AFSA appreciates the opportunity to review and comment on the papers defining FAS priorities. We solicited comments from members in an attempt to provide constructive feedback to facilitate the strategic planning and alignment process.

A common thread among the comments received was that the papers were a good start in identifying our priorities but fell short of specifying clear goals and objectives and comprehensive strategies to achieve them. Employees and the agency would benefit from a strategic plan that:

• builds on the exercise conducted last year to identify the agency’s strengths,weaknesses, opportunities and threats;

• sets out core principles, such as results-oriented leadership, collaboration with stakeholders, internal and external communication and innovation;

• clearly defines our vision and mission;

• concisely defines specific long-range goals and objectives that are realistic yet challenging;

• defines strategies to achieve the goals and objectives that cut across functional boundaries and can be easily understood by employees and stakeholders; and,

• contains useful performance measures that help judge whether or not the strategies are achieving the desired results, including results in such key areas as employee development, cost efficiency, customer and stakeholder satisfaction and organizational capability/internal business processes.

Another common thread among the comments received was that human capital should be included as a strategic priority. At the top of the list should be: attracting, developing and retaining top-level talent; creating a comprehensive leadership and development program for FSO’s; developing an integrated performance management and measurement system that provides the right rewards and incentives; and, establishing a structure that supports informed decision-making and drives improvement initiatives.

Additional comments and suggestions received include:

• put more emphasis on the needs of stakeholders and customers;

• better utilize the knowledge and experience of field-based FSO’s and locally engaged staff by developing a process to more fully integrate them into the policy and decision making process;

• conduct a more rigorous thought process to determine the role of both country expertise and market analysis in the agency;

• clarify the specific objectives of and roles of FAS/W and FAS posts in developing country/regional expertise and market intelligence, as both are essentially support functions to help the agency achieve other goals;

• revise the national security paper to emphasize the importance of building alliances with international organizations and the role of FSO’s in developing relationships and conducting diplomacy;

• provide the Congressional Affairs office with success stories by district so they can share this information with Congress on a regular basis;

• create a more systemized approach to monitoring and compliance of trade agreements

• place more emphasis on the agency’s role as a steward of public funds; and,

• clarify the role of FAS posts and FAS/W in connecting buyers and sellers - an important activity of many posts and a service that is likely looked favorably upon by Capital Hill as every company is someone’s constituent.

AFSA believes it is critical that we develop a comprehensive strategic plan before beginning the process of aligning our resources. Alignment is a transformational process that takes us from where we currently are to where we should be. A well-developed strategic plan will help ensure that everyone – managers, employees, and stakeholders - understand where we want to go and how to get there. It will enhance communication with employees and help minimize resistance to change. To achieve strategic alignment, among other things, we need:

• A thorough understanding of the measurable results our programs and activities are intended to achieve. The Administration has made it clear that those agencies that can achieve measurable results will receive funding priority, while those that don’t show results will likely see a budget reduction.

• A mechanism and criteria to ensure that resources (financial and human) are allocated in accordance with the agency’s strategic goals. FAA conducts a thorough and rigorous global review process every year. We need a similar structure in place for our domestic operations that not only allows for more informed resource allocation decisions, but also helps to drive improvement initiatives.

• An integrated performance management and measurement system that is tied to the strategic plan, holds management and employees accountable for achieving results, and provides the right incentives and rewards. While HRD has worked with FAS management to devise such a system, the results achieved to date fall short of these goals.

Given the short deadline for comment, we were only able to solicit input from AFSA members. If given more time, we would be pleased to work constructively with all members of the collective bargaining unit to facilitate the process.

AFSA supports the initiative to rethink our priorities and align our resources and would like to see the process expedited. AFSA would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the strategic planning process and to learn about your views on alignment.