Return to search form  

Session Title: Building a Framework for Public Diplomacy Evaluations: Lessons Learned and Best Practices in Public Diplomacy Evaluation

Panel Session 350 to be held in Peale Room on Thursday, November 8, 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM

Sponsored by the International and Cross-cultural Evaluation TIG

Chair(s):

Melinda payday loan  Crowley payday loan ,  United States Department of State,  crowleyml@state.gov

Discussant(s):

Norma payday loan  Fleischman payday loan ,  United States Department of State,  fleischmanns@state.gov

Abstract: This panel discusses three pilot evaluation studies launched in FY'06 by the newly created Public Diplomacy Evaluation Office (PDEO), U.S. Department of State. PDEO combines evaluation staffs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) and the Office of Policy, Planning and Resources in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R/PPR). PDEO promotes opportunities for organizational learning, and a nimble structure to transform recommendations into actionable program improvements. The panel focuses on three projects implemented through PDEO. The first presentation involves the American Corners program, a partnership between U.S. Embassies and foreign host institutions, usually public or university libraries. The second presentation involves the Strategic Media Outreach Performance Assessment (SMOPA), one of several projects that measure and assess the effectiveness of U.S. Embassy public diplomacy. The third presentation focuses on the Mission Activity Tracker (MAT), a global tool for tracking public diplomacy outreach at U.S. Embassies.

Building the Architecture for Evaluating the American Corners Program Globally Melinda payday loan  Crowley payday loan ,  United States Department of State,  crowleyml@state.gov This work describes a seven-month pilot evaluation of the American Corners Program, consisting of survey questionnaire(s), focus groups, case studies, observations and in-person individual interviews. Data collection occurred in Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand. American Corners is a partnership between U.S. Embassies and foreign host institutions, usually public or university libraries. American Corners serve as conduits into American culture, society, and values via book collections, printed and multimedia materials, the Internet, through USG-sponsored speakers and other programming to the general public. This pilot evaluation documents initial American Corners Program outcomes and impacts, best practices and recommendations for program improvement. A retrospective approach assesses the effectiveness of American Corners on each of four major public diplomacy indicators: audience reach, incorporation of U.S.-sponsored information and materials, changes in understanding and perceptions of the United States, and participant satisfaction. A formative component identifies effective practices in developing and managing American Corner sites.

Building a Foundation for Assessing Media Outreach at United States Embassies James payday loan  Alexander payday loan ,  United States Department of State,  alexanderjt@state.gov This presentation addresses the process of establishing a foundation for evaluating the effect of U.S. embassy media outreach activities. The Strategic Media Outreach Performance Assessment (SMOPA) is one of several projects designed to measure and assess the effectiveness of PD. This project addresses three performance measures that focus on identifying measurable improvement in the tone and accuracy of coverage of U.S. policies in foreign media outlets. SMOPA is not a completed project. Yet, the process of building a base for evaluation where none has existed before is instructive. In the case of SMOPA, field trips to several embassies, consultations with local media experts, and a review of relevant literature show the obstacles to assessing the influence of PD programming on host country media presentations. This discovery has necessitated the re-evaluation of the performance measures and a linked, concerted effort to develop tools for assessing a difficult subject matter.

Developing a Global Tool for Tracking Public Diplomacy Outreach at United States Embassies Catalina payday loan  Lemaitre payday loan ,  United States Department of State,  lemaitrecx@state.gov Pressure from OMB, the American public and other stakeholders to demonstrate effectiveness and impact of Public Diplomacy has resulted in increased attention on the systematic measurement of Public Diplomacy activities. The Mission Activity Tracker (MAT) is one of several projects supporting this effort. The MAT system supports the collection of output data for Public Diplomacy (PD) performance measures and baseline information for public diplomacy program evaluation. MAT is a web-based, globally accessible system soon to be available at embassies across the world to monitor local PD activities, summarize information relevant to PD initiatives (e.g. themes, objectives, audience reached, media placements) and generate reports. MAT will be piloted through April and launched globally in May 2006. This presentation addresses the process for developing a system to track, monitor, analyze and report on Public Diplomacy outreach efforts world-wide. Focus will be paid to challenges and lessons learned in developing and piloting the system.