Report Contents
What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the executive direction, policy implementation, operational effectiveness, and resource management of the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 5 recommendations to the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary.
In its comments on the draft report, the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary concurred with all 5 recommendations. OIG considers all 5 recommendations resolved. The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The office’s formal written response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.
What OIG Found
- Frequent turnover in the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary (STAS) leadership positions created challenges for the office.
- STAS advanced U.S. foreign policy in a number of science and technology areas but did not always coordinate or clear its activity within the Department of State and through the interagency policy process.
- The office did not use its Functional Bureau Strategy to facilitate, coordinate, and improve office performance.
- STAS had not coordinated its new Regional Technology Officer program with the existing Regional Environmental Officer program, which also has regional technology policy responsibilities.
- Lack of a clearly defined and Department-approved mandate impeded STAS’s ability to advance science and technology policy in the Department and abroad.
- The office provided the Department with widely valued science and technology expertise through its science fellowship programs but did not have a Contracting Officer’s Representative to properly manage the contracts associated with two fellowship programs.
- Spotlight on Success: STAS successfully worked with other U.S. Government agencies, nongovernmental institutions, academia, and other bureaus and offices within the Department to advance the candidacy of the United States as the new host of the World Data System’s International Program Office.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary should develop and communicate to staff a plan to implement its Functional Bureau Strategy in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary should develop, implement, and train staff on coordination and clearance procedures in accordance with Department guidelines.
The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary, in coordination with the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, should develop procedures that delineate and deconflict the roles and responsibilities of both Regional Technology Officers and Regional Environmental, Science, Technology, and Health Officers in accordance with Department guidelines.
The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary, in coordination with the Offices of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, the Deputy Secretary of State, and the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, should submit a statement of its policy areas of responsibilities in accordance with Department standards.
The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary should nominate a qualified Contracting Officer’s Representative for the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Jefferson Science Fellowship contracts.