**GAO-04-511**                      Published: Sep 07, 2004. Publicly Released: Sep 07, 2004.                  

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## Highlights

Costs for overseas posts' administrative support services have risen nearly 30 percent since fiscal year 2001, reaching about $1 billion in 2003. These costs are distributed among 50 agencies through the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) system, which was designed to reduce costs and provide quality services in a simple, transparent, and equitable manner. Since ICASS was implemented in 1998, its performance has not been systematically reviewed. GAO was asked to examine (1) whether ICASS has led to efficient delivery of administrative services and (2) whether ICASS is an effective mechanism for providing quality services.

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## Topics

International Affairs

Administrative costsCentralizationCost controlEmbassiesInteragency relationsPerformance measuresProductivity in governmentRedundancySystems designSupport services