Through 2022, timely contributions to emergency appeals ensure humanitarian international organizations respond rapidly to the urgent needs of refugees and other populations of concern by maintaining the percentage of UNHCR Supplementary Appeals and ICRC Budget Extension Appeals the U.S. commits funding to within three months. By 2022, the United States will increase the timeliness and effectiveness of responses to U.S. government-declared international disasters, responding to 95 percent of disaster declarations within 72 hours and reporting on results. By 2019, the United States will identify and pursue key changes by major implementing partners the U.S. believes are required to improve accountability and effectiveness, and create operational and managerial costs savings in humanitarian responses as outlined in the Grand Bargain. 

ENSURE EFFECTIVENESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER 

Strategic Goal Overview The Federal Government can and should operate more effectively, efficiently, and securely. As such, the Administration will set goals in areas that are critical to improving the Federal Government’s effectiveness, efficiency, cybersecurity, and accountability. This includes taking an evidence-based approach to improving programs and services; reducing the burden of compliance activities; delivering high performing program results and services to citizens and businesses through effective and efficient mission support services; and holding agencies accountable for improving performance. In support of these aims, this goal guides the management of our people, programs, information, and capital assets. It requires pursuing efficiencies at all levels, streamlining the Department of State and USAID’s organizations without undermining their effectiveness; using data-driven analysis for decisions; making risk-based investments in safety and security; diversifying and reorienting the foreign assistance portfolio toward innovation and sustainability; and developing a more flexible, highly skilled workforce. The Department and USAID will optimize operations and resource allocations to execute our diplomatic and development objectives in a secure, strategic, well-coordinated manner. To better serve the mission and employees, as well as achieve operational efficiencies, we will use a range of service delivery models, including outsourcing, shared services, local delivery, and globally managed centers of excellence. We will realize greater returns on investment by using public-private partnerships and more adaptive and flexible procurement mechanisms to complement more traditional models for implementing foreign assistance. The Department and USAID will maintain an agile workforce structure that ensures the agencies have the right people at the right time with the right expertise domestically and abroad. Flexible physical workplaces, stateof-the-art technology and use of cloud technologies will enable secure access to information technology anytime, anywhere. Integrated data platforms will improve knowledge sharing, collaboration and data-driven decision making by leaders and staff. To maintain safe and secure operations, we will continue to assess facilities and numbers of people at all overseas missions, adjusting where needed, and conduct annual reviews of high threat, high risk posts. The Department and USAID consistently seek to maximize taxpayers’ return on investment and improve operational efficiency; one important means is by addressing the management objectives cited in the JSP. Strategies contained in this goal’s management objectives address several of the management and performance challenges identified by the Department and USAID Offices of Inspector General (OIG) in the Department11 and USAID’s12 recent Agency Financial Reports and by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Department and USAID will track progress towards successful completion of strategic objective performance goals across this goal in the Annual Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report.  

Strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of our diplomacy and development investments