Report Contents
What OIG Audited
Public-private partnerships (PPP) are collaborative working relationships with nongovernmental partners in which the goals, structure, governance, roles, and responsibilities are mutually determined. According to the Department of State (Department), PPPs are important tools for leveraging private sector resources and expertise to advance the Department’s foreign policy goals. The Department’s Office of Global Partnerships (GP) builds PPPs to advance the Department’s foreign policy priorities. OIG performed this audit to determine whether the Department administered PPPs in accordance with applicable Department policy and guidance. To conduct this audit, OIG reviewed 10 PPPs that were managed by 5 bureaus and offices and covered 7 partnership sectors. In addition, 2 of the 10 PPPs reviewed included 8 associated short-term PPPs.
What OIG Found
For the 10 PPPs reviewed for this audit, OIG found that Department bureaus and offices generally adhered to applicable policies and procedures when evaluating the suitability and necessity of PPPs and conducting due diligence of the nongovernmental partners involved. However, OIG determined that 67 percent of action memoranda reviewed did not include all required elements and 26 percent of action memoranda reviewed were missing one or more required clearances. In addition, OIG found that 2 of 10 PPPs had not undergone the required reapproval process introduced during 2024. OIG also reviewed eight short-term PPPs associated with two PPPs that were not approved in accordance with the Department’s process. Furthermore, OIG found that bureaus and offices did not consistently manage and monitor PPPs in accordance with Department policy and guidance. Lastly, OIG found GP’s PPP database contained incomplete and inaccurate information. These deficiencies occurred, in part, because Department policy did not provide guidance on the documentation bureaus or offices should maintain related to managing and monitoring PPPs. Additionally, the Department lacked guidance on maintaining comprehensive and structured PPP files. Moreover, most bureau personnel whom OIG interviewed for this audit had not taken available PPPrelated training. Finally, the PPP database issues identified were primarily due to insufficient data entry standards. Without improved PPP administration, the Department is not well-positioned to make informed decisions about its PPPs, nor can it ensure that the PPPs are effectively advancing shared objectives, enhancing impact by resource sharing, and achieving mutual goals. In addition, the database issues complicate the oversight of PPPs because incomplete and inaccurate records can obscure the extent to which PPPs are being used, the resources being leveraged from the private sector partnerships, and the full resources being committed to advance U.S. interests.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 13 recommendations to improve the administration of PPPs. On the basis of GP’s response to a draft of this report, OIG considers all 13 recommendations resolved, pending further action. A synopsis of management’s comments to the recommendations offered and OIG’s reply follow each recommendation in the Audit Results section of this report. GP’s response to a draft of this report is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships revise 2 Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) 970, “Public-Private Partnerships,” to include a standardized action memorandum template for public-private partnerships. This template should outline all required elements from 2 FAM 970, which was updated in March 2024, to ensure completeness and consistency. The template should also include instructions for users to provide an explanation if any required element does not apply.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships revise 2 Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) 970, “Public-Private Partnerships,” to specify the conditions in which memoranda of understanding (MOU) are mandatory or optional for public-private partnerships. Given the critical role of MOUs in establishing clear partnership arrangements, responsibilities, and expectations, this revision should also clarify the specific information responsible officials must include in the action memorandum if an MOU is not prepared.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships update and clarify the criteria for what constitutes a partnership requiring approval under 2 Foreign Affairs Manual 970, “Public-Private Partnerships.”
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships enhance existing training related to public-private partnerships (PPP) to include specific examples of Department of State (Department) partnerships that model the differing structures and governance that partnerships can have. At a minimum, the training should clearly explain that the requirements included in 2 Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) 970, “Public-Private Partnerships,” apply to all PPPs, including those for which a Department grantee is an intermediary or a grantee is acting on behalf of the Department in forming the partnership.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships (GP) develop and implement a process to ensure that organizations responsible for public-private partnerships (PPP) approved prior to the 2013 establishment of 2 Foreign Affairs Manual 970, “Public-Private Partnerships,” update documentation to comply with current oversight requirements. Specifically, GP should coordinate with relevant bureaus and offices as appropriate to ensure these PPPs are updated to incorporate all required elements, including due diligence and legal clearances.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships update 2 Foreign Affairs Manual 970, “Public-Private Partnerships,” to include specific requirements for the ongoing management, monitoring, and evaluation of public-private partnerships (PPP). The revision should clearly articulate that monitoring and assessing PPPs is required and outline minimum documentation expectations.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships develop and implement a communication strategy to ensure that relevant bureau personnel are aware of the Foreign Service Institute training—PP440 – Public-Private Partnerships.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships require Foreign Service Institute training—PP440 - Public-Private Partnerships—for all personnel involved with public-private partnerships and update 2 Foreign Affairs Manual 970, “Public-Private Partnerships,” to include the requirement.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships assess its data entry practices for the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) database to determine whether the existing processes ensure that all required fields—such as start date, end date, and key information—are consistently completed during data entry. At a minimum, this review should consider procedural and relevant technical aspects of the PPP database that may affect data completeness.
Following the implementation of Recommendation 9, OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships enhance the Public-Private Partnerships database data entry practices as needed. Enhancements may include introducing additional checks or prompts during data entry to help prevent omissions, improving the overall quality and reliability of the data.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships develop and implement procedures for creating initial records for public-private partnerships (PPP) in the PPP database based on approved action memoranda. This procedure should outline specific steps and responsibilities to ensure the consistent entry of new records to the PPP database.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships develop and implement guidance making all key fields in the Public-Private Partnerships database mandatory, including “Indicators,” “Expected/Actual Results,” and “Lessons Learned,” to help ensure that critical information is consistently captured.
OIG recommends that the Office of Global Partnerships (GP) develop and implement guidance requiring the inclusion of short-term public-private partnerships (PPP) in the PPP database. At a minimum, GP should revise reporting guidance and update the PPP database to support accurate classification and tracking of these partnerships.