Why GAO Did This Study:

Results in Brief

Agencies use a variety of media monitoring and audience research to support daily as well as mid- to long-term communication activities. To support daily communication activities designed to explain U.S. actions and decisions to foreign audiences, U.S. agencies rely on an array of media monitoring products which capture what is being reported about the United States overseas. These daily activities include developing speaking points, tracking and countering misinformation, and gauging the success of outreach efforts. We found no evidence to suggest that agencies suffered from a shortage of media monitoring data. Agencies use research to support thematic outreach initiatives, which use a central theme or message to influence the attitudes or behaviors of target audiences.

While DOD and USAID use extensive program-specific research to design, implement, and evaluate the impact of their thematic communication efforts, State generally does not. For example, 18 posts participating in a State-led pilot country initiative recently developed country-level strategic plans focusing on the broad goal of countering extremism. We reviewed most of these plans and found that they were not supported by the type of program-specific research inherent in the "campaign-style" approach to thematic communication utilized by both DOD and USAID, which stipulates that communication efforts should follow a logical and predictable series of steps.

In June 2007, the Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee released a U.S. National Strategy for Public Diplomacy and Communication to guide and inform U.S. communication efforts led by State. The strategy describes a communication process model that is similar to the campaign-style approach in terms of outlining key steps in the communication process. Formal recognition of this model is a positive development and opens the possibility that State communication staff will begin to adopt a more rigorous approach toward their thematic communication efforts. However, the model remains a suggested tool and does not describe how and to what extent research should be used to support each step in the communication process.

Agencies conducting research do not have systematic processes in place to assess whether they are meeting their users' needs, and efforts to coordinate and share collected information are limited. Agencies generally assess user satisfaction through ad hoc methods and based on anecdotal information, such as conversations with individual users and irregular feedback submitted via e-mail. As a result, these agencies have no assurance that their work meets the needs of most of their users. Agencies rely on several mechanisms to exchange information gathered through their research activities. For example, the OSC shares media monitoring products from multiple agencies on its Web site and provides liaisons to other agencies to promote the sharing and exchange of information and monitoring techniques. In addition, State aggregates its audience polling data on a central Web site available to the interagency community.

Despite these mechanisms, agency officials expressed general concern about the limited sharing of information and coordination across agencies. Government efforts to share and coordinate research data are hampered by the lack of interagency protocols for sharing information, a forum to periodically bring key research staff together to discuss common concerns across all topics of interest, and a clearinghouse for collected information. DOD officials and a new DOD strategic communication plan specifically highlighted the need for evaluating and improving DOD's coordination of media monitoring activities, both within the department and with other U.S. agencies. Major improvements are planned in both these areas.

To help ensure that State's outreach initiatives are informed by targeted research, we recommend that the Secretary of State adopt a research-based "campaign-style" approach to implement thematic communication and provide guidance on using "actionable" research to inform these efforts. To improve the extent to which the government's research efforts meet users' needs, we recommend that State, BBG, DOD, and the OSC implement systematic strategies to assess user needs and satisfaction.

To facilitate the coordination and sharing of collected information within the U.S. government, we recommend that the Secretary of State, with other members of the Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy Policy Coordinating Committee, develop protocols for sharing audience research information, establish a research staff forum, and create a clearinghouse of U.S. government-sponsored research. We also recommend that the Secretary of Defense ensure that planned improvements to DOD's internal and external media monitoring coordination efforts are implemented.

In commenting on a draft of this report, State, DOD, and the BBG generally agreed with our findings and recommendations. State noted certain practical concerns associated with wholesale adoption of the campaign-style approach to thematic communication. The BBG endorsed the need to establish a clearinghouse of U.S. government-sponsored research but added that the Board reserves the right to withhold selected research information meant for internal use only. USAID had no comments. Agency comments are reprinted in appendixes V through VII.

The full report is available online in plain text or Adobe PDF format from the GAO Web site.