Foreign Assistance:

Actions Needed to Improve Transparency and Quality of Data on ForeignAssistance.gov

GAO-16-768: Published: Aug 24, 2016. Publicly Released: Sep 7, 2016.

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What GAO Found

Since 2013, the Department of State (State) has collected and published quarterly data on ForeignAssistance.gov from 10 agencies that provide the majority of U.S. foreign assistance and more recently has initiated a process to prepare the12 remaining agencies to collect and report data. The 2012 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 12-01 outlined requirements for collecting and publishing data from 22 agencies and designated State as the lead agency for implementing ForeignAssistance.gov.

GAO's survey showed that most of the 10 agencies reporting data for ForeignAssistance.gov identified limitations in their information technology systems and data availability as key impediments in collecting and reporting data, while most of the 12 agencies not yet reporting data identified lack of staff time as a potential key impediment.

GAO found that the data on ForeignAssistance.gov were incomplete and that State was not fully transparent about such limitations on the website. In addition, State has not updated ForeignAssistance.gov with verified annual data to ensure quality. GAO's analysis of fiscal year 2014 data showed that ForeignAssistance.gov did not report over $10 billion in disbursements and about $6 billion in obligations provided by the 10 reporting agencies, compared to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-verified data (see fig.). A 2009 OMB memorandum requires agencies to improve transparency in published information, which includes identifying high-value information not yet available online. However, State, as the publisher of this information, does not provide agencies with guidance to identify data limitations that it can clearly disclose on the website and noted that it relies on agencies to report these. The absence of clear information on data limitations may undermine the goal of ForeignAssistance.gov to improve public knowledge and accountability of U.S. foreign assistance. Moreover, State, as the lead agency, has not updated ForeignAssistance.gov with verified data even though OMB Bulletin No. 12-01 indicates that these data should be updated annually using USAID-verified data. State and USAID officials told GAO that they are unable to update ForeignAssistance.gov with verified data because of differences in their datasets. OMB also noted that a review to assess whether agencies had sufficient internal data quality controls did not take place, although it was required by the bulletin. In the absence of a review or additional guidance to address the quality of the data on ForeignAssistance.gov, data will likely remain incomplete.

Comparison of Foreign Assistance Funding Data Reported by 10 U.S. Agencies and Published on ForeignAssistance.gov and Foreign Aid Explorer, Fiscal Year 2014

Comparison of Foreign Assistance Funding Data Reported by 10 U.S. Agencies and Published on ForeignAssistance.gov and Foreign Aid Explorer, Fiscal Year 2014

Why GAO Did This Study

The overarching goal of ForeignAssistance.gov is to enable a variety of stakeholders—including U.S. citizens, civil society organizations, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, partner countries, and other donors—to research and track U.S. government foreign assistance investments in an accessible and easily understood format.

GAO was asked to review the collection and reporting of ForeignAssistance.gov data. GAO examined (1) State's data collection and publishing process; (2) key impediments, if any, that agencies face in collecting and reporting data to State; and (3) the data published on ForeignAssistance.gov. GAO reviewed agency documents, assessed ForeignAssistance.gov data for completeness by comparing them to USAID's Foreign Aid Explorer data on U.S. foreign assistance for fiscal year 2014, and conducted semistructured interviews with the 22 agencies on their data collection and verification processes. GAO also interviewed OMB officials.

What GAO Recommends

To improve the transparency and quality of the data on ForeignAssistance.gov, State (1) should provide guidance to agencies on identifying data limitations and clearly disclose those limitations on the website; and (2) in consultation with the OMB Director and the USAID Administrator, undertake a review of efforts to ensure data quality and develop guidance on improving the quality of ForeignAssistance.gov data. State, OMB, and USAID concurred with the recommendations.

For more information, contact David B. Gootnick at (202) 512-3149 or GootnickD@gao.gov.

Recommendations for Executive Action

  1. Status: Closed - Implemented

    Comments: State agreed with this recommendation and noted that the agency was already taking steps to implement this recommendation through the development of an "Agency Notes" guide. In June 2016, State issued guidance on how to prepare agency notes published on ForeignAssistance.gov. The guidance states that reporting agencies' notes published should include information on the data source, reporting and limitations, among other things. The guidance also includes a template with examples that agencies can follow. As of June 2017, 10 agencies are using the agency notes template provided by State.

    Recommendation: To improve the transparency of ForeignAssistance.gov, the Secretary of State should provide guidance to agencies to identify data limitations that State can clearly disclose on the website.

    Agency Affected: Department of State

  2. Status: Closed - Implemented

    Priority recommendation

    Comments: State has taken steps to coordinate with OMB and USAID to review efforts on ensuring data quality for ForeignAssistance.gov. Specifically, State officials told us in July 2019 that they assessed the completeness and quality of data for each agency reporting data to ForeignAssistance.gov. This assessment was included in a February 2019 report that State developed with OMB to address requirements in the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016. In this report, State and OMB rated each agency on the basis of the quality and completeness of data they provide for ForeignAssistance.gov, among other things. In September 2019, State officials told us that the ForeignAssistance.gov team was using these data quality assessments to provide additional, targeted support to agencies. For instance, the ForeignAssistance.gov team developed an agency engagement strategy based on quality challenges, data gaps, and level of effort for improvement; and outlined individualized plans for agencies to improve their data. State officials told us that they have also modified other aspects of the data validation process, which has helped identify errors before data are uploaded to the website. For example, the Foreign Assistance.gov team modified a tool they use when validating data from agencies that allows them to find blanks, misspellings, and non-conforming codes early in their data intake process. In addition, State forwards ForeignAssistance.gov data submissions to USAID, which has resulted in several errors being corrected. Additionally, in January 2017 and January 2018, State co-hosted interagency meetings with OMB and USAID to discuss data quality issues and gaps, and reporting requirements. State officials also told us in July 2019 that they coordinate and hold joint meetings with their counterparts at USAID to, among other things, discuss data quality issues facing ForeignAssistance.gov agencies.

    Recommendation: To improve the quality of the data published on ForeignAssistance.gov and help ensure consistency in published information, the Secretary of State should, in consultation with the Director of OMB and the USAID Administrator, undertake a review of the efforts to date on ensuring data quality

    Agency Affected: Department of State

  3. Status: Open

    Priority recommendation

    Comments: As of January 2020, State had taken some steps to coordinate with OMB and USAID to improve the quality of data reported for ForeignAssistance.gov. In January 2020, State officials told GAO that State and USAID have jointly created a plan to consolidate the two federal websites reporting foreign assistance spending--ForeignAssistance.gov (managed by State) and explorer.usaid.gov (managed by USAID). As part of the plan, State and USAID will establish a governance framework that will guide data collection, curation, validation, and visualization for FY 2020 data forward, as well as for any historical data that may need re-validation and correction, according to State officials. Once the plan is finalized, they will send a copy to GAO. GAO will then review this plan to assess if it sufficiently addresses GAO's recommendation.

    Recommendation: To improve the quality of the data published on ForeignAssistance.gov and help ensure consistency in published information, the Secretary of State should, in consultation with the Director of OMB and the USAID Administrator, develop additional guidance that takes into consideration current challenges to updating ForeignAssistance.gov with verified data.

    Agency Affected: Department of State

 

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