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Open Recommendations (118 total)

State Department: Additional Actions Needed to Address IT Workforce Challenges

GAO-22-105932
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should direct the Under Secretary for Management to develop a plan, including performance indicators, baselines, milestones, and targets, to monitor the progress of the department's IT recruitment programs and processes. (Recommendation 5)
Open
The Department of State (State) concurred with the recommendation. In February 2024, State noted that a Foreign Service Applicant Tracking system, a system that would enable tracking the department's IT recruitment, would to be implemented no later than mid-2025. State further noted that it is continuing its efforts to educate hiring managers and HR staff on hiring mechanisms available for IT Civil Service positions. However, as of March 2024, the department had not yet provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it had implemented that system for the Foreign Service, developed an evaluation mechanism for the Civil Service, or developed a plan to monitor the progress of the department's IT recruitment programs and processes. To fully implement this recommendation, State will need to provide evidence that it has developed a plan that includes performance indicators, baselines, milestones, and targets, to monitor the progress of the department's IT recruitment programs and processes.

Information Technology: Agencies Need to Fully Implement Key Workforce Planning Activities

GAO-20-129
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the agency fully implements each of the seven key IT workforce planning activities it did not fully implement. (Recommendation 9)
Open – Partially Addressed
In October 2019, we reported that State had not fully implemented 7 of the 8 key IT workforce planning activities. In July 2022, we issued a report on State's IT Workforce (GAO-22-105392). In this report we noted that while the agency had made progress in implementing the seven activities, it had not yet fully implemented them. In September 2023, the agency stated that it was developing an update on its status in addressing the recommendations. However, as of December 2023, we have not received an update. We will continue to monitor the agency's progress to address our recommendation.

Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges

GAO-22-105065
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should establish a time frame for incorporating privacy into an organization-wide risk management strategy that includes a determination of risk tolerance, and develop and document this strategy. (Recommendation 30)
Open
The Department of State concurred with our recommendation and described plans under way to address it. As of March 2024, the department stated it planned to establish a time frame for incorporating privacy into an organization-wide risk management strategy that includes a determination of risk tolerance by April 30, 2024. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred.

Overseas Real Property: Prioritizing Key Assets and Developing a Plan Could Help State Manage Its Estimated $3 Billion Maintenance Backlog

GAO-21-497
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Director of OBO employs models for predicting the outcome of investments, analyzing tradeoffs, and optimizing among competing investments. (Recommendation 5)
Open
State concurred with this recommendation. As of March 2024, State officials said OBO reevaluated the feasibility of implementing a Sustainment Management System that uses predictive lifecycle modelling after completing a pilot for seven facilities. OBO decided to improve its annual facility condition assessment to record more nuanced data, which will enable the bureau to better identify, predict, and execute annual and five-year planning efforts, according to State officials. In February 2023, State officials also said OBO incorporated the lifecycle asset management approach into existing policies and procedures and has started to calculate the total cost of facility ownership through analysis at key lifecycle milestones, including design, construction, operations, and maintenance. We will continue to monitor State's progress on implementing this recommendation.

Overseas Real Property: State Has Not Aligned Natural Hazard Resilience Plans to Staffing Levels

GAO-23-105887
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Director of OBO, following the final staffing and resource decisions based on the agency's fiscal year 2024 appropriations, revisits the Climate Security and Resilience Program plans, including goals and timeframes, and adjusts the plans as appropriate. (Recommendation 1)
Open
State concurred with our recommendation. As of November 2023, agency officials informed us that State is committed to resourcing the Climate Security and Resilience Program (CS&R). They added that in fiscal year 2023, the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) reprogrammed three existing positions to incrementally dedicate staff to the CS&R program that, to-date, operates with borrowed full-time equivalents and fellows. State officials said that they requested eleven positions and $7.8 million in the fiscal year 2024 budget request, combined, for the CS&R and OBO's Energy Program. Officials said that when State receives its fiscal year 2024 appropriation, OBO will review CS&R plans, including goals and timeframes, and adjust the plans as appropriate. In March 2024, State received its fiscal year 2024 appropriations.

Economic and Commercial Diplomacy: State and Commerce Could Build on Efforts to Improve Coordination and Effectiveness

GAO-22-105860
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of State should clarify how Commerce and State will sustain program leadership over the long term, such as with succession planning, in their Memorandum of Understanding for the Partner Post Program. (Recommendation 2)
Open
As of April 2023, we continue to monitor State's actions in response to this recommendation.

Cybersecurity: State Needs to Expeditiously Implement Risk Management and Other Key Practices

GAO-23-107012
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should direct the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security to ensure that State's incident response procedures are tested annually in accordance with department policies. (Recommendation 10)
Open
The State Department concurred with this recommendation. In February 2024, the department stated that its incident response procedures are tested annually with identified improvements added through version updates to its cyber incident response plan. State has not yet provided evidence of its corrective actions. We will continue to monitor the department's progress and update the recommendation's status when we receive evidence of State's corrective actions.

State Department: Additional Actions Needed to Address IT Workforce Challenges

GAO-22-105932
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State The Secretary of State should direct the Under Secretary for Management to ensure that relevant data related to IT recruitment activities are accurate and available to facilitate decision-making and enable the department to monitor and evaluate its performance in meeting its IT human capital goals. (Recommendation 6)
Open
The Department of State (State) concurred with the recommendation. In February 2024, State noted that a Foreign Service Applicant Tracking system, a system that would enable tracking of relevant data on the department's IT recruitment, would to be implemented no later than mid-2025. State further noted that it is continuing its efforts to educate hiring managers and HR staff on hiring mechanisms available for IT Civil Service positions. However, as of March 2024, the department had not yet provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it had implemented that system for the Foreign Service, developed the evaluation mechanism for the Civil Service, or developed a plan to ensure the accuracy and availability of recruitment data to monitor and evaluate State's performance in meeting its human capital goals. To fully implement this recommendation, State will need to provide evidence that it has ensured that relevant data related to IT recruitment activities are accurate and available to facilitate decision-making, and enable the department to monitor and evaluate its performance in meeting State's IT human capital goals.

Refugees: Actions Needed by State Department and DHS to Further Strengthen Applicant Screening Process and Assess Fraud Risks

GAO-17-706
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State To provide reasonable assurance that USRAP applicant fraud prevention and detection controls are adequate and effectively implemented, the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State should conduct regular joint assessments of applicant fraud risk across USRAP.
Open – Partially Addressed
We reported that the Department of State and DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have not jointly assessed applicant fraud risks across the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), consistent with federal internal control standards and leading practices for fraud risk management. Specifically, we reported that although State and USCIS perform a number of fraud risk management activities and have responded to individual instances of applicant fraud in the program, these efforts do not position State and USCIS to assess fraud risks program-wide for USRAP or know if their controls are appropriately targeted to the areas of highest risk in the program. Therefore, we recommended that the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State conduct regular joint assessments of applicant fraud risk across USRAP. The departments concurred with our recommendation. In response, State reported that it will work together with USCIS to conduct joint risk assessments by jointly developing a risk assessment framework. USCIS and State finalized a joint framework in January 2018, which they used to develop the August 2022 USRAP Fraud Risk Profile. This profile (1) examines fraud in the USRAP and assesses the impact, likelihood, and significance of the inherent fraud risks to the program; (2) delineates the specific fraud types that affect the program; (3) identifies elements affecting risk mitigation; (4) examines the suitability of existing fraud controls and prioritizes the residual fraud risk; and (5) outlines additional mitigation initiatives. Further, USCIS reported that it is working to create a plan to regularly conduct fraud risk assessments. Fraud risk assessment timelines related to USRAP are to be included as part of this agency-wide effort, according to officials. These officials stated that they expect to complete the effort by June 2024. To fully address the recommendation, State and USCIS should jointly conduct regular fraud risk assessments across USRAP.

Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges

GAO-22-105065
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of State
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of State should establish a time frames for fully defining and the role of the senior agency official for privacy or other designated privacy official in reviewing and approving system categorizations, overseeing privacy control assessments, and reviewing authorization packages, and document these roles. (Recommendation 31)
Open
The Department of State concurred with our recommendation and described plans under way to address it. As of March 2024, the department stated that it planned to fully define and document these roles by April 30, 2024. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred.
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