State Partnership Program: Improved Oversight, Guidance, and Training Needed for National Guard's Efforts with Foreign Partners
Highlights
What GAO Found
Many State Partnership Program stakeholders, including State Partnership Program Coordinators, Bilateral Affairs Officers, and combatant command officials, cited benefits to the program, but the program lacks a comprehensive oversight framework that includes clear program goals, objectives, and metrics to measure progress against those goals, which limits the Department of Defense’s (DOD) and Congress’ ability to assess whether the program is an effective and efficient use of resources. The benefits described by all stakeholders focused on the program’s contributions to meeting their specific missions, such as building security relationships, providing experience to guardsmen, and supporting combatant commands’ missions. Goals, objectives, and metrics to measure progress are necessary for management oversight, and National Guard Bureau officials told GAO that they recognize the need to update the program’s goals and develop metrics and have initiated efforts in these areas. Officials expect completion of these efforts in summer 2012. Until program goals and metrics are implemented, DOD cannot fully assess or adequately oversee the program.
State Partnership Program activity data are incomplete as well as inconsistent and funding data are incomplete for fiscal years 2007 through 2011; therefore GAO cannot provide complete information on the types and frequency of activities or total funding amounts for those years. GAO found that the multiple data systems used to track program activities and funding are not interoperable and users apply varying methods and definitions to guide data inputs. The terminology used to identify activity types is inconsistent across the combatant commands and the National Guard Bureau. Further, funding data from the National Guard Bureau and the combatant commands were incomplete, and while the National Guard Bureau provided its total spending on the program since 2007, it could not provide information on the cost of individual activities. Although the National Guard Bureau has initiated efforts to improve the accuracy of its own State Partnership Program data, without common agreement with the combatant commands on what types of data need to be tracked and how to define activities, the data cannot be easily reconciled across databases.
The most prominent challenge cited by State Partnership Program stakeholders involved how to fund activities that include U.S. and foreign partner civilian participants. Activities involving civilians, for example, have included subject-matter expert exchanges on military support to civil authorities and maritime border security. Although DOD guidance does not prohibit civilian involvement in activities, many stakeholders have the impression that the U.S. military is not permitted to engage civilians in State Partnership Program activities and some states may have chosen not to conduct any events with civilians due to the perception that it may violate DOD guidance. DOD and the National Guard Bureau are working on developing additional guidance and training in this area. Until these efforts are completed, confusion may continue to exist and hinder the program’s full potential to fulfill National Guard and combatant command missions.
Why GAO Did This Study
The National Guard’s State Partnership Program is a DOD security cooperation program that matches state National Guards with foreign countries to conduct joint activities—including visits between senior military leaders and knowledge sharing in areas such as disaster management—that further U.S. national security goals. The program has partnerships between 52 U.S. state and territory National Guards and 69 countries. In fiscal year 2011, program expenditures were at least $13.2 million. The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act directed GAO to study the program. GAO determined (1) the extent to which State Partnership Program activities are meeting program goals and objectives; (2) the types and frequency of activities and funding levels of the program; and (3) any challenges DOD faces in the program’s implementation. GAO collected written responses to questions from State Partnership Program Coordinators at the state level, Bilateral Affairs Officers at the U.S. embassies in the partner nations, and officials at the combatant commands, reviewed documents, and interviewed DOD officials.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that DOD complete its comprehensive oversight framework for the State Partnership Program, develop guidance to achieve reliable data on the program, and issue guidance and conduct additional training on the appropriate use of funding for program activities, including those involving civilians. DOD concurred with all recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected Sort descending | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To improve the management of the State Partnership Program, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, in coordination with the combatant commands and the embassy country teams, to complete and implement the program's comprehensive oversight framework by using the goals, objectives, and metrics currently being developed as its basis. |
Closed – Not Implemented
In 2012, GAO found that the State Partnership Program lacked a comprehensive oversight framework that includes clear program goals, objectives, and metrics to measure progress against those goals, which limits DOD's and Congress' ability to assess whether the program is an effective and efficient use of resources. In June 2013, officials reported that a State Partnership Program Strategic Plan was developed in 2012 in response to our recommendation, and the plan includes goals and objectives. The final strategic plan was issued in November 2016. However, this plan does not lay out specific goals or metrics for measuring the success of the State Partnership Program, as we had recommended. Therefore, the plan does not implement our recommendation.
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| Department of Defense | To enable oversight and improve the completeness and consistency of data needed to manage the State Partnership Program, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Joint Staff, in coordination with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the combatant commands, and the embassy country teams, to develop guidance for all stakeholders that includes agreed-upon definitions for data fields and rules for maintaining data until the global data system is fully implemented. |
Closed – Implemented
In 2012, GAO found that State Partnership Program activity data were incomplete as well as inconsistent, and funding data were incomplete for fiscal years 2007 through 2011. As a result, GAO could not provide complete information on the types and frequency of activities or total funding amounts for those years. In June 2013, we were told that the National Guard Bureau was developing guidance with standardized terms and definitions to describe and define State Partnership Program events in the ARGOS database and implemented a standardized data entry process. In August 2013, we received documentation of the step-by-step instructions that provide guidance on data entry, including describing and defining events. As a result, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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| Department of Defense | To address concerns about how funds can be used to include civilians in State Partnership Program activities, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, to develop guidance that clarifies how to use funds for civilian participation in the State Partnership Program. |
Closed – Implemented
In 2012, GAO found that the most prominent challenge cited by State Partnership Program stakeholders involved how to fund activities that include U.S. and foreign partner civilian participants. In June 2013, GAO was told that in response to our recommendation, DOD Instruction 5111.20, State Partnership Program, was issued and establishes the use of funds for the program, including guidance on participation of non-DOD personnel. As of July 2016, DOD Instruction 5111.20 had been revised extensively and no longer contains specific language to address the use of funds for activities including civilians. However, as a result of our recommendation, the National Guard Bureau did update its annual program management guidance to address use of funds for activities including civilians. As a result, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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| Department of Defense | To improve program implementation, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to develop additional training for State Partnership Program Coordinators and Bilateral Affairs Officers on the appropriate use of funds for supporting the State Partnership Program, especially in regard to including civilians in program events. |
Closed – Implemented
In 2012, GAO found that the most prominent challenge cited by State Partnership Program stakeholders involved how to fund activities that include U.S. and foreign partner civilian participants. In June 2013, we were told that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau developed some training to convey the standards and rules on the use of funds and will continue to develop more training. In August 2013, we received documentation of the training provided to SPP stakeholders on funding and civilian participation in SPP events. As a result, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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