United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Report to the Ranking Minority 

Member, Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

House of Representatives 

FOREIGN 

ASSISTANCE 

Actions Needed to 

Better Assess the 

Impact of Agencies’ 

Marking and 

Publicizing Efforts 

March 2007 

 

GAO-07-277 
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

March 2007

FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

Actions Needed to Better Assess the 

Impact of Agencies’ Marking and 

Publicizing Efforts 

Highlights of GAO-07-277, a report to the 

Ranking Minority Member, Committee on 

Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives

The negative perceptions of the 

United States associated with U.S. 

foreign policy initiatives have

underscored the importance of the 

United States presenting a

complete portrayal of the benefits

that many in the world derive from 

U.S. foreign assistance efforts. 

Congress has expressed concerns

that the United States has 

frequently understated or not 

publicized information about its 

foreign assistance programs. As 

requested, this report (1) describes

the policies, regulations, and 

guidelines that agencies have

established to mark and publicize

foreign assistance; (2) describes 

how State, USAID, and other 

agencies mark and publicize 

foreign assistance; and (3) 

identifies key challenges that

agencies face in marking and 

publicizing foreign assistance. 

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the

Secretary of State, in consultation 

with other U.S. executive agencies, 

(1) develop a strategy, which 

appropriately utilizes techniques

such as surveys, to better assess 

the impact of U.S. marking and

publicity programs on public

awareness, and (2) establish 

interagency agreements to 

facilitate implementation of 

governmentwide guidance for 

marking and publicizing U.S. 

foreign assistance. State provided

comments and concurred with the 

report’s recommendations. 

Most of the agencies we reviewed involved in foreign assistance activities 

have established some marking and publicity requirements in policies, 

regulations, or guidelines. USAID has the most detailed policies and 

regulations relating to marking and publicity. USAID has also established a 

network of communications specialists at its missions to publicize its 

assistance efforts and has issued communications guidelines to promote that

assistance. According to State officials, its policy is to allow its program 

managers and ambassadors to use their discretion when determining which 

programs and activities to mark or publicize. USDA, DOD, HHS, Treasury, 

and MCC have also established some policies for marking and publicizing 

assistance, though these policies vary in their level of formality and detail. 

To increase awareness of U.S. assistance abroad, key agencies that we 

reviewed used various methods to mark and publicize some of their 

activities and exercised flexibility in deciding when it was appropriate to do 

so. These agencies used different methods of marking, or visibly 

acknowledging, their assistance. In addition, agencies generally used 

embassy public affairs offices for publicizing, information about the source 

of their assistance and, in some cases, augmented these efforts with their 

own publicity methods. 

We identified some challenges to marking and publicizing U.S. foreign 

assistance, including the lack of (1) a strategy for assessing the impact of 

marking and publicity efforts on increasing the awareness of U.S. foreign 

assistance and (2) governmentwide guidance for marking and publicizing 

U.S. foreign assistance. First, although some agencies conduct surveys in 

recipient countries that primarily capture information on public opinion of 

the United States, little reliable work has been done to assess the impact of 

U.S. assistance on foreign citizens’ awareness of the source of U.S. provided 

assistance. Second, while the newly appointed Director of Foreign 

Assistance has begun to address the issue of developing a governmentwide 

policy for marking and publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance, it is unclear to 

what extent this policy will be implemented by agencies whose foreign 

assistance programs are not under DFA’s direct authority. 

USAID Marking of Health Clinic in Indonesia 

Source: GAO.

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-277.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Jess T. Ford at 

(202) 512-4268 or fordj@gao.gov.
Contents 

Letter 1

Results in Brief 3

Background 5

Most Agencies Have Marking and Publicizing Policies, Regulations, 

and Guidelines 7 

Foreign Assistance Marking Efforts and Publicity Have Varied 12 

Challenges to Marking and Publicizing May Result in Missed 

Opportunities to Increase Public Awareness of U.S. Foreign 

Assistance 26

Conclusions 30

Recommendations for Executive Action 31 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 31 

Appendix I Scope and Methodology 33 

Appendix II Key Marking and Publicity Practices Used in the 

Public Sector 36 

Appendix III Other Governments’ Donor Organizations and the 

GTZ Marking and Publicity Practices 37 

Appendix IV Statutes, Policies, Regulations, and Guidance for 

Marking or Publicizing Foreign Assistance 41 

Appendix V Comments from the Department of State 43 

Appendix VI GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 46

Table 

Table 1: Key Agencies That Provide and Manage the Majority of 

Foreign Assistance 6 

Page i GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Figures 

Figure 1: Changes of USAID’s Brand 13 

Figure 2: USAID Sign with New USAID Brand at a Health Clinic in 

Indonesia 14

Figure 3: MEPI Logos 15 

Figure 4: State Marking at Peruvian Police Training Academy 16 

Figure 5: U.S. Embassy/Serbia-Developed Flag Logo Marks an 

Environmental Project 17 

Figure 6: USDA Food Aid Marking 18 

Figure 7: DOD Marking of Humanitarian Daily Rations 19 

Figure 8: DOD Marking of School Constructed in South Africa 20 

Figure 9: HHS Marking of Talking Book in Afghanistan 21 

Figure 10: Logos of Other Governments’ Donor Organizations and 

the GTZ 38 

Page ii GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Abbreviations 

AusAID Australian Government’s Overseas Aid Program 

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency 

DFA Director of Foreign Assistance 

DFID Department for International Development 

DOD Department of Defense 

EU European Union 

FAA Foreign Assistance Act 

GTZ German Agency for Technical Cooperation 

HHS Department of Health and Human Services 

ICEIDA Icelandic International Development Agency 

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency 

MCC Millennium Challenge Corporation 

MEPI Middle East Partnership Initiative 

NGO Nongovernmental Organization 

OTA Office of Technical Assistance 

PEPFAR President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development 

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture 

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Page iii GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

March 12, 2007 

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

House of Representatives 

Dear Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen:

The negative perceptions of the United States, associated with U.S. foreign 

policy initiatives, have underscored the importance of the United States 

presenting a complete portrayal of the benefits that many countries in the 

world derive from U.S. foreign assistance efforts. A recent worldwide 

survey by the Pew Research Center1

 and our reports have noted that 

negative perceptions of the United States increased2

 in recent years in 

response to U.S. foreign policy initiatives, particularly in the Middle East. 

The United States is one of the largest donors of foreign assistance to 

countries around the world; however, many of the recipients of this aid are 

unaware that it is provided by the United States. In fiscal year 2005, the 

United States provided about $20 billion in humanitarian and development 

assistance throughout the world to, among other things, relieve suffering,

educate children, feed the hungry, promote economic opportunity, and 

support democracy and human rights. Congress has expressed concerns 

that the United States has frequently understated or not publicized 

information about its foreign assistance programs and, as a result, the 

generosity of the people of the United States has not been fully understood 

abroad. 

 1

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, America’s Image Slips, but Allies

Share U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas, Pew Global Attitudes Project (June 13, 2006). 

Pew interviewed 16,710 people in Great Britain, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, 

Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the United States 

from March 31 through May 14, 2006. 

2

GAO, U.S. Public Diplomacy: State Department Efforts Lack Certain Communication 

Elements and Face Persistent Challenges, GAO-06-707T (Washington, D.C.: May 3, 2006).

GAO, U.S. Public Diplomacy: State Department Efforts to Engage Muslim Audiences 

Lack Certain Communication Elements and Face Significant Challenges, GAO-06-535 

(Washington, D.C.: May 3, 2006). 

Page 1 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
According to the United States Agency for International Development 

(USAID), marking of foreign assistance refers to using methods such as 

applying graphic identities or logos to program materials or project 

signage to visibly acknowledge contributors and identify organizations 

supporting the work. Publicity of assistance is the dissemination of 

information about assistance to generate interest and create positive 

perceptions in citizens of foreign countries. Marking and publicity are 

complementary communication tools, but with different goals. Marking 

can raise the awareness about the source of assistance with individuals 

who come in contact with the assistance sites or materials, whereas 

publicity can potentially communicate more detailed information about 

assistance to broader audiences. 

As requested, this report focuses on the efforts of key U.S. agencies3

 to 

mark or publicize U.S. foreign assistance. It (1) describes the policies, 

regulations, and guidelines that agencies have established to mark and 

publicize foreign assistance; (2) describes how the Department of State 

(State), USAID, and other agencies mark and publicize foreign assistance; 

and (3) identifies key challenges that agencies face in marking and 

publicizing foreign assistance. In addition, as requested, we describe 

selected public sector and foreign government organizations’ marking and 

publicity practices. 

To meet these objectives, we reviewed legislation forming the statutory 

basis for marking and publicizing assistance, and obtained and analyzed

related agency documents. We also met with representatives from USAID,

the Departments of State, Agriculture (USDA), Defense (DOD), Health and 

Human Services (HHS), Justice, the Treasury, and Millennium Challenge 

Corporation (MCC). In addition, we met with representatives of 

nongovernmental organizations, host governments, international 

assistance organizations, and with executives working in the advertising 

industry. We conducted fieldwork in Washington, D.C.; New York City; 

Indonesia; Liberia; Montenegro;4

 Peru; Serbia; and South Africa. In this 

review, we excluded the following foreign assistance: contributions to 

 3

Key executive branch agencies that administer foreign assistance are USAID and the

Departments of State, Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, and the 

Treasury, as well as the Millennium Challenge Corporation. 

4

Our fieldwork in Montenegro and Serbia occurred shortly after the May 21, 2006, 

Montenegro referendum on independence from Serbia that resulted in Montenegro’s

separation from Serbia. However, since this event was so recent, the conditions we

reviewed essentially reflected prereferendum conditions. 

Page 2 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
multilateral organizations, military assistance that is related to acquisition 

of U.S. military equipment and training, programs related to peacekeeping 

operations, antiterrorism programs, and programs related to weapons 

proliferation. We also excluded foreign assistance programs that provide 

economic support payments to Middle East countries. 

We conducted our work from December 2005 through January 2007 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Appendix I contains a more detailed description on our scope and 

methodology. Appendixes II and III contain information on public sector 

and other donor key marking and publicizing practices. 

Most agencies we reviewed that are involved in foreign assistance 

activities have established some marking and publicity requirements in 

policies, regulations, or guidelines. USAID, which has the most detailed 

policies and regulations, requires that the agency and its implementers 

ensure that all programs, projects, activities, public communications, and 

commodities be marked, except where waivers or presumptive exceptions 

are granted. USAID also has established a network of communications 

specialists at USAID missions worldwide to publicize the agency’s 

assistance efforts and has issued communications guidelines to promote

that assistance. State has not established agencywide assistance marking

or publicity requirements; but, according to State officials, the 

department’s policy is to allow its program managers and ambassadors to 

use their discretion when determining which programs and activities 

should be marked or publicized. USDA, DOD, HHS, Treasury, and MCC 

also have established some policies for marking and publicizing foreign 

assistance, though these policies vary in their level of formality and detail.

Results in Brief 

To increase awareness of U.S. assistance abroad, key agencies that we 

reviewed used various methods to mark and to publicize some of their 

activities and exercised flexibility in deciding when it was appropriate to 

do so. These agencies used different methods of marking, or visibly 

acknowledging, their assistance, including applying graphic identities or 

logos on such things as publications and project signage. In addition, 

agencies generally used embassy public affairs offices for publicizing or 

disseminating information about the source of their assistance and, in

some cases, augmented these efforts with their own publicity methods. 

USAID has developed the most extensive and formalized requirements for 

marking its assistance, and its identifying mark communicates that the 

agency is a U.S. entity and identifies the American people as the source of

the foreign assistance. Other agencies’ marking efforts are not as extensive

Page 3 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
or as formalized as those of USAID. For example, State’s Middle East 

Partnership Initiative (MEPI) developed two versions of a logo; however, 

State did not specify which logo implementing organizations should use—

which, at times, created confusion with project implementers regarding 

the appropriate use of the MEPI logo. Further, in the countries we visited, 

we saw various marks used by agencies to identify U.S. foreign 

assistance—such as the use of the U.S. flag in combination with host 

country flags as well as program logos. Only USAID and Treasury’s Office 

of Technical Assistance (OTA) have established a process for determining 

when marking requirements can be modified or suspended to allow for 

differences in the nature of foreign assistance projects and special 

circumstances that could include safety and security concerns. Embassy 

public affairs offices are responsible for publicizing activities of all U.S. 

agencies, through press releases, Web sites, speeches by U.S. officials, and 

other means. These efforts are augmented by other agencies efforts, such 

as USAID—which has established a global network of communications 

specialists to publicize its programs, while DOD public affairs staff 

publicize information about some DOD activities, such as tsunami relief 

assistance. 

We identified some challenges to marking and publicizing U.S. foreign 

assistance, including the lack of (1) a strategy for assessing the impact of 

marking and publicity efforts on increasing the awareness of U.S. foreign 

assistance and (2) governmentwide guidance for marking and publicizing 

U.S. foreign assistance. First, although some agencies conduct surveys in

recipient countries that primarily capture information on public opinion of

the United States, little reliable work has been done to assess the impact 

of U.S. assistance on foreign citizens’ awareness concerning the source of

the assistance. For example, although State’s Bureau of Intelligence and 

Research conducts approximately 120 surveys per year in about 80 

countries, according to a State official, these surveys focus on tracking 

trends in the foreign public’s perception of the United States to serve U.S. 

public diplomacy efforts and do not assess public awareness of U.S. 

foreign assistance activities or the effectiveness of those activities. 

Second, we found that USAID missions, federal agencies, and presidential

initiatives providing assistance overseas have not received clear and 

consistent direction on marking and publicizing U.S. foreign assistance. 

For example, of the five countries we visited, the embassy strategic 

planning document of three countries—the Mission Performance Plan—

did not identify increasing awareness of U.S. assistance as part of the 

country strategy, nor did any of the embassies receive specific guidance on

this issue. While the newly appointed Director of Foreign Assistance 

(DFA) has begun to address the issue of developing a governmentwide 

Page 4 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
policy for marking and publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance, it is unclear 

to what extent this policy will be implemented by agencies whose foreign 

assistance programs are not under DFA’s direct authority. 

We are making two recommendations to the Secretary of State to enhance

efforts to mark and publicize U.S. assistance. Specifically, we recommend 

that the Secretary of State work in conjunction with other executive 

agencies to (1) develop a strategy, which appropriately utilizes techniques 

such as surveys and focus groups, to better assess the impact of U.S. 

marking and publicity programs and activities on public awareness and (2) 

establish interagency agreements to facilitate implementation of State’s 

planned governmentwide guidance for marking and publicizing U.S. 

foreign assistance. 

We received written comments on a draft of this report from State (see 

app. V) indicating that it concurred with our recommendations. We also 

received technical comments on this draft from USAID, State, DOD, and 

MCC, which we incorporated where appropriate.

For the purposes of this report, foreign assistance is any tangible or 

intangible item provided by the U.S. government to a foreign country or 

international organization, including but not limited to any training, 

service, or technical advice; any item of real, personal, or mixed property;

any agricultural commodity, U.S. dollars, and any currencies of any foreign 

country that are owned by the U.S. government. Foreign assistance has 

grown in complexity in recent years as the United States, through the 

efforts of a wide spectrum of U.S. agencies, has used foreign aid to address 

transforming events such as the end of the Cold War; the terrorist attacks 

of September 11, 2001; and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This report focuses on 

bilateral foreign assistance5

 that includes development foreign assistance 

programs to promote sustainable economic progress and stability; 

economic foreign assistance in support of U.S. political and security goals;

and humanitarian foreign assistance, which primarily addresses immediate 

humanitarian emergencies. 

Background 

 5

In this review, we excluded contributions to multilateral organizations, military assistance 

that is related to acquisition of U.S. military equipment and training, programs related to 

peacekeeping operations, antiterrorism programs, and programs related to weapons 

proliferation. We also excluded foreign assistance programs that provide economic support

payments to Middle East countries. 

Page 5 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Table 1: Key Agencies That Provide and Manage the Majority of Foreign Assistance 

Agency Description of foreign assistance related activities 

USAID Implements the largest portion of bilateral development and, with State, economic foreign assistance programs, 

including technical assistance and capacity building, training and scholarships, food aid and disaster relief, 

infrastructure construction, and small enterprise loans. 

State Administers economic and humanitarian foreign assistance programs such as narcotics control, international law 

enforcement, and refugee relief. State implements some of its foreign assistance programs through other agencies 

such as USAID, HHS, and Justice. Further, the U.S. ambassador, as chief of mission, has authority over all U.S. 

government activities in a foreign country. 

Agriculture USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service provides U.S. agricultural commodities to assist millions of people in needy 

countries through direct donations and concessional programs. 

DOD Provides deployments of U.S. military personnel to plan, oversee, and conduct specific humanitarian projects and 

activities including assistance to host nation civilian authorities in disaster preparedness, mitigation and response, 

such as search and rescue and provision of humanitarian daily rations. Also provides training in identification, 

removal techniques, safety, and education in awareness and risk of explosive remnants of war. Additional 

assistance includes the donation of nonlethal excess DOD property and other relief supplies to nations in need, 

transportation of privately donated relief materials, and training and material assistance to host nations’ HIV/AIDS 

and Avian Influenza prevention programs. 

HHS Several offices conduct assistance programs and activities abroad supporting activities such as the President’s 

Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and promotes global health in many areas, including providing training to 

health specialists in epidemiology, surveillance, U.S. regulatory requirements, and management. 

Justice Implements training and technical assistance programs, funded primarily by State, that include law enforcement, 

prosecutorial development, international narcotics control, and financial crimes. 

Treasury OTA provides financial advice around the world, primarily through advisors who work directly with foreign 

government officials to support their efforts to improve their financial systems. 

MCC Provides foreign assistance to developing nations with a demonstrated commitment to political, economic, and social

reforms. 

Sources: The Departments of Agriculture, Defense, HHS, Justice, State, and the Treasury; USAID and MCC.

Provisions in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA), and 

Public Law 480 (P. L. 480), are the statutory basis for existing regulations 

and policies for marking and publicizing most U.S. foreign assistance. 

Specifically, Section 641 of the FAA provides that “programs under this 

Act shall be identified appropriately overseas as ‘American Aid.’ “ Section

202 of P.L. 480 requires that, to the extent practicable, commodities 

provided under that act be clearly identified with appropriate markings in 

the local language as being furnished by “the people of the United States.”

In addition, section 403(f) of P.L. 480 requires that foreign countries and 

private entities receiving P.L. 480 commodities will widely publicize “to 

the extent practicable” in the media that the commodities are provided 

“through the friendship of the American people as food for peace.” 

However, a major foreign assistance agency, the Millennium Challenge 

Corporation, which is authorized and funded under legislation other than

the FAA or P.L. 480, is not subject to explicit statutory marking or 

publicity requirements. The 2004 Intelligence Reform Act, in establishing 

Page 6 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
broad public diplomacy responsibilities for the Department of State, 

assigned State a coordination role regarding marking and publicizing U.S.

foreign assistance and called for closer cooperation between State and 

USAID in these efforts. Appendix IV provides more detailed information 

on the statutory provisions and agencies’ policies, regulations, and 

guidelines for marking and publicizing U.S. foreign assistance. 

To better coordinate U.S. foreign assistance activities, the Secretary of 

State appointed a DFA in January 2006, who is charged with directing the 

transformation of the U.S. government approach to foreign assistance. The 

DFA serves concurrently as USAID Administrator, ensuring that foreign 

assistance is used as effectively as possible to meet broad foreign policy 

objectives. The DFA: 

• Has authority over all USAID and most State foreign assistance funding 

and programs, with continued participation in program planning, 

implementation, and oversight conducted by the various bureaus and 

offices within State and USAID, as part of the integrated interagency

planning, coordination, and implementation mechanisms; 

• Develops a coordinated U.S. government foreign assistance strategy, 

including multiyear country specific assistance strategies and annual 

country-specific assistance operational plans; 

• Creates and directs consolidated policy, planning, budget, and

implementation mechanisms and staff functions required to provide 

overarching leadership to foreign assistance; and

• Provides guidance to foreign assistance delivered through other agencies 

and entities of the U.S. government, including the MCC and the Office of 

the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. 

Most of the agencies we reviewed involved in foreign assistance activities 

have established some marking policies, regulations, and guidelines. 

USAID has established the most detailed policies, regulations, and 

guidelines for marking and publicizing its assistance. State has also 

established marking and publicity policies for two presidential initiatives, 

MEPI and PEPFAR. However, USDA, DOD, HHS, Treasury, and MCC 

efforts in this area have been more limited. Since Justice does not have 

independent authority to conduct foreign assistance but implements 

politically sensitive programs for State and USAID, it has not established 

departmentwide marking or publicity policies, but allows its component 

Most Agencies Have 

Marking and 

Publicizing Policies, 

Regulations, and 

Guidelines 

Page 7 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
agencies to determine when it is appropriate to mark and publicize their 

activities. Appendix IV provides the statutory provisions and agencies’ 

policies, regulations, and guidelines for marking or publicizing U.S. foreign 

assistance. 

To ensure that U.S. taxpayers receive full credit for the foreign assistance 

they provide, USAID in 2004 undertook a campaign to clearly 

communicate that USAID foreign assistance is from the American people.

This campaign included publication of a Graphic Standards Manual 

containing new marking guidelines and the development of a new Graphic 

Identity.6

 In January 2006, USAID revised its foreign assistance awards 

regulations to include new marking requirements for USAID staff and all

nongovernmental organizations (NGO) receiving funding under grants and 

cooperative agreements.7 The regulations require that all programs, 

projects, activities, public communications, and commodities partially or 

fully funded by a USAID grant or cooperative agreement be marked 

appropriately overseas with the Graphic Standards Manual’s Graphic 

Identity of a size and prominence equal to or greater than the recipient’s or

other donors’ logos or identities. The regulations provide for presumptive 

exceptions and waivers to the marking requirements.8

 USAID’s final 

guidance for contractors, ADS 320, issued January 8, 2007, includes more 

comprehensive information on the process for preparing and approving 

marking plans and branding strategies in contracts and also eliminates the 

use of the USAID brand on NGO’s and contractors’ business cards. 

USAID Has Established 

Detailed Policies, 

Regulations, and 

Guidelines 

 6

In this report, we will refer to the new USAID graphic identity as the USAID brand. 

7

The revised regulations for marking assistance provided under grants and cooperative 

agreements are at 22 C.F.R. 226.91. AAPD 05-11 (Dec.13, 2005) implements the marking 

requirements of 22 C.F.R. 226.91. Also, see USAID policy at ADS 320 and its acquisition 

regulations at AIDAR Clause 752.7009 (Jan. 1993) regarding marking guidance for USAID

contractors. Grants and cooperative agreements are legal instruments for the transfer of 

money, property, or services to the recipient to accomplish a public purpose. Under grants

substantial involvement of the granting agency is not anticipated, whereas under 

cooperative agreements, the donor agency anticipates it will have substantial involvement 

in the implementation of the agreement. 

8

The intent of the USAID marking requirement is that programs and projects are marked, 

not people. Marking of vehicles, offices, and other administrative items for internal use by

the recipient is not required. 

Page 8 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Also, USAID’s Food for Peace program regulations9

 prescribe the terms 

and conditions governing activities under Title II of P.L. 480, including 

provisions for implementing the marking requirements of section 202 of 

that law. The regulations require that, to the maximum extent practical,

public recognition be given in the media that Title II-funded commodities 

or foreign assistance have been “provided through the friendship of the 

American people as food for peace”; cooperating sponsors, to the extent

feasible, display banners, posters, and similar items at project sites 

containing similar identifying information; and, unless otherwise specified, 

bags or other containers of commodities packaged for shipment be 

similarly marked. The regulations also require that containers of donated 

commodities packaged or repackaged by cooperating sponsors prior to 

distribution be plainly labeled with the USAID emblem, and, where 

practicable, with the legend, “Provided through the friendship of the 

American people as food for peace.” 

In addition, USAID has established regulations prescribing rules and 

procedures for the marking of shipping containers and commodities under 

commodity transactions financed by USAID. These regulations require 

that suppliers of such commodities be responsible for ensuring that all

export packaging and the commodities carry the official USAID emblem, 

except where USAID prescribes otherwise in the case of commodities. The 

regulations also prescribe the manner in which the export shipping 

containers, cartons, or boxes are to be marked; how the USAID emblem is 

to be affixed to the containers; the size, design, and color of the emblem; 

exceptions to the requirement to affix the emblem; and waivers to the 

marking requirement where it is found to be impracticable. 

To publicize its foreign assistance, in 2004, USAID established 

communications guidelines and a network of over 100 communications 

specialists located at USAID missions around the world to promote the 

agency’s foreign assistance abroad. The guidelines for communications 

specialists delineate their role, which is to be a comprehensive resource 

for information regarding USAID’s work and its impact on the citizens of 

the host country, and provide guidance on the activities the 

communication specialists may undertake to fulfill this role. These 

outreach functions include responding to inquiries about USAID programs, 

collaborating with the embassy public affairs office on strategies, speech

 9

22 C.F.R. 211. 

Page 9 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
writing for the USAID mission director and others, preparing press 

releases, and coordinating Web site updates. 

According to State officials, State’s policy provides that department 

program managers and country ambassadors use their discretion to 

determine when it is appropriate to mark and publicize U.S. foreign 

assistance. As a result, some programs mark and publicize activities while 

others do not. For example, State has established guidelines for project 

implementers to acknowledge State’s support for two presidential 

initiatives that State manages: MEPI and PEPFAR. The MEPI guidelines 

require NGOs that implement MEPI programs to include, in all public 

programs and publications, standard language acknowledging the support 

of MEPI and State. For PEPFAR, the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS 

Coordinator has instructed its implementing agencies to place the 

PEPFAR logo on all materials procured as part of the PEPFAR initiative. 

However, more sensitive Department of State activities are generally not 

marked or publicized. For example, according to State officials, in Peru, it

is embassy policy to decide on a case-by-case basis, in close consultation 

with the host government, the appropriate type and extent of publicity to 

give counter-narcotics foreign assistance activities done in partnership 

with the host government. In addition, State officials noted that other 

assistance programs, such as those focusing on counter-terrorism and 

weapons proliferation, are not generally marked, but these efforts may be 

publicized. 

Agencies’ efforts in establishing requirements or guidance for marking and 

publicizing their foreign assistance include the following: 

• USDA has issued regulations10 for its Foreign Agricultural Service that 

establish labeling requirements for commodities donated under its 

program for international food for education and child nutrition. The 

regulations require containers of commodities packaged or repackaged by

a cooperating sponsor to indicate that the commodities are furnished by 

the people of the United States of America; if the commodities are not 

packaged, the cooperating sponsor must display such items as banners or 

posters with similar information. The Foreign Agricultural Service also has 

included standard language in all its food aid agreements with its 

State Policy Allows 

Program Managers and 

Ambassadors Discretion 

for Marking and 

Publicizing Assistance 

Most Agencies Have 

Established Some 

Requirements or 

Guidance for Marking 

and Publicizing Foreign 

Assistance 

 10Regulations issued at 7 C.F.R. Part 1599. 

Page 10 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
implementing partners requiring them to highlight their programs in local 

media in the recipient country, identify USDA as the funding source in the 

media and to program participants, and to recognize USDA in all USDAfunded printed material.

• DOD has established policy and program guidance for publicizing overseas 

humanitarian activities to ensure their maximum visibility and publicity.

The policy and guidance provides that project planners and implementers 

will coordinate appropriate public affairs activities with embassy and 

combatant command public affairs officers, and, where appropriate, 

provide some tangible or visible marker of DOD involvement at the site of

the activity.

• HHS has established its own policies related to marking and publicizing 

HHS activities. HHS officials told us that the agency’s departmentwide 

grants policy, as required by its annual appropriations acts, provides that 

all HHS grants recipients must acknowledge U.S. assistance when publicly

describing a project. Also, HHS health projects are generally marked with 

the logos of HHS and the other HHS units such as the Centers for Disease 

Control or the National Institutes of Health that are involved in 

implementing the foreign assistance. HHS carries out foreign assistance 

programs under PEPFAR and the President’s Malaria Initiative; HHS 

officials stated that the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator has 

instructed HHS and its operating divisions to place the PEPFAR logo on all

materials procured as part of the PEPFAR Initiative. 

• Treasury officials said they were not aware of agencywide policy on 

marking and publicizing foreign assistance activities. However, OTA 

issued its own marking policy, effective December 7, 2006, for certain 

types of foreign assistance provided by that office. This policy requires 

that the foreign assistance must be identified with the seal of the Treasury 

and the tagline: “From the American People.” The policy covers any 

material, goods, or equipment provided by OTA to foreign government 

agencies or central banks; any public communications intended for 

distribution to foreign government officials; and any training courses or 

conferences sponsored and financed by OTA for the benefit of foreign 

government officials. In addition, the policy contains presumptive 

exceptions for waiving the marking requirements. 

• While MCC’s organic legislation, the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, 

does not contain an explicit marking or publicity requirement for the 

foreign assistance it authorizes, MCC provides for such a requirement in 

its country compacts. MCC has distributed a marking and publicity policy 

that, according to agency officials, requires recipient countries and 

Page 11 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
accountable entities to provide marking and publicity requirements to 

acknowledge the foreign assistance from MCC as being from the American 

people. 

• However, Justice officials said they rely on individual Justice agencies to 

determine when it would be appropriate to mark and publicize their 

activities. Justice officials said they have not issued guidance on 

assistance marking and publicity, and added that most of the agency’s 

foreign assistance is not marked because of its sensitive nature. Some 

Justice officials said that they follow embassy guidance on when to mark 

and publicize the agency’s foreign assistance activities. For example, 

Justice program managers in Indonesia and Serbia told us they had 

received no guidance from Justice headquarters on marking and 

publicizing agency activities, and the program manager in Indonesia said 

he follows embassy guidance in determining what to mark and how to do 

so. 

To increase awareness of U.S. assistance abroad, key agencies that we 

reviewed used various methods to mark and to publicize some of their 

activities and exercised flexibility in deciding when it was appropriate to 

do so. These agencies used different methods of marking, or visibly 

acknowledging, their assistance, including applying graphic identities or 

logos on such things as publications and project signage. In addition, 

agencies generally used embassy public affairs offices for publicizing, or 

disseminating information about, the source of their assistance and, in

some cases, augmented these efforts with their own publicity methods. 

USAID has established the most detailed processes of uniformly marking 

its assistance activities, while other key agencies either mark their 

assistance activities in some way, or they provide reasons for not marking 

some assistance. USAID has established a universal brand that conveys 

that the assistance is from USAID and the American people. Other 

agencies either use multiple logos, and in some cases, they use logos that 

do not convey that the agency is a U.S. entity or that the United States is 

the source of the assistance. 

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, recognizing the connection between 

national security and the good will toward the United States that could be 

created if more accurate information about U.S. foreign assistance was 

widely known, agency officials determined that they should portray more 

complete and accurate information about USAID foreign assistance. To 

Foreign Assistance 

Marking Efforts and 

Publicity Have Varied 

Agencies Marking Efforts 

Vary

USAID Using New Brand to 

Mark Its Foreign Assistance 

Activities 

Page 12 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
help focus its image abroad, USAID developed its new brand by updating a 

former USAID logo, and combining it with the agency brand name and a 

tagline, “From the American People.”

Although USAID first began marking assistance over four decades ago,

agency officials acknowledged that it has not always systematically or 

effectively marked its foreign assistance. USAID had existing standards 

that specified that its foreign assistance activities were to be marked, but 

these standards were not consistently enforced; and at times, U.S. foreign 

assistance was marked with the implementer’s logos and program names 

instead of the agency logo. Agency officials told us that it was often 

difficult for people to know that the foreign assistance they received was 

coming from the United States. USAID officials said they viewed the 

multiple brands used by USAID implementers as potentially confusing to 

recipients. However, in the past, some USAID staff believed that spending

money on marking foreign assistance could take away funds from other 

foreign assistance activities, and therefore were reluctant to incur these 

costs.11 Also, USAID staff and implementers were concerned that 

communication about foreign assistance could potentially draw unwanted 

attention to the projects and make staff vulnerable. Figure 1 illustrates 

changes of USAID’s brand over time, and figure 2 illustrates the use of 

USAID’s current brand. 

Figure 1: Changes of USAID’s Brand

 11A number of representatives of assistance organizations told us that it was not difficult or 

very costly to mark assistance. 

Page 13 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Figure 2: USAID Sign with New USAID Brand at a Health Clinic in Indonesia 

Source: GAO.

Other Agencies’ Marking 

Efforts Vary 

While other departments and agencies also mark the foreign assistance 

that they provide, these efforts vary. In some cases, the markings used do

not convey that the donor is a U.S. entity or that the United States is the 

source of the foreign assistance. 

State gives discretion to its department program managers and 

ambassadors to determine when and how it is appropriate to mark and 

publicize U.S. foreign assistance. Marking decisions are made at each U.S. 

embassy to account for the sensitive nature of the foreign assistance and 

the local conditions in country. State officials told us that, because State’s 

foreign assistance addresses a wide range of issues—such as narcotics 

control, international law enforcement, terrorism, weapons proliferation, 

non-U.N. peacekeeping operations, refugee relief, the Global AIDS 

Initiative, and economic support—they did not see any benefits from using 

a single visual image or mark. Therefore, embassies have used a number of 

State Department Marking 

Efforts 

Page 14 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
symbols to mark their foreign assistance, including program logos, a 

bureau seal or unit name, the Department of State seal, or an embassy 

logo. 

State manages MEPI, and has agreements with its project implementers on 

how MEPI assistance, which can include publications, products, and 

services, is to be acknowledged. State generally leaves most decisions on 

when to use the program logo to its implementing organizations but 

specifies that, if used with logos of other cofunding organizations, the 

MEPI logo should not be smaller than the others. Additionally, State has 

developed more than one version of the MEPI logo, one of which does not 

include the name of either the United States or the Department of State 

(see fig. 3). 

Figure 3: MEPI Logos

Source: The Department of State.

The lack of clear marking requirements has at times created confusion 

with project implementers regarding the appropriate use of the MEPI logo. 

For example, in one instance a project implementer copied the logo 

without the U.S. tagline—“U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative”—from 

the MEPI Web site and used it on promotional materials, when the logo 

with the tagline would have been more appropriate, according to MEPI 

officials. In addition, a small portion of MEPI projects are implemented by 

Page 15 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
USAID, and these projects follow USAID branding policy, according to an 

agreement between State and USAID. 

In other State marking efforts that clearly identified the U.S. government 

as the source of foreign assistance, there were differences in appearance 

from one mark to another. For example: 

• In a Peruvian police training academy that prepared recruits to support 

narcotics eradication teams, a computer room provided by State’s 

Narcotics Affairs Section was marked with the unit’s initials and the U.S. 

and Peruvian flags (see fig. 4). 

Figure 4: State Marking at Peruvian Police Training Academy 

Source: GAO.

• In Montenegro, a U.S. foreign assistance site was marked with a sign that 

included the Department of State emblem and the emblem of SerbiaMontenegro with a description of the project in English and the local

language. 

• In Serbia, State foreign assistance was marked with an embassy-developed

logo in which the U.S. and Serbian flags were joined to form a bridge (see 

fig. 5). 

Page 16 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Figure 5: U.S. Embassy/Serbia-Developed Flag Logo Marks an Environmental 

Project 

Other agencies generally determine how to mark their foreign assistance 

on a program-by-program basis. For example: 

Source: The Department of State.

USDA, DOD, and HHS 

Marking Efforts 

• USDA specifies marking requirements in the programs’ grants and 

cooperative agreements. USDA’s food aid agreements require that the U.S. 

government is identified as the sources of the foreign assistance, while 

USDA grants and cooperative agreements that provide technical foreign

assistance specify that printed materials include an acknowledgement that 

the United States is the source of the foreign assistance (see fig. 6). For 

Title II food programs managed by USAID, the USAID mark is used. 

Page 17 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Figure 6: USDA Food Aid Marking 

Source: USDA.

• DOD marks its humanitarian foreign assistance products and sites. For 

example, DOD’s humanitarian daily ration packages were marked with a 

U.S. flag and a statement that the food gift was from the people of the 

United States. In South Africa, a sign for a DOD humanitarian foreign 

assistance project was marked with the U.S. and South African flags (see 

figs. 7 and 8). 

Page 18 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Figure 7: DOD Marking of Humanitarian Daily Rations

Page 19 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Figure 8: DOD Marking of School Constructed in South Africa 

• HHS’ health projects are generally marked with the HHS logo and those of

other HHS units involved in implementing the foreign assistance. For 

example, an HHS-developed book—which was written for use in 

Afghanistan and provided information on HIV/AIDS—used U.S. and 

Afghani flags to mark the material. It also included a recorded message in 

two local languages stating that the book was being provided by U.S. 

taxpayers (see fig. 9). 

Page 20 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Figure 9: HHS Marking of Talking Book in Afghanistan

The agencies we reviewed stated that when making decisions on whether 

or how to mark foreign assistance, they exercise flexibility to allow for 

variations in the nature of foreign assistance, risks to implementers, or 

other special circumstances that foreign assistance activities may entail. 

Some of these activities are more readily marked than others. Moreover, 

circumstances may occur when U.S. foreign assistance marking may need

to be modified or withheld due to safety, political, or other concerns, such

as concerns associated with advising high-level government officials or 

providing foreign assistance in volatile issue areas such as narcotics 

control. Also, at certain times, such as before elections, marking of foreign 

assistance activities may be suspended to remove any association of U.S.

foreign assistance with certain issues—such as the connection between 

funding a health clinic and the issue of reproductive health. In other cases, 

Agencies Exercise Flexibility in 

Making Decisions on When to 

Mark Foreign Assistance 

Page 21 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
marking may be withheld to ensure the local government’s ownership of 

the programs is not called into question. 

USAID and OTA have established a process for determining when to 

modify its marking requirements to allow for the differences in the nature 

of foreign assistance projects and special circumstances that may be 

related to foreign assistance implementation. USAID’s marking regulations 

identify a number of conditions under which the agreement officer can 

consider approving exceptions to marking requirements.12 For example, in

Serbia, in order to not compromise the perceived neutrality of program 

activities and diminish the credibility of materials produced during the 

course of the project, USAID approved exceptions to marking 

requirements for certain activities associated with a civil society project in 

public policy advocacy and reform. USAID regulations also allow for the 

possibility that, political, safety, or security conditions could warrant a 

request to the mission director or the most senior USAID officer at the 

mission for a full or partial waiver of the marking requirements. For 

example, in Indonesia, the mission director approved a waiver of the 

marking requirements for a project designed to demonstrate democracy’s

compatibility with Islam because of threats from religious fundamentalists 

to the safety of the individuals involved in the project. In December 2006, 

OTA had formalized its guidance on determining when marking 

requirements for a particular project should be modified or suspended. 

While this guidance states that much of OTA’s work that includes oral 

advice or technical assistance provided to foreign governments and 

central banks is not marked, its rules for marking any commodities, public 

communications, or training courses provided by OTA may be waived in 

writing by the OTA Director or designee for conditions that include safety 

or security concerns, adverse political impact, and potential compromise 

of the intrinsic independence of a program or materials such as public 

service announcements. 

 12Rationales for withholding marking requirements include marking that would 

compromise the intrinsic independence or neutrality of a program, diminish credibility of 

assistance products, undercut country ownership of assistance products, incur excessive 

cost or be impractical for marking certain products, and violate international laws. 

Page 22 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
The U.S. ambassador, as chief of mission, has authority over all U.S. 

government activities in a foreign country, and the embassy public affairs 

office publicizes U.S. foreign assistance activities through press releases, 

Web sites,13 and speeches by U.S. officials. To enhance publicity of its 

foreign assistance programs, USAID has also, as mentioned earlier, 

established a network of communications specialists to increase 

awareness of these programs in the host country. At the time of our field 

visits, the public affairs officers and USAID communication specialists 

were still defining their roles in publicizing U.S. foreign assistance. For 

example, the ambassador in Liberia and the public affairs officer in 

Indonesia expressed the opinion that all U.S. foreign assistance should be

publicized by the embassy public affairs sections and did not see the need

for separate USAID communications specialists. 

Following are some examples of foreign assistance publicity efforts 

conducted by the embassy in the countries we visited. 

• In Indonesia, in fiscal year 2003, the public affairs office developed a 

program to enhance media coverage of U.S. assistance and publicized 11

assistance projects. In February 2006, the embassy issued a press release 

on the distribution of books and school supplies funded by the United 

States to Indonesian school children. The distribution, done in cooperation

with two leading Islamic organizations, supported the mutual goal of 

improving education and highlighted shared values between the two 

countries. 

Embassies’ Public Affairs 

Offices Generally Publicize 

Most U.S. Assistance 

U.S. Embassy Public 

Affairs Foreign Assistance 

Publicity Efforts 

• In Liberia, in June 2006, the embassy issued a press release on the 

launching of a USAID funded radio teacher training program. 

• In Peru, in June 2006, the public affairs office issued a press release on 

joint U.S.-Peruvian military exercises, which included DOD humanitarian 

foreign assistance to construct health clinics, done in conjunction with the 

exercises. These efforts were publicized to dispel citizens’ anxiety over 

U.S. military exercises in that country. However, because of the sensitivity 

of some other activities in Peru, according to State officials, it is embassy 

policy to decide on a case-by-case basis, in close consultation with the 

 13The Bureau of Public Diplomacy in Washington prepares articles on U.S. policies, society, 

and assistance that are translated into seven world languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, 

Persian, Russian, Spanish, and English) and made available to embassies to include in their 

Web sites if they choose to do so. 

Page 23 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
host government, the appropriate type and extent of publicity to give 

counter-narcotics foreign assistance activities done in partnership with the 

host government. 

• In Serbia, the embassy public affairs office has issued press releases on 

U.S. foreign assistance provided by USAID, State, USDA, DOD, Justice and 

other agencies. For example, in April 2006, the embassy issued a press 

release on a Justice-implemented program to support the organized crime 

and war crimes specialized institutions. 

• In South Africa, the public affairs office has issued press releases on U.S. 

foreign assistance provided by USAID, State, HHS, MCC, and other 

agencies. For example, in January 2006, the embassy issued a press release 

on a HHS -implemented HIV vaccine research initiative. 

In 2004, USAID established and trained a network of development 

outreach and communications specialists14 to enhance the skills of officers 

who handle public outreach and media and improve coordination among 

USAID staff, foreign assistance implementing partners, and the embassy 

public affairs sections. An assessment of public diplomacy in the Muslim 

world, issued in 2003 by the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the 

Arab and Muslim World, concluded that too few people knew the extent of 

USAID’s activities and recommended closer integration of the public 

diplomacy activities of agencies that administer foreign assistance.15 The 

communications specialists are responsible for publicizing USAID foreign 

assistance (1) by developing public outreach and media materials and 

strategies and (2) by providing general communications support through 

writing, media relations, Web site development, and review of foreign 

assistance proposals. These specialists also work with public relations 

staff hired by foreign assistance implementing organizations to support 

them in addressing community relations issues and publicizing their 

projects. USAID has now placed these specialists at most missions; a few 

large missions have been assigned more than one communication 

specialist, while at a few small missions, program officers have been asked 

to perform these tasks. The communication specialists’ resources vary 

based on individual USAID missions’ decisions on how to fund their work 

USAID Foreign Assistance 

Publicity Efforts 

 14There were 102 communications specialists working in 73 countries as of September 20, 

2006. 

15Report of the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World,

Changing Minds, Winning Peace: A New Strategic Direction for U.S. Public Diplomacy

in the Arab & Muslim World (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 1, 2003). 

Page 24 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
and whether USAID headquarters has provided additional funds for 

communication pilot activities. 

Following are examples of initiatives communications specialists have 

carried out.

• A pilot16 communication campaign project in Indonesia, which was funded 

by USAID headquarters, involved communications officers overseeing the 

development and production of a radio, TV, and print advertisement 

campaign that focused on health care, education, and economic growth 

partnerships between American and Indonesian people. The purpose of 

this and other communication campaign pilots was to identify effective 

practices in foreign assistance publicity. 

• In Peru, communications specialists worked with implementing 

organizations to develop and distribute—for eventual broadcast on 

regional television stations—a video of a major U.S. alternative 

development

17foreign assistance project, which involved building a road in

northern Peru to provide farmers with greater access to markets. On 

another project, a communication officer was contacted by television 

producers who were preparing a video about an ecological project that 

had received USAID foreign assistance funding. At the communications 

officer’s suggestion, the producers interviewed the USAID mission 

director to highlight how USAID supported the project. The final film was 

shown on television. 

• In Serbia, two newly hired communication specialists redesigned a Web 

site and, subsequently, developed questions on public awareness of 

USAID’s foreign assistance activities that were incorporated into the 

embassy’s public opinion poll. 

 16In 2005 and 2006, USAID, Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs funded pilot 

communication campaigns in Jordan and West Bank, Gaza, in addition to Indonesia. A 

more limited campaign was also implemented in Lebanon. In Egypt, Legislative and Public 

Affairs has started to identify messages and themes with a nationwide survey to define 

audiences and develop strategies for future communication campaigns in the country; and 

in Colombia, Legislative and Public Affairs helped develop a survey to establish a baseline

to evaluate the USAID outreach strategy. 

17The Alternative Development Program supports the reduction of illegal coca crops in 

targeted areas of Peru. The program (1) helps families to increase their income from legal 

crops and other income generating activities, (2) improves access to markets for legal 

goods and services, (3) improves living conditions for citizens, (4) strengthens local 

governments, and (5) raises awareness of the environmental and social damage caused by 

drug production and use. 

Page 25 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
• According to mission officials in South Africa, the outreach efforts of the 

communications specialist there have resulted in an improved perception

among the local population of USAID/South Africa programs, which were 

previously hampered by negative comments made by high-level South 

African government officials in the late 1990s. In addition, the

communications specialist conducted five training workshops, primarily 

for PEPFAR partners, on how to write stories of successful projects. The 

workshops resulted in more than 40 stories submitted by implementing 

partners, which were posted on various U.S. government Web sites and in 

publications. This effort was also sanctioned by the embassy public affairs 

section. 

We identified some challenges to marking and publicizing U.S. foreign 

assistance that may result in missed opportunities to increase public 

awareness of U.S. foreign assistance. First, little reliable work has been 

done to assess the impact of U.S. assistance on foreign citizens’ awareness 

of that assistance. Second, although the newly appointed DFA has begun

to develop governmentwide guidance for marking and publicizing all U.S. 

foreign assistance, it is unclear to what extent this policy will be 

implemented by agencies whose foreign assistance programs are not 

under State’s direct authority. 

State conducts some research18 on public perceptions of the United States 

and its foreign assistance activities. State’s Bureau of Intelligence and 

Research conducts approximately 120 surveys per year in about 80 

countries, according to a State official. However, these surveys focus on 

tracking trends in the foreign public’s perception of the United States to 

serve U.S. public diplomacy efforts and do not assess public awareness of 

U.S. foreign assistance activities or the effectiveness of publicity activities. 

Some individual embassies perform surveys of public attitudes and 

awareness relating to U.S. foreign assistance activities. For example, the 

surveys commissioned by the embassy in Serbia and Montenegro attempt

to measure public awareness of foreign assistance programs in addition to

measuring public perception of the United States. However, the surveys do

not attempt to link any foreign assistance programs to the level of 

Challenges to Marking 

and Publicizing May 

Result in Missed 

Opportunities to 

Increase Public 

Awareness of U.S. 

Foreign Assistance 

Agencies Conduct Some 

Research on Impact of U.S. 

Foreign Assistance 

Activities, but Lack Clear 

Guidance for Such 

Research 

 18Research instruments include surveys and focus group discussions. 

Page 26 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
awareness, but instead track changes in the level of awareness for a given 

period of time. 

USAID also conducts some research. The agency requires that its 

communications specialists develop a communications strategy that 

includes methods to measure impact, and USAID’s communications 

manual encourages communications specialists to monitor local media 

coverage and obtain and analyze locally conducted polls as a means to 

measures results. The agency has contracted with polling firms to conduct 

eight public opinion surveys in various locations overseas—including one 

survey in Egypt, two in Indonesia, one in Jordan (along with a focus 

group), one in Colombia, and three in the West Bank and Gaza. According 

to a USAID official, these surveys were designed to test different methods 

for conducting broad-based public affairs campaigns. The surveys 

included questions to assess (1) the extent of awareness of USAID and 

U.S. foreign assistance; (2) attitudes toward USAID and U.S. foreign 

assistance among recipients of that foreign assistance; and (3) which 

communication sources, ranging from billboards and magazines to 

television and the Internet, may be most effective in reaching target 

audiences. Although each of the USAID surveys we reviewed provide 

information about the extent of awareness of USAID and U.S. assistance, 

the surveys in Colombia, Egypt, Jordan, and the West Bank and Gaza were 

not designed to compare pre- and post-campaign levels of awareness. A 

USAID official agreed that pre- and post-branding measurement of public 

opinion was important to measure the impact of USAID’s branding 

activities, know which branding activities were most effective, and use the

lessons learned to improve USAID’s branding activities. 

Recently, USAID has begun to provide some guidance to communications 

specialists responsible for managing research programs. USAID hired a 

contractor to train communications specialists on public opinion polling. 

The training instructs communications specialists on issues such as the 

importance and benefits of polling, types of polling, the most effective 

ways to deliver messages, principles of sampling in polling, and how to 

hire a qualified agency to conduct the polls. Also, USAID officials said they 

are developing a manual to provide guidance on communications research 

instruments, primarily focused on polling. The manual will include key 

criteria for evaluating the quality of the research instruments and a 

standard set of questions to include in research instruments. 

Page 27 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Ad Council19 executives whom we met with emphasized that successful 

quantitative research, such as surveys, to measure results of efforts are 

key practices they use in their public service campaigns. Also they 

conduct pre- and post-tracking studies to benchmark attitudes and 

behaviors. In addition, they examine best practices, including areas where 

the practice has worked well and learned how to emulate them. In 

addition, these executives examine cases where their efforts have yielded

poor results and implement some policies that could alleviate the 

situation. See appendix II for additional key practices identified by the Ad 

Council executives. 

While some agencies have established policies, regulations, and guidelines 

on marking and publicizing U.S. foreign assistance, we found that USAID 

missions and all federal agencies and presidential initiatives providing 

assistance overseas have not received clear and consistent direction on 

marking and publicizing U.S. foreign assistance. During our field visits to 

five countries between May and August 2006, we found that three of the 

five embassies lacked specific guidance that addresses assistance 

publicity. Embassy Mission Performance Plans are the means by which an

embassy aligns its plans, programs, and resources with the U.S. 

government’s international affairs strategy, including publicizing foreign 

assistance. Only one Mission Performance Plan—for Serbia and 

Montenegro—listed foreign assistance publicity as an embassy priority 

and established that the embassy would increase its outreach activities 

and aggressive advertising of U.S. foreign assistance by (1) improving 

media coverage, (2) coordinating public diplomacy activities at the 

mission to improve synergy and publicity of foreign assistance programs, 

and (3) using polling and focus group information to help direct these 

efforts. The embassy was also planning to expand exchange programs that 

would bring individuals from Serbia and Montenegro to the United States.

The ambassador said that he became aware that U.S. foreign assistance 

was not widely known in Serbia and Montenegro after he arrived at the 

mission and saw that implementing partners often used project logos that 

The United States Lacks 

Governmentwide 

Guidance for Marking and 

Publicizing Its Assistance 

 19The Ad Council is a private, nonprofit organization that marshals volunteer talent from

the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media, and the 

resources of the business and nonprofit communities to deliver critical messages to the 

American public. The Ad Council produces, distributes, and promotes thousands of public 

service campaigns on behalf of nonprofit organizations and government agencies in issue 

areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventative health, education, 

community well being, environmental preservation, and strengthening families.

Page 28 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
did not clearly communicate that the foreign assistance was from the 

United States. He identified a need to more clearly portray U.S. foreign 

assistance and made it a priority for the embassy. In addition, the Mission 

Performance Plan for Liberia called for publicizing U.S. efforts to rebuild 

security services and promote respect for human rights. 

In the five countries that we visited, we also found that assistance is 

publicized by public affairs officers on an ad hoc basis and, as a result, 

embassies may miss opportunities to publicize their foreign assistance 

activities. For example, in Indonesia, the USDA attaché told us that an 

exchange program that brings agricultural specialists to the United States 

for training has not been publicized by the embassy because the public 

affairs officer was not aware of it. Also in Indonesia, the public affairs 

officer almost missed a publicity opportunity when the officer was initially 

opposed to issuing a press release on an event to promote a teachertraining program that was attended by representatives of an NGO and 15 

Indonesian institutions, because communicating about the program was 

not an embassy priority. The public affairs officer later reconsidered and 

issued a press release. 

Moreover, agencies at embassies may receive conflicting guidance on

marking their assistance activities when an agency’s headquarters position 

on marking differs from an embassy’s position. After USAID headquarters 

developed its logo in 2004, the Serbia and Montenegro embassy developed 

a logo (featuring the American and Serbian and Montenegrin flags) and 

encouraged all agencies to use it. Most agencies used the logo to mark and 

publicize their foreign assistance activities, and the logo was also used on

the embassy Web site. Subsequently, the USAID mission developed and 

used a logo that combined the embassy logo and USAID’s logo. Although 

the USAID mission’s logo was different from the embassy logo, the 

ambassador agreed to the compromise, and USAID used that logo to mark 

and publicize its assistance activities. However, in June 2006, USAID 

headquarters told the mission that this new logo violated USAID standards 

and required the mission to discard that logo and use USAID’s standard 

logo. 

The DFA has acknowledged that the lack of governmentwide guidance on 

marking and publicizing foreign assistance activities limits agencies’ ability 

to make recipients aware of the extent of U.S. assistance. In July 2006, the 

DFA requested that his office and the Bureau for Public Diplomacy and 

Public Affairs work together to ensure that U.S. embassies, USAID 

missions, and all government agencies receive clear and consistent 

guidance on marking and publicizing U.S. assistance. Also, the DFA 

DFA Faces Key Challenges in 

Coordinating Marking and 

Publicizing Efforts 

Page 29 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
recommended that all foreign assistance be unified under one agencyneutral brand that would ensure that the assistance is recognized and 

associated with the United States. The DFA and the Under Secretary of 

State for Public Diplomacy are currently developing a proposal to provide 

guidance to all federal agencies in 2007. 

Despite these efforts to develop governmentwide guidance for marking 

and publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance, it is unclear to what extent this 

guidance will be implemented by agencies whose foreign assistance 

programs are not under the DFA’s direct authority. According to DFA 

officials, the DFA has budget authority over USAID, most State foreign 

assistance activities, and activities of agencies funded by State or USAID. 

Also, the DFA will have authority to coordinate the activities of some 

foreign assistance activities managed by other agencies, because, 

according to DFA officials, any activities funded by USAID or State that 

are implemented by other agencies will fall under the authority of the 

DFA. For example, the DFA will have the authority to coordinate some of 

the technical foreign assistance and training programs administered by the 

Department of Justice that are funded by State. However, according to 

DFA officials, the director’s office will not have authority over about 20 

percent of all U.S. foreign assistance. This includes some of State’s 

programs, such as State’s Office of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, which 

is funded separately from the Department of State budget—though DFA 

officials told us that the DFA’s office has reached an oral agreement with 

the AIDS Coordinator to coordinate their activities. In addition, DFA has 

no authority over, for example, DOD, HHS, USDA, Treasury, and MCC 

activities that are funded by sources other than State or USAID. 

Some key U.S. agencies providing foreign assistance have established 

policies, regulations, and guidelines on marking and publicizing U.S. 

foreign assistance, and some have used varied methods to implement 

these requirements. Despite these efforts, the United States lacks reliable

information to assess the impact of marking and publicity on increasing 

awareness of U.S. assistance. According to U.S. public service awareness 

campaign executives with whom we met, quantitative research that 

includes pre- and post-tracking studies—as well as drawing from lessons 

learned regarding which types of approaches are working more effectively 

than others—are key practices that they use in measuring the impact of

their awareness campaign. Although State’s public opinion polls measure 

general public opinion trends, they do not specifically provide information 

on the impact of the U.S. government’s overall efforts to increase public

awareness of U.S. foreign assistance activities. USAID has only completed 

Conclusions 

Page 30 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
a limited number of surveys to measure public awareness of U.S. 

assistance, including a public opinion survey of U.S. post-tsunami efforts 

in Indonesia. According to USAID officials and USAID surveys, marking 

and publicizing the source of U.S. foreign assistance following the 

December 2004 tsunami likely contributed to increasing favorable public 

opinion about the United States in Indonesia. USAID has begun to develop 

guidance on measuring the effectiveness of its publicity efforts. 

In addition, the DFA acknowledges that because there is no 

governmentwide guidance on marking and publicizing assistance, there 

may have been missed opportunities to increase recipient awareness of 

the extent of U.S. foreign assistance. To address this issue, the DFA plans 

to establish marking and publicizing guidance for all U.S. agencies 

providing assistance abroad in 2007. However, obtaining the cooperation 

of those agencies implementing foreign assistance programs not under the 

DFA’s direct authority is critical to a successful U.S. governmentwide 

marking and publicizing approach and remains a challenge. 

To help the United States ensure that recipients of its foreign assistance 

are aware that this assistance is provided by the United States and its 

taxpayers, we are making two recommendations. 

• To enhance U.S. marking and publicity efforts, and to improve the 

information used to measure the impact of U.S. marking and publicizing 

programs, we recommend that the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

other U.S. executive agencies, develop a strategy, which appropriately 

utilizes techniques such as surveys and focus groups, to better assess the 

impact of U.S. marking and publicity programs and activities on public 

awareness. 

• To facilitate State’s effort to implement its planned governmentwide 

guidance for marking and publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance programs 

and activities, we recommend that the Secretary of State, in consultation 

with other U.S. executive agencies, establish interagency agreements for 

marking and publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance. 

We provided a draft of this report to USAID, State, Agriculture, DOD, HHS, 

Justice, the Treasury, and MCC. We obtained written comments from State 

(see app. V). State concurred with our recommendations and indicated 

that a Policy Coordination Committee formed by the Under Secretary of 

Recommendations for 

Executive Action 

Agency Comments 

and Our Evaluation 

Page 31 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
State for Public Diplomacy in the National Security Council plans to 

develop a governmentwide Strategic Communications Plan that will 

address assessment of marking and publicity programs and will develop

governmentwide marking and publicity guidance. We also received 

technical comments on this draft from USAID, State, DOD, and MCC, 

which we incorporated where appropriate. 

We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional 

committees, USAID, the Departments of State, Agriculture, Defense, 

Health and Human Services, Justice, the Treasury, and Millennium 

Challenge Corporation. We will also make copies available to others upon 

request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO 

Web site at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me 

at (202) 512-4268. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional 

Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. 

GAO staff who made major contributions to this report are listed in 

appendix VI.

Sincerely yours, 

Jess Ford, Director 

International Affairs and Trade 

Page 32 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology Appendix I: Scope and Methodology 

To determine the regulations and policies that agencies have established 

to mark and publicize foreign assistance, we analyzed legislation 

establishing the statutory basis for marking and publicizing foreign 

assistance, including legislation providing funding for foreign assistance 

activities, and organic legislation establishing the various foreign 

assistance agencies. We reviewed major foreign assistance legislation 

including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and Public Law 480. We also

reviewed the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, which assigns the 

Department of State (State) a coordination role in publicizing foreign 

assistance, as well as legislation that authorized foreign assistance 

programs separate from the Foreign Assistance Act, such as the 

Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 that established the Millennium 

Challenge Corporation (MCC). We discussed these laws with agency

officials at the United States Agency for International Development 

(USAID), State, the Departments of Agriculture, Defense (DOD), Health 

and Human Services (HHS), Justice, the Treasury, as well as MCC who are 

responsible for their implementation as it applies to marking and 

publicizing their foreign assistance activities. In addition, we reviewed 

regulations these agencies had established to implement legislative 

marking requirements related to agencies’ policies and other relevant 

documents. We also discussed the agencies’ regulations and policies with 

cognizant officials at each agency. 

To determine how USAID, State, and other agencies are marking and 

publicizing their foreign assistance activities, we discussed their activities 

with cognizant officials at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. We also 

met with representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and 

contractors in the Washington, D.C., area—such as Food For The Hungry,

National Democratic Institute, the American Bar Association/Central 

European and Eurasian Law Initiative, Chemonics, and Development 

Alternatives, Inc.—who implement many of the agencies’ foreign 

assistance activities. In addition, we traveled to U.S. embassies and USAID 

missions in Indonesia, Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, and South Africa. In 

those countries, we (1) met with agency officials at the embassies and 

missions and representatives of NGOs and contractors who implement 

foreign assistance activities; (2) collected and analyzed agency documents, 

regarding their foreign assistance marking and publicizing efforts; and (3) 

visited several sites in each country to observe marking and publicizing 

activities of U.S. agencies and their implementing organizations. In 

particular, we visited various recipients of U.S. foreign assistance in 

Belgrade, Serbia; Podgorica, Montenegro; and Pretoria, South Africa. We 

also traveled to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and several locations in Serbia, 

Montenegro, and Peru, to observe marking and publicizing activities and 

Page 33 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology 

discuss those activities with U.S. government officials, representatives of

implementing organizations, and recipients of foreign assistance. We also

traveled to Liberia and met with embassy and USAID mission officials. 

To determine the challenges the United States faces in marking and 

publicizing foreign assistance activities, we met with cognizant agency 

officials in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. embassies and USAID missions 

in Indonesia, Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, and South Africa. We also 

analyzed agency documents, including Mission Performance Plans and 

other policy and guidance documents at headquarters, U.S. embassies, and 

USAID missions in Indonesia, Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, and South Africa. 

In addition, we analyzed surveys and polls conducted for USAID and State, 

communications manuals, and training materials used as part of USAID’s 

and State’s efforts to determine foreign audiences’ opinions about the 

United States and their awareness of U.S. foreign assistance activities. 

Further, we discussed those surveys and polls with cognizant agency 

officials in USAID and State. 

To determine foreign government organizations’ marking and publicity 

practices, we held discussions with representatives of international 

foreign assistance organizations, including the Australian Government’s 

Overseas Aid Program (AusAID), the Canadian International Development 

Agency (CIDA), the Department for International Development (DFID) of 

the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU) assistance implemented 

through the European Agency for Reconstruction, German Agency for 

Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the Icelandic International Development 

Agency (ICEIDA), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

We also reviewed relevant documents provided by these organizations on 

their marking and publicity practices, including guidelines on marking and 

communications. 

We included in the scope of this review foreign assistance programs 

administered or implemented by USAID, State, Agriculture, DOD, HHS, 

Justice, the Treasury, and MCC. Among these entities, we included 

programs in the following categories—bilateral development foreign 

assistance; humanitarian assistance; and economic assistance in support 

of U.S. political and security goals, with the exception of payments to 

support countries involved in the Middle East Peace Process, including 

countries of importance in the war on terrorism, and programs that 

address issues of weapons proliferation. We excluded from the scope of 

this review multilateral economic contributions or payments that are 

combined with funds from other donor countries to finance multilateral 

development projects of international organizations that include the 

Page 34 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology 

United Nations, the World Bank, and other multilateral development 

banks. We also excluded military foreign assistance provided to help 

selected countries acquire U.S. military equipment and training. We 

conducted our work from December 2005 through January 2007 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Page 35 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix II: Key Marking and Publicity Appendix II: Key Marking and Publicity Practices Used in the Public Sector 

Practices Used in the Public Sector 

Ad Council executives with whom we met with identified key practices 

that they use to guide their public service campaigns. These practices 

relate to areas that we assessed as part of our examination of U.S. 

government efforts to mark and publicize foreign assistance. Specifically, 

the key practices identified include the following: 

• Determine what is appropriate to be marked. It is important to maintain 

flexibility and conduct research to ensure that efforts do more good than 

harm. Be mindful of potential unintended effects of branding.

• Maintain a simple message. Conduct research regarding sensitivity of 

wording and language. 

• Articulate the universal truth or message differently, as appropriate for 

specific demographics and international backdrops. It is critical to 

separate programs from political issues to prevent programs and policies 

from being linked together. 

• Use targeting or tailoring to help create connection with audience. 

Examine best practices, identify where the practices have worked well, 

and learn how to emulate them. Also examine cases where branding has 

been ineffective and implement some policies that could alleviate the 

situation. 

• Conduct quantitative research, such as surveys, to measure results of 

efforts. Conduct pre- and post-tracking studies to benchmark attitudes and 

behaviors.

Page 36 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix III: Other G

Or

Publ

overnments’ Donor 

ganizations and the GTZ Marking and 

icity Practices 

Page 37 GAO-07-277

Appendix III: Other Governments’ Donor 

Organizations and the GTZ Marking and 

Publicity Practices 

While other governments’ donor organizations and the German Agency for 

Technical Cooperation (GTZ) generally mark and publicize their 

assistance, none of these organizations have undertaken a campaign to 

develop a mark for their foreign assistance abroad on the scale that USAID 

has to date. 1 Like the United States, other governments’ organizations 

generally use marking to gain recipient recognition for their contributions. 

We found that the six donors and the GTZ generally had some form of 

marking implementing policies and procedures. However, unlike most U.S. 

foreign assistance publicizing efforts, other government organizations’ 

efforts to communicate about foreign assistance were more targeted 

toward their own constituents rather than host country citizens. These 

organizations generally do not formally monitor or measure their marking 

or publicity efforts. 

Other governments’ donor organizations and the GTZ that we studied 

generally use marking to gain recognition or maintain domestic support 

for their contributions. Donor organizations and the GTZ that we 

contacted identified a number of practices for marking, including adapting

such efforts for each host country, and ensuring high-level stakeholder 

cooperation to facilitate implementation of these marking efforts. 

Additionally, in some countries, to ensure marking consistency, 

governments require all organizations, including bilateral donors, to use 

the national symbol along with the organization’s logo. For example, the 

Australian Government’s Overseas Aid Program (AusAID) and the 

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) marks include the

national symbols of Australia and Canada, respectively, and assistance 

provided by the European Union (EU) are generally marked with the EU 

logo. Other organizations, including the Department for International 

Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, GTZ, the Icelandic 

International Development Agency (ICEIDA), and the Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) have their own unique organization logos. In 

addition, some donors are more flexible than others with their marking 

requirements. For example, according to representatives of ICEIDA, their 

marking procedures are not mandatory, but implementing partners often 

use their marks on publications. Conversely, AusAID requires its partners 

to mark all of its assistance. Figure 10 illustrates each of the selected

organizations’ marks. 

Other Governments’ Donor 

Organizations and the GTZ 

Use Marking to Gain

Recognition for Their 

Contributions 

 1

The GTZ is an implementing agency that works on behalf of the Federal Republic of

Germany. 

Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix III: Other Governments’ Donor 

Organizations and the GTZ Marking and 

Publicity Practices 

Figure 10: Logos of Other Governments’ Donor Organizations and the GTZ 

Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance

The marking efforts for the six donors and the GTZ that we reviewed have 

some form of procedures or guidance for implementation. The following 

provides a brief description of each organization’s procedures or guidance. 

• AusAID’s standard mark is used on its foreign assistance. The 

organization’s written guidelines apply to all contractors and 

implementing partners to ensure marking consistency. The Australian 

government has also developed a unique mark and design manual for its 

Indonesia program. 

Other Governments’ Donor 

Organizations and the 

GTZ, to Varying Degrees, 

Have Marking Procedures 

or Guidance 

• CIDA has a corporate identity logo, and grant and contribution agreements 

require recipients to recognize CIDA’s contribution with acknowledgments 

or use of CIDA’s logo in their publications, advertising, and promotional 

products. 

• DFID has a standard mark, which is guided by its Identity Standards 

Manual. The mark is used mostly for project-based foreign assistance and 

not budgetary support programs or activities. Humanitarian assistance is 

branded with the United Kingdom Emergency Aid logo. This branding 

applies to DFID staff and to large nonperishable items. It will not be used 

Page 38 GAO-07-277
Appendix III: Other Governments’ Donor 

Organizations and the GTZ Marking and 

Publicity Practices 

when it may detract from humanitarian operations or increase risk to staff 

or beneficiaries. 

• The European Union has Visibility Guidelines specifying how technical 

foreign assistance, supplies and equipment, and infrastructure projects are 

to be marked. 

• GTZ uses a standard logo and a tagline, “German Technical Cooperation” 

on its information material in partner countries. An optional slogan, 

“Partner for the Future. Worldwide” may be used. Although not required, 

the tagline is frequently used on project information, brochures, products, 

and presentations, and, in partner countries, the name of the country is 

included. 

• ICEIDA uses a standard logo on all of its publications. Although not 

required, implementing partners often include the mark on their 

publications. 

• JICA has a logo that is to be used on publications, business cards, 

envelopes, and vehicles. JICA also has a slogan, “For a better tomorrow 

for all.”, and has translated this into English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, 

and Russian. A Corporate Identity Design Manual was produced in 2003 

that provides color, font, and usage guidance. 

According to representatives of most of the organizations with whom we

spoke, domestic constituents and not foreign audiences are the target of 

their communications about foreign assistance efforts. In contrast to 

marking intended to ensure that governments receive recognition for their 

contributions, these organizations’ publicizing efforts generally focus on 

informing the general public in their respective countries about their 

initiatives to enhance the reputation of the aid agencies, engage the public, 

create interest among civil society, and highlight success stories. 

According to ICEIDA, for example, it is required by law to publicize its 

foreign assistance efforts domestically. The organizations implement these

efforts by, among other things, coordinating publicity activities between 

implementers’ and donors’ information units; constructing project Web 

sites; and through other communication mechanisms such as special 

events, press releases, conferences, publications, Web pages, and plaques.

Other Donors’ and the GTZ 

Publicizing Efforts 

Generally Target Domestic 

Constituents Rather Than 

Host Country Recipients 

Page 39 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix III: Other Governments’ Donor 

Organizations and the GTZ Marking and 

Publicity Practices 

Two of the organizations required that their projects have a 

communications plan targeting recipient countries. For example, CIDA 

requires a communications plan on how to inform the public in the 

recipient country of their projects prior to approval. 

Only one of the organizations, AusAID, told us that it monitors 

implementation of its marking and publicity efforts domestically and 

internationally. AusAID monitoring is done through (1) domestically 

focused community awareness research and (2) a mix of qualitative and

quantitative measures, including press releases, special events, correct 

markings or signage, and newsletter subscriptions. AusAID also attempts 

to determine the quality of its relationships with its partners and assesses 

who the assistance is reaching and how often. Representatives from CIDA

and DFID told us that they conduct public opinion surveys, but these 

surveys are intended to gauge public opinion about the agency or support 

for assistance in general and not to measure marking or publicity efforts. 

Other Donors’ and the GTZ 

Generally Do Not Formally 

Monitor or Measure 

Marking or Publicity 

Efforts 

Page 40 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix IV: Statutes, Policies, Regulations, 

and Guidance for Marking or Publicizing 

Foreign Assistance 

Statutory marking or

publicizing provision 

Content of marking or

publicizing provision 

Key agencies with

covered programs Key agencies’ policies, regulations, and guidance 

Section 641 of the 

Foreign Assistance Act 

(FAA) of 1961, as 

amended 

Provides that “programs 

under this Act shall be

identified appropriately 

overseas as ‘American 

Aid.’ ” 

HHS 

Justice 

State 

Treasury/OTA 

USAID 

HHS: Follows State policy on placing PEPFAR logo on 

all materials procured by HHS; policy memorandum on 

the appropriate use of logos on conference material; 

policy on marking health projects. 

Justice: Relies on individual component agencies to 

determine appropriateness of marking or publicizing 

activities. 

State: State Financial Assistance Standard Terms and 

Conditions, Part II, Attachment 1-MEPI. 

Treasury: OTA Instruction 4035.1—guidance for 

marking certain types of assistance. 

USAID: 22 C.F.R. Part 226, sec. 226.91— regulations 

prescribing marking requirements for grants and 

cooperative agreements; 22 C.F.R. Part 201, sec. 

201.31(d)—regulations regarding marking shipping 

containers and commodities; AIDAR Clause 

752.7999—-standard clause in contracts regarding 

marking of foreign assistance; ADS 320-policy 

directives and procedures on marking USAID-funded 

activities; AAPD 05-11—policy directive regarding 

acquisition and assistance regulations and procedures. 

Section 202 of Public 

Law 480 (P. L. 480) 

Requires that, to the 

extent practicable, 

commodities provided 

under that act be clearly 

identified with appropriate 

markings in the local 

language as being 

furnished by “the people of 

the United States.” 

USDA 

USAID 

USDA: 7 C.F.R. Part 1599, sec. 1599.12(b)—

regulations on labeling of commodities donated under 

USDA’s international food education and child nutrition 

program. 

USAID: 22 C.F.R. Part 226, sec. 226.91— regulations 

prescribing marking requirements for grants and 

cooperative agreements; 22 C.F.R. Part 211, sec. 

211.5(h)—regulations prescribing marking and publicity 

requirements for USAID’s Food for Peace program; 22 

C.F.R. Part 201, sec. 201.31(d)— regulations regarding 

marking shipping containers and commodities. 

Section 403(f) of Public 

Law 480 (P. L. 480) 

Requires that foreign 

countries and private 

entities receiving P.L. 480 

commodities will widely 

publicize “to the extent 

practicable” in the media 

that the commodities are 

provided “through the 

friendship of the American

people as food for peace.” 

USDA 

USAID 

USDA: 7 C.F.R. Part 1599, sec. 1599.12(b)—

regulations on labeling for commodities donated under 

USDA’s international food education and child nutrition 

program. 

USAID: 22 C.F.R. Part 211, sec. 211.5(h)—regulations 

on marking and publicity requirements for USAID’s 

Food for Peace program. 

Appendix IV: Statutes, Policies, Regulations, 

and Guidance for Marking or Publicizing 

Foreign Assistance 

Page 41 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix IV: Statutes, Policies, Regulations, 

and Guidance for Marking or Publicizing 

Foreign Assistance 

Statutory marking or

publicizing provision 

Content of marking or

publicizing provision 

Key agencies with

covered programs Key agencies’ policies, regulations, and guidance 

Section 7109 of

Intelligence Reform 

and Terrorism 

Prevention Act of 2004 

Directed the Secretary of 

State to coordinate the 

public diplomacy activities 

of federal agencies and 

called for cooperation 

between State and USAID 

to ensure that information 

related to U.S. foreign 

assistance is widely 

disseminated. 

State 

USAID 

State: None

USAID: None

Established pursuant to 

agency policy rather 

than statutory provision 

MCC

DOD 

MCC: Standards for Global Marking—guidelines on the 

use and placement of MCC logo or other appropriate 

logos. 

DOD: Policy and Program Guidance for Overseas 

Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid Activities—policy 

and guidance for overseas humanitarian, disaster, and 

civic aid activities and assistance. 

Sources: The Departments of Agriculture, Defense, HHS, Justice, State, and the Treasury; USAID and MCC.

Page 42 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix V: Comments from the Department Appendix V of State : Comments from the Department 

of State 

Page 43 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix V: Comments from the Department 

of State 

Page 44 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix V: Comments from the Department 

of State 

Page 45 GAO-07-277 Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance
Appendix VI: 

A

GAO Contact and Staff 

cknowledgments 

Page 46 GAO-07-277

Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

Jess Ford, (202) 512-4268 or fordj@gao.gov. 

Zina Merritt served as Assistant Director responsible for this report, and 

Maria Oliver was the Analyst-in-Charge. In addition to those named above, 

the following individuals made significant contributions to this report: 

Virginia Chanley, Lauren Geetter, Ernie Jackson, and James Strus. The 

 team benefited from the expert advice and assistance of Joe Carney, 

 Etana Finkler, Lessie Burke-Johnson, Cynthia Taylor, and Wilda Wong. 

Marking and Publicizing U.S. Assistance

GAO Contact 

Staff 

Acknowledgments 

(320386) 
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