Foreign Assistance:
USAID Needs to Improve Its Strategic Planning to Address Current and Future Workforce Needs
GAO-10-496, Jun 30, 2010
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The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) oversees U.S. foreign assistance programs in more than 100 countries. In 2003, GAO recommended that USAID develop a comprehensive workforce planning system to better identify its staffing needs and requirements. Key principles for effective strategic workforce planning are important to an agency's ability to carry out its mission. GAO examined (1) changes in USAID's workforce and program funding since 2004, (2) the extent to which it has developed a strategic workforce plan, (3) the efforts it has taken to implement two key human capital initiatives, and (4) the challenges and constraints that affect its workforce planning and management. To conduct the work, GAO analyzed staffing and program funding data; reviewed documentation related to the agency's workforce planning; and interviewed officials in Washington, D.C., and at six overseas missions selected to obtain an appropriate mix of geographic coverage, programs, and workforce size and composition.
USAID's workforce declined 2.7 percent from 2004 to 2009. While the decline is primarily due to decreases in the number of U.S. and foreign national personal services contractors, these staff continue to comprise the majority of USAID's workforce. Over the same period USAID's program funding increased 92 percent to $17.9 billion. USAID also faces some workforce gaps and vacancies at the six missions visited by GAO. Mission officials cited recruiting difficulties and the need for staff in priority countries, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, as factors contributing to these vacancies. According to mission officials, it is not uncommon for positions to remain vacant for a lengthy period. During this time staff may assume multiple responsibilities and accept additional workload, which present some challenges in the agency's ability to manage and oversee its activities. For example, workforce gaps and heavy workload may limit mission staff's ability to travel to the field to monitor and evaluate the implementation of projects. USAID's 5-year workforce plan for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 discusses the agency's challenges and the steps it has taken and plans to take to strengthen its workforce. However, the plan lacks several key elements that GAO has identified as critical to strategic workforce planning. For example, the plan generally does not include a major portion of USAID's workforce--U.S. and foreign national personal services contractors. In particular, it is not comprehensive in its analysis of workforce and competency gaps and the staffing levels that the agency requires to meet its program needs and goals. USAID has taken actions to implement two key initiatives specified in its workforce plan--a workforce planning model and expansion of its Foreign Service--but it generally lacks documented plans to help ensure they are implemented successfully. For example, USAID implemented the workforce planning model to project its workforce and budgetary needs, but it has not developed plans for providing all missions comprehensive information about the model and its projections to inform missions of how it will affect their workforce planning. In addition, USAID has not fully met its Foreign Service hiring targets nor developed plans for how it will meet its hiring goals, and it has not planned the required overseas training assignments for all new hires to help ensure that missions have the necessary resources and mentors. USAID faces several challenges in its workforce planning and management. First, USAID lacks a sufficiently reliable and comprehensive system to record the number, location, and occupation of its staff. Second, according to mission officials, operating in an uncertain environment with shifting program priorities and funding can make it difficult to ensure that missions have the staff available with the necessary skills when needed. Third, the processes USAID must use to plan for the placement of its overseas staff require coordination with State; however, USAID has not consistently developed and shared its plans for the numbers and specific locations for these assignments. GAO recommends that USAID take several actions to develop more comprehensive workforce plans and improve its workforce data. USAID concurred with GAO's findings and recommendations.
Status Legend:
- Review Pending
- Open
- Closed - implemented
- Closed - not implemented
Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: To improve USAID's capacity to effectively and strategically plan and manage its entire workforce, the Administrator of USAID should develop a documented, comprehensive implementation plan to execute USAID's initiative for the hiring of new Foreign Service officers. The implementation plan should include elements such as time frames, implementation actions, and resource requirements, and specify (1) the steps to be taken to meet the agency's overall hiring goals and its targets for specific occupational categories, and (2) a process for determining the number, location, and time frames for additional newly hired trainee staff assigned to each overseas mission.
Agency Affected: United States Agency for International Development
Status: Open
Comments: USAID concurred with our findings and recommendations and noted that it will incorporate our recommendations into its ongoing plans to improve strategic planning and workforce management in support of the agency?s development and humanitarian programs. USAID provided additional information and observations on implementing our recommendations. For example, USAID stated that it is developing a comprehensive, automated competency management system, which it hopes to have completely operational by fiscal year 2013, as well as implementation plans for overseas staffing requirements. Further, USAID recognizes that reliable staffing data is a pressing need. To this end, USAID stated that its goal is to create an integrated platform to support worldwide workforce analyses, hiring and deployment, and budget formulation. USAID noted that, while this undertaking will take several years to complete, it plans to improve the reliability of the systems currently used to track its workforce data. GAO continues to monitor USAID efforts to implement the recommendations.
Recommendation: To improve USAID's capacity to effectively and strategically plan and manage its entire workforce, the Administrator of USAID should develop a documented implementation plan with time frames to execute the agency's workforce planning model initiative. The plan should include steps to be taken to provide comprehensive information about the model and its projections to all missions to help ensure that the staffing projections are reasonable and that missions are informed of how the model will affect their workforce planning.
Agency Affected: United States Agency for International Development
Status: Open
Comments: USAID concurred with our findings and recommendations and noted that it will incorporate our recommendations into its ongoing plans to improve strategic planning and workforce management in support of the agency?s development and humanitarian programs. USAID provided additional information and observations on implementing our recommendations. For example, USAID stated that it is developing a comprehensive, automated competency management system, which it hopes to have completely operational by fiscal year 2013, as well as implementation plans for overseas staffing requirements. Further, USAID recognizes that reliable staffing data is a pressing need. To this end, USAID stated that its goal is to create an integrated platform to support worldwide workforce analyses, hiring and deployment, and budget formulation. USAID noted that, while this undertaking will take several years to complete, it plans to improve the reliability of the systems currently used to track its workforce data. GAO continues to monitor USAID efforts to implement the recommendations.
Recommendation: To improve USAID's capacity to effectively and strategically plan and manage its entire workforce, the Administrator of USAID should develop a comprehensive workforce plan that takes into account USAID's total workforce, including nondirect-hire staff. The workforce plan should include analysis of overall workforce and competency gaps and the steps the agency plans to take to address these gaps.
Agency Affected: United States Agency for International Development
Status: Open
Comments: USAID concurred with our findings and recommendations and noted that it will incorporate our recommendations into its ongoing plans to improve strategic planning and workforce management in support of the agency?s development and humanitarian programs. USAID provided additional information and observations on implementing our recommendations. For example, USAID stated that it is developing a comprehensive, automated competency management system, which it hopes to have completely operational by fiscal year 2013, as well as implementation plans for overseas staffing requirements. Further, USAID recognizes that reliable staffing data is a pressing need. To this end, USAID stated that its goal is to create an integrated platform to support worldwide workforce analyses, hiring and deployment, and budget formulation. USAID noted that, while this undertaking will take several years to complete, it plans to improve the reliability of the systems currently used to track its workforce data. GAO continues to monitor USAID efforts to implement the recommendations.
Recommendation: To improve USAID's capacity to effectively and strategically plan and manage its entire workforce, the Administrator of USAID should develop a workforce data system to consistently collect, maintain, and analyze sufficiently reliable and up-to-date data on the staff levels of direct hire and nondirect-hire staff, including institutional support contractors.
Agency Affected: United States Agency for International Development
Status: Open
Comments: USAID concurred with our findings and recommendations and noted that it will incorporate our recommendations into its ongoing plans to improve strategic planning and workforce management in support of the agency?s development and humanitarian programs. USAID provided additional information and observations on implementing our recommendations. For example, USAID stated that it is developing a comprehensive, automated competency management system, which it hopes to have completely operational by fiscal year 2013, as well as implementation plans for overseas staffing requirements. Further, USAID recognizes that reliable staffing data is a pressing need. To this end, USAID stated that its goal is to create an integrated platform to support worldwide workforce analyses, hiring and deployment, and budget formulation. USAID noted that, while this undertaking will take several years to complete, it plans to improve the reliability of the systems currently used to track its workforce data. GAO continues to monitor USAID efforts to implement the recommendations.