control, payments, and the budget planning and reporting process, and has certain legal responsibilities including certification authorities for funds availability and payment.
(3) Training in the effective management of PD resources is available through FSI. It is essential that PAOs and others responsible for management, program oversight and grant authority of PD resources complete this training.
10 FAH-1 H-032 Federal Assistance Awards
(CT:ASH-1; 06-21-2017)
(Authority: U.S. Department of State Federal Assistance Directive, Sub-Chapter 1.D. Roles and Responsibilities).
Federal Assistance (including grants and cooperative agreements) has long played an important role in public diplomacy programs, from grants to partner with local cultural institutions to individual grants to American speakers. PAOs and/or their designees are responsible for executing, monitoring and evaluating those grants.
Posts may generate grants or cooperative agreements (using PD funds) to collaborate with in-country or U.S. organizations on projects. These could include grants to a journalists’ association for journalism training or to an NGO for a seminar on democracy; grants to a museum to host an exhibit of American art; or to a cultural organization to sponsor a concert by American musicians. The following are basic guidelines for PAOs and PDS grants officers in implementing and managing such grants; full guidance on grants and federal assistance is available at A/OPE/FA’s website.
a. Grants officers require warrant authority from A/OPE to sign grants, cooperative agreements, and other federal assistance instruments. This authority cannot be redelegated by the grants officer to any other individual. Therefore, it is advisable for posts to have more than one warranted grants officer to ensure adequate oversight over post’s grants program. (For detailed instructions, see Federal Assistance Directive, dated May 2017, Chapter 1. D. 2.: Grants Officers and Other Signature Authorities. To request new grants warrants, back-up warrants, or level increases, posts should use the online Warrants System.
b. Every post should have at least one grants officer with responsibility for public diplomacy grants and, if possible, an additional public diplomacy grants officer. Grants officers must be direct-hire American staff with a valid organizational need to be authorized by the Department to award federal assistance actions. To qualify to become a grants officer, the officer must complete grants’ training. Grants’ training is offered through the Foreign Service Institute, on-line and at FSI in Arlington, or sometimes at overseas locations. Grants officers need to update their training every three years. See the on-line FSI catalogue on the FSI website for information on course schedules and to register for a course. Information on training is also available on the A/OPE/FA SharePoint site.
c. Grants officers must comply in full with all Department of State regulations pertaining to awards of federal assistance, as found in the most recent U.S. Department of State Federal Assistance Directive (released May 2017, or subsequent updates) and Part 2 Section 200 and 600 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Grants officers with public diplomacy responsibilities should only sign or manage federal assistance awards that have an intrinsic public diplomacy objective in support of mission goals. They should not sign awards for other sections unless those programs have a public diplomacy objective. They are strongly discouraged from signing awards on behalf of other federal agencies.
d. Federal Assistance awards using PD funds (i.e. those funds designated for public diplomacy under the Diplomatic & Consular Program Public Diplomacy [PD .7], or Educational and Cultural Exchange funds [“ECE”]) may only be used for public diplomacy purposes. Public diplomacy statutory authorities do not allow for awards to commercial firms. Public diplomacy awards are administered by the PD Section for programs that are intrinsically focused on engaging with the public and that connect, inform, inspire change, or persuade priority audiences on mission-level strategic goals and objectives. Public diplomacy promotes U.S. foreign policy goals, including mutual understanding between citizens of the U.S. and foreign countries, advances national interests, and enhances national security by engaging with audiences in the public domain. Priority audiences should be clearly identified in the mission’s PD Implementation Plan (PDIP), as should the tools post will use to engage them.
(1) Per current Department guidance, all grants above $25,000 require approval from the appropriate regional bureau, regardless of the amount of the grant officer’s warrant. The approval process is explained in the Federal Assistance Directive, Chapter 3. C.: Regional Bureau Approval. Prior to making an award, a risk assessment must be performed for a potential recipient of federal funds to review the integrity of the organization, past performance, and any other factors of either the organization or the program itself that could affect the outcome of the program. Grants officers must not intentionally divide, or appear to divide, a single award requirement into two or more separate awards to avoid exceeding the single transaction limit assigned to them by their Certificate of Appointment (warrant), competition requirements, Bureau approval level or any other Bureau/post/country-specific requirements. These actions are considered “split grants.”
(2) If a grants officer moves from one post to another (or from Washington to an overseas post), the grants officer must apply for a new post-specific warrant.
(3) Each PD section should also have a minimum of one grants officer representative (GOR). The GOR is designated by the grants officer and has managerial responsibilities for the programmatic and technical aspects of a specific award agreement. A GOR is mandatory for all assistance awards exceeding $100,000. For awards less than or equal to $100,000, it is up to the grants officer to determine if a GOR is necessary. The GOR may be Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) personnel, including While Actually Employed (WAE) staff, LE staff, a personal services contractor or hired under a personnel services agreement. The GOR must have completed A/OPE’s certification requirements. Third-party contractors may not serve as GORs. GORs must fulfill continuing education requirements to maintain their certification every three years.
(4) Training courses for grants officers representatives include PY220, PY222, PY260, PY224 and PY261. Information on additional courses is available on the A/OPE/FA website and the FSI website.