United States 

Department of State

FY 2012 Joint Summary of Performance

and Financial Information

DELIVERING RESULTS THROUGH DIPLOMACY AND

DEVE

LO

P

M

E

NT
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham 

Clinton and U.S. Agency for International 

Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv 

Shah attend the Child Survival Call to Action 

on June 14, 2012. USAID

Introduction 1

Mission and Values 1

Message from the Secretary of State 2

Message from the USAID Administrator 3

Our Organizations 4 

Joint Strategic Goal Framework 5

Management Highlights 6

Management Accomplishments and Challenges 6

Performance Highlights 8

Performance Management 8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Strategic Goals and Results 11

Achieving Peace and Security 11

Governing Justly and Democratically 13

Investing in People 16

Promoting Economic Growth and Prosperity 19

Providing Humanitarian Assistance 22

Promoting International Understanding 25

Strengthening Consular and Management Capabilities 27

Financial Highlights 30

Balance Sheet Summary 31

Net Cost of Operations Summary 31

Budgetary Resources Summary 32

ABOUT THIS REPORT

This report provides a summary of the Department of 

State and U.S. Agency for International Development’s 

(USAID) performance and financial information for 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. The Joint Summary of Performance 

and Financial Information is one of three annual financial 

and performance reports that also include the Agency 

Financial Report and the Annual Performance Report. 

The Summary provides information on both agencies’ 

performance in promoting greater accountability and accessibility to Congress, the American public, and other key constituencies. 

The Department and USAID continue to utilize planning, budgeting, and managing diplomacy and development activities to achieve 

greater integration and focus to further foreign policy goals and improve people’s lives around the world. 

ABOUT THE COVER

Clockwise from upper left: USAID Administrator Shah meeting with Tribal Elders in Afghanistan. USAID; Secretary of State Clinton, left, 

is greeted at the Ho Phra Keo Temple Wednesday, July 11, 2012 in Vientiane, Laos. ©AP Image; USAID Administrator Shah speaks with 

recently arrived women and children at Dadaab camp in Kenya USAID; Secretary of State Clinton, accompanied by USAID Administrator 

Shah (not shown), waves upon their arrival at the USAID Child Survival Forum at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., June 14, 

2012. ©AP Image; Man with child in Afghanistan, where USAID programs are helping to decrease maternal deaths by encouraging men to 

become involved in pregnancy and childbirth matters. Save the Children

United StateS department of State

Fiscal Year 2012 Agency Financial Report

2 Secretary’s Message 4 Management’s Discussion & Analysis 59 Financial Section 146 Our Challenges 

for the

Delivering Results American People

Fiscal Year 2012

Agency FinAnciAl RepoRt

Delivering 

results

for the American People

From the American People, 
OUR MISSION STATEMENT

Shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world 

and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the 

American people and people everywhere.

OUR VALUES

LOYALTY

Commitment to the United States and the American people.

C H A R A C T E R 

Maintenance of high ethical standards and integrity.

S E R V I C E 

Excellence in the formulation of policy and management practices with 

room for creative dissent. Implementation of policy and management 

practices, regardless of personal views.

A C C O U N T A B I L I T Y 

Responsibility for achieving United States foreign policy goals 

while meeting the highest performance standards.

C O M M U N I T Y 

Dedication to teamwork, professionalism, and the customer perspective.

D I V E R S I T Y 

Commitment to having a workforce that represents the diversity of America.

President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the 

U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 24, 2012. White House
I t is my pleasure to present the U.S. Department

of State’s Joint Summary of Performance 

and Financial Information for Fiscal Year 

2012, created in partnership with the United 

States Agency for International Development 

(USAID). In this summary you will find more 

than just financial and performance information: 

you will find evidence of the commitment by 

the State Department and USAID to deliver 

results for the American people at a time when 

resources are limited but the stakes are high. 

We take seriously our duty to practice fiscal responsibility and 

transparency as we advance U.S. foreign policy objectives.

Today, the United States is faced with a range of complex 

challenges: a transition in Afghanistan; a new relationship with 

post-war Iraq; revolutions and transitions in the Middle East 

and North Africa; a weakened but still dangerous al-Qaeda; 

climate change and resource scarcity; nuclear proliferation; 

pandemic disease and global hunger; and continued 

economic difficulties here at home, to name just a few.

While we face challenges, we also face unprecedented 

opportunities to build new partnerships and, through our 

diplomatic engagement, pursue shared interests with our 

partners in prosperity, security, and advancing democracy 

and human rights. U.S. diplomats and development experts 

across the globe must coordinate and execute effective policies. 

Leaders must make difficult choices, prioritizing some programs 

over others. We also require strong management, from hiring 

and developing talent to using our resources wisely.

On the policy front, we are delivering real results. Our 

troops are home from Iraq and a transition is underway in 

Afghanistan—but our diplomats and development experts 

will remain to stand with our partners and keep America 

safe. We are strengthening our engagement in the AsiaPacific, ensuring we will continue to play a leading role in 

the most pivotal region of the 21st Century. We are building 

new alliances and strengthening our relationships with the 

world’s emerging powers, continuing to engage them on 

issues such as human rights, open government, and free 

trade. In the Middle East and North Africa, 

we are supporting unprecedented democratic 

transitions in previously authoritarian regimes.

Across the globe, we are harnessing our 

economic power to ensure that U.S. businesses 

and industries compete on a level playing field, 

modernizing our diplomacy to better support 

our partners’ development goals, and finding 

new ways to elevate the role of women and girls 

in all that we do. We are achieving all this by 

making difficult but necessary tradeoffs. We are reducing our 

assistance to parts of Europe while at the same time expanding 

the effective development programs that promote our values 

and interests, from our food security work to the President’s 

Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

We also achieved a great deal in our efforts to effectively 

manage our resources and improve the way we work 

together. Since completing the Quadrennial Diplomacy 

and Development Review (QDDR) two years ago, we 

have reorganized the Department of State and USAID 

to better support civilian security, elevate energy issues, 

and promote economic statecraft. We have given our staff 

new opportunities to develop their skills and revamped 

training programs to emphasize interagency coordination. 

We have reformed our strategic planning processes and 

program evaluation to make us more forward thinking and 

accountable. All of these results are just the beginning; we 

are now implementing a second wave of QDDR reforms.

In short, the men and women of the Department of State 

and USAID are delivering results for the American people. 

This work is difficult and sometimes dangerous. Still, they press 

on, because they know a strong America continues to play an 

essential role in creating the more peaceful and prosperous 

world we all want. I am deeply proud to represent them.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State

February 2013

Message from the Secretary of State

2 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012
S

everal years ago, we set ourselves the 

ambitious task of transforming USAID into 

the world’s premier development agency—

a modern development enterprise that could 

represent the best of American ideals abroad, 

while advancing the safety and prosperity of 

Americans at home. Under the strong leadership 

of President Obama and Secretary Clinton, 

USAID has made real progress in harnessing the 

power of American generosity and ingenuity to 

improve human welfare worldwide. We call this 

approach “open-source development,” and it reflects our desire 

to literally open development to problem-solvers everywhere—

from universities to faith-based organizations to private sector 

partners. Working together, we can unlock the expertise of a 

vast community and solve some of the greatest development 

challenges of our time.

To meet this mission with renewed capacity, we embarked on a 

set of fundamental reforms called USAID Forward. Today, these 

reforms have moved well beyond their initial phase and have 

become an intrinsic part of the way we do business every day. 

For example, we’re increasingly working with new communities 

and strengthening existing partnerships to create the conditions 

where our assistance will no longer be necessary. In Afghanistan, 

we partnered directly with the Ministry of Health to help expand 

access to basic services from only nine percent to 64 percent 

of the country, leading to the largest decreases in maternal 

and child mortality of any country in the last decade. 

Over the past year, we have pursued rigorous, thoughtful, and 

results-oriented approaches to solve development challenges 

around the world on a meaningful scale. 

In October, we released the first Feed the Future Progress Report, 

which showcases early results of the President’s global food 

security initiative, including helping 1.8 million people adopt 

improved technologies or management practices. We have also 

reached 8.8 million children through nutrition programs that 

have reduced anemia, support community gardens, and treated 

acute malnutrition.

Drawing on lessons learned during last year’s drought in the 

Horn of Africa—as well as decades of experience responding to 

disasters—USAID is pioneering a fundamental new approach to 

help communities strengthen their resilience in the face of crises. 

Today, we’re utilizing this approach in the Sahel, 

where thanks to our early warning systems, we 

began responding as early as last November to the 

food crisis and have reached more than 3.2 million 

people with assistance. At the same time, we’re 

investing in the resilience of local communities, 

helping families plant highly-nutritious, droughttolerant crops, and farmers improve water management and soil fertility to re-green their lands.

Building on our nation’s long legacy of bipartisan 

leadership in global health, USAID joined the United Nations 

Children’s Fund and the Governments of India and Ethiopia 

in hosting a Call to Action to end preventable child death. As 

a result, more than 160 governments—including the United 

States—have signed a pledge to end preventable child death, 

and we’ve forged more than 20 new public-private partnerships, 

including with mobile telecom companies, like Intel, Vodafon, 

and Qualcomm, to empower community health workers with 

cutting-edge mobile technologies.

Across the world, we are strengthening democracy, human 

rights, and governance, with a special emphasis on marginalized 

populations, including women, youth, and individuals with 

disabilities. In February, we launched our new Center of 

Excellence for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, 

designed to become a core evidenced based resource in the field 

and strengthen our Agency’s culture of data and evaluation.

I am pleased to certify that the performance and financial data in 

this report are complete and reliable. A more expansive discussion 

of the FY 2012 performance and data sources is available in the 

FY 2012 Foreign Assistance Performance Report published in the 

FY 2014 Foreign Operations Congressional Budget Justification.

Today, our efforts to harness the ingenuity of our young people 

build on more than fifty years of engaging the American people 

and serving their interests by improving the lives of people 

everywhere. The challenge for us moving forward will be to focus 

the vast potential of the development community on achieving 

profound results at a greater scale than ever before.

Rajiv Shah

USAID Administrator

February 2013

Message from the USAID Administrator

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 3
Our Organizations

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

The Department of State is the lead U.S. 

foreign affairs agency within the Executive Branch and the 

lead institution for the conduct of American diplomacy. 

Established by Congress in 1789, the Department is the oldest 

and most senior executive agency of the U.S. Government. 

The head of the Department, the Secretary of State, is the 

President’s principal foreign policy advisor. The Secretary 

carries out the President’s foreign policies through the 

State Department and its employees. Headquartered in 

Washington, D.C., the Department of State implements 

U.S. foreign policy worldwide. The Department of State 

promotes and protects the interests of American citizens by:

■ Promoting peace and stability in regions of vital interest;

■ Creating jobs at home by opening markets abroad;

■ Helping developing nations establish investment and 

export opportunities; and 

■ Bringing nations together and forging partnerships to 

address global problems, such as climate change and 

resource scarcity, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the 

spread of communicable diseases, cross-border pollution, 

humanitarian crises, nuclear smuggling, and narcotics 

trafficking. 

The Foreign Service Officers and Civil Service staff in the 

Department of State and U.S. missions abroad represent 

the American people. They work together to achieve the 

goals and implement the initiatives of American foreign 

policy. The Department operates more than 270 embassies, 

consulates, and other posts worldwide staffed by Locally 

Employed (LE) Staff and more than 13,700 Foreign Service 

Officers. In each Embassy, the Chief of Mission (usually 

an Ambassador) is responsible for executing U.S. foreign 

policy goals and for coordinating and managing all U.S. 

Government functions in the host country. A Civil Service 

corps of over 10,700 employees provides continuity and 

expertise in performing all aspects of the Department’s 

mission. The Department’s mission is supported through 

its regional, functional, and management bureaus and 

offices. The regional bureaus, each of which is responsible 

for a specific geographic region of the world, work in 

conjunction with subject matter experts for other bureaus 

and offices to develop policies and implement programs that 

achieve the Department’s goals and foreign policy priorities. 

These bureaus and offices provide policy guidance, program 

management, administrative support, and in-depth expertise.

In carrying out these responsibilities, the Department of State 

consults with Congress about foreign policy initiatives and 

programs, and works in close coordination with other Federal 

agencies, including the Department of Defense, the U.S. 

Agency for International Development (USAID), the 

Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, 

and the Department of Agriculture. 

USAID

In 1961, the United States Congress passed 

the Foreign Assistance Act to administer 

long-range economic and humanitarian assistance to 

developing countries. Two months after passage of the act, 

President John F. Kennedy established the U.S. Agency for 

International Development. USAID unified pre-existing 

U.S. Government assistance programs and served as the 

U.S. Government’s lead international development and 

humanitarian assistance agency. USAID’s mission is to 

advance broad-based economic growth, democracy, and 

human progress in developing countries. USAID is an 

independent federal agency that receives overall foreign 

policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With an official 

presence in 87 countries and programs in several other 

non-presence countries, the Agency accelerates human 

progress in developing countries by reducing poverty, 

advancing democracy, empowering women, building market 

economies, promoting security, responding to crises, and 

improving the quality of life through investments in health 

and education. USAID is headed by an Administrator and 

Deputy Administrator, both appointed by the President 

and confirmed by the Senate. USAID plans its development 

and assistance programs in close coordination with the 

Department of State, and collaborates with a variety of other 

4 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

INTRODUCTION
U.S. Government agencies, multilateral and bilateral 

organizations, private companies, academic institutions, 

and non-governmental organizations (NGO).

To transform USAID into a modern development 

enterprise, the Agency continues to implement USAID 

Forward reforms initiated in 2010. This includes a 

strengthening of the Agency’s overseas workforce in 

key technical areas. In 2012, the Agency’s mission was 

supported by 3,658 permanent and non-permanent direct 

hire employees including 2,136 in the Foreign Service 

and 1,522 in the Civil Service. Additional support came 

from 4,390 Foreign Service Nationals, and approximately 

1,231 other non-direct hire employees (not counting 

institutional support contractors). Of these employees, 

2,682 are based in Washington and 6,597 are deployed 

overseas. More information on the organizational 

structure of the Department of State and USAID can be 

found at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/dos/99494.htm and 

http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization, respectively.

Department of State-USAID

Joint Strategic Goal

Framework

T he Joint Mission of the Department of State and 

USAID is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, 

just, and democratic world and foster conditions for 

stability and progress for the benefit of the American people 

and people everywhere. To achieve this overall mission, 

President Obama and Secretary Clinton have emphasized a 

number of strategic goals that respond to key U.S. foreign 

policy and national security priorities. Strategic planning 

and performance management, including evaluation, are 

guided in the Department and USAID by the Quadrennial 

Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) and the 

Government Performance and Results Act Modernization 

Act of 2010 (GPRAMA). In addition, the Department and 

USAID share a Joint Strategic Goal Framework organized 

around seven strategic goals. The QDDR serves as the 

Department of State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan, which is 

anchored in the National Security Strategy’s objectives for 

U.S. foreign policy and development assistance. The figure 

above, entitled “Old to New” Department of State-USAID Joint 

Strategic Goal Framework, is a graphic that depicts the State 

Department and USAID’s new Strategic Goals in comparison 

to the previous Strategic Goal Framework. Effective FY 2013, 

the Department of State and USAID began measuring 

progress, results, and report performance against the 

new Joint Strategic Goal Framework. In accordance with 

GPRAMA, both State and USAID are updating the agencies’ 

Joint Strategic Plan.

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 5

INTRODUCTION
Attaining the conditions abroad that ensure American 

security and prosperity at home demands responsible 

management of U.S. diplomacy and development 

efforts. This section presents selected accomplishments and 

key management challenges of the Department of State and 

USAID for FY 2012. The achievements highlighted here reflect 

significant efforts to improve the way both agencies administer 

resources, deliver services, and manage for results. Challenges 

identified by the Inspector General of each agency and the U.S. 

Government Accountability Office (GAO) denote management 

and performance issues that the Department and USAID take 

seriously and are actively committed to resolving. In the years 

ahead, the Department and USAID will continue to strengthen 

their accountability and capacity to deliver results consistent 

with the recommendations of the Quadrennial Diplomacy 

and Development Review.

Management Accomplishments

and Challenges – State

Management Accomplishments

The Department won the 2012 Archivist’s Achievement Award 

for innovative and cost-effective use of technology for a records 

management tool that will be adopted as a best practice in the 

U.S. Government. The Department leveraged the technology 

with a dynamic website that received over 3,000 online 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, posted nearly 

3,500 declassified documents, and hosted over 1,000 visitors 

daily (over 350,000 annually). The Department declassified 

nearly three million pages of permanent historical records 

covering U.S. foreign policy, and declassified and released 

over 100,000 pages in response to FOIA requests. Other 

management achievements this year include:

■ As part of the Department’s effort to build a 21st Century 

workforce and strengthen diplomacy, the Foreign Service 

and Civil Service position baselines increased by 21 and 

about nine percent, respectively, since 2008. In FY 2012, 

the Department also worked with Consular Affairs to 

fill a consular staffing gap in China and Brazil with 

44 Limited Non-Career Appointments.

■ In FY 2012, the Department filled over 95 percent of 

its top-priority posts positions for the 2013 assignments 

cycle. The Department met or exceeded OPM’s goals 

for hiring of veterans and individuals with disabilities 

since the President signed the November 2009 and July 

2010 Executive Orders mandating increased recruitment 

of qualified individuals among these groups, and the 

Department is on track to meet OPM’s goals this year.

■ The White House issued an Executive Order establishing 

visa and foreign visitor processing goals, which stated that 

more than 80 percent of all applicants worldwide should 

have their visa interview within three weeks of receiving 

their application. Currently, the Department is exceeding 

this goal.

■ Passport Services issued over 13.1 million passports in 

FY 2012, a four percent increase from FY 2011; further 

demand increases are projected for FY 2013. Processing 

times for issuing a passport averaged 8.3 days for routine 

service and 3.3 days for expedited requests. During the 

busy season (February through June), Passport Service’s 

processing times remained responsive at 8.9 days for 

routine and 3.4 days for expedited requests.

■ The Department of State is leading interagency efforts on 

the Foreign Assistance Dashboard (www.ForeignAssistance.

gov)—a website dedicated to improving the transparency 

of U.S. Government foreign assistance investments around 

the world. To support this effort, in 2012 OMB released 

Bulletin 12-01, which provides federal agencies guidance 

on the collection of standardized foreign assistance data. 

The Bulletin and Dashboard will facilitate the USG’s 

many domestic and international foreign assistance-related 

reporting requirements.

Management Challenges

In FY 2012, the Department’s Office of the Inspector 

General (OIG) identified challenges in the areas of: 

protection of people and facilities; contract and procurement 

management; information security and information 

management; financial management; military to civilian6 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Management Highlights
led presence in Iraq and Afghanistan; foreign assistance 

coordination and oversight; diplomacy with fewer resources; 

public diplomacy; effective embassy leadership; and consular 

operations. The Department promptly takes corrective 

actions in response to OIG findings and recommendations. 

Information on corrective actions taken and remaining can 

be found on pages 156-168 of the Department of State’s 

FY 2012 Agency Financial Report at the following website 

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/200506.pdf.

Management Accomplishments

and Challenges – USAID

Management Accomplishments

The Agency is undertaking a number of initiatives to maximize 

the development impact of its assistance programs per dollar 

spent. The recently implemented Phoenix financial system 

provides USAID with detailed cost information that allows 

it to track accurately the relative cost of its programs. The 

Phoenix system is also providing the data to help the Agency 

comply with the President’s Open Government Initiative. 

The Department of State, USAID, and the Millennium 

Challenge Corporation (MCC) recently began publishing 

foreign assistance budget and spending data on the public 

Foreign Assistance Dashboard, which is driving the United 

State Government to become a leader in aid transparency. 

USAID plans to build on this success and continue to 

improve the way that the Agency’s financial information 

is managed, shared and reported.

Other management achievements this year include:

■ Real Property Initiative that is improving USAID’s 

management of facilities with cost efficient processes and 

innovative methods such as implementing new workplace 

designs and technologies to accommodate staff growth 

without a corresponding increase in required floor 

space. Since 2010 this initiative has resulted in nearly 

$130 million in cost savings and cost avoidances.

■ Workforce Initiative that is attracting and motivating 

top talent through a number of actions. These include 

a streamlined Civil Service hiring process, intensified 

outreach to recruit underrepresented populations to its 

workforce, including a new portal to increase veteran 

hiring, new employee assistance and wellness programs, 

and improvements to performance feedback and 

appraisal processes.

■ Open Government Flagship Initiative which in addition 

to spearheading the Foreign Assistance Dashboard, also 

led to the launch of the newly-updated USAID external 

Website (http://www.usaid.gov) in June 2012. The site 

offers cutting edge tools to provide accessible, real-time 

information to the public about USAID’s global efforts 

to help improve the lives of the world’s underprivileged. 

■ Improved Operating Efficiencies resulted in cost savings 

and avoidances of more than $50 million in FY 2012, 

accomplished through employee initiated actions to reduce 

administrative costs, in-source services, and dispose of 

unneeded real estate. 

■ Implementation of Environmental Sustainability 

Plan that reduced the Agency’s carbon emissions from 

air travel by more than seven percent from a 2008 

baseline, tripled the collection capacity of recyclable 

products at its Washington based facilities, enhanced 

teleworking opportunities, and requires the purchase 

of environmentally friendly products that contain 

recycled, bio-based, non-toxic, energy efficient, and 

water efficient materials. 

Management Challenges

Every year, USAID’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) 

identifies management challenges that affect the ability of the 

Agency to deliver foreign assistance. The FY 2012 challenges 

relate to working in high threat environments, performance 

management and reporting, sustainability, implementation and 

procurement reform, management of information technology, 

and audits of U.S. based for-profit entities. The Agency 

takes immediate remedial actions in response to OIG 

recommendations. See pages 131-145 of the FY 2012 USAID 

Agency Financial Report at http://www.usaid.gov/results-anddata/progress-data/agency-financial-report for a full description 

of the OIG’s identified challenges and the Agency’s responses 

to them.

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 7

MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
with department-level goals and objectives, and allowing 

Washington-based bureaus and posts overseas to identify what 

success looks like, measure progress, and use performance 

data to influence decision making The Framework responds 

to recommendations from the Quadrennial Diplomacy and 

Development Review (QDDR) to better align planning, 

budgeting, program management, and monitoring and 

evaluation to ensure that both agencies’ highest strategic 

priorities are funded, and to produce the performance 

information and evidence needed to make smart investments. 

Following are examples of achievements in FY 2012 under 

the new integrated planning, budgeting and performance 

management framework. These examples reflect efforts to 

continually improve results and increase accountability to 

our stakeholders:

Indicator Reengineering Process. In the spring of 2012, as part 

of the ongoing process to maintain a suite of indicators that 

can be used to represent performance for foreign assistance 

programs, the Department and USAID established the 

T

he Department of State and USAID partner together 

with other federal agencies to plan and execute programs 

that address the global challenges of the 21st century. 

The performance management practices put in place at the 

Department and USAID facilitate the achievement of program 

success and promote greater accountability to the American 

people. A multi-phase process of learning and adapting, as 

reflected in the Managing for Results Framework (figure on 

right), involves setting strategic goals and priorities, designing 

programs to achieve the goals, systematically monitoring and 

evaluating program activities, using performance data to 

inform program and resource decisions, and sharing results 

with stakeholders.

To demonstrate the progress achieved by State and USAID 

toward meeting their joint diplomacy and development 

goals in FY 2012, 121 representative performance indicators 

were published in the FY 2012 Annual Performance Reports 

(APR) of the Department of State and USAID. The figure 

on page 10 shows FY 2012 performance results across the 

seven Joint Strategic Goals. The results for each indicator were 

reviewed against previously determined targets to determine 

its performance rating (i.e., On Target, Above Target, 

Below Target). The following section highlights 16 of these 

representative indicators, organized by Strategic Goal and 

accompanied by an explanation of each goal and analyses of 

results achieved in FY 2012. Complete FY 2012 performance 

results for indicators for programs managed by the Department 

and/or shared with USAID will be published in the FY 2014 

Congressional Budget Justification.

Performance Management

at State and USAID

As noted above, day-to-day performance management at the 

Department and USAID is guided by the new Managing 

for Results Framework. The Framework puts planning 

first, making it easier to align subsequent budget requests 

8 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Performance Highlights
Master Indicator List (MIL) Change Request process as a 

systematic way to regularly update standard Foreign Assistance 

indicators from both agencies’ bureaus, and to continually 

improve the suite of indicators and the overall quality and 

relevance of performance reporting. Indicators associated with 

the Department’s State Operations also underwent analysis 

using the rigorous application of SMART criteria (specific, 

measureable, attainable, relevant, time-bound). Both processes 

resulted in a suite of State Operations and Foreign Assistance 

performance indicators that more accurately measure program 

performance across the Department and USAID’s diplomatic 

and development efforts.

Multi-Year Strategic Planning. The Department and USAID 

launched new strategic planning processes for Washingtonbased bureaus and posts overseas. Known as Joint Regional 

Strategies (JRS) and Functional Bureau Strategies (FBS) for 

bureaus, the JRS and FBS are used to inform budget decisions 

and shape performance reviews. The JRS and FBS advise 

the post-level Integrated Country Strategies (ICS), which 

encapsulate U.S. Government foreign policy priorities for 

a geographic region. In addition, USAID introduced the 

Program Cycle (figure on right) as the foundational framework 

for evidence-based development. The Program Cycle applies 

components of the Managing for Results Framework to 

the USAID context to reinforce the linkage between Agency 

policies and strategies, country-level strategic planning, project 

design and implementation, and performance monitoring and 

evaluation. The Program Cycle will enable USAID to provide a 

more strategic and evidence-based approach to decision-making.

Monitoring and Evaluation. The Department and USAID 

made strides in FY 2012 in the collection and use of 

performance information, including evaluations, to build 

evidence for programmatic and budgetary decisions. In 

February 2012, the Department approved a new Evaluation 

Policy that applies to all Department of State-funded 

programs, projects, and activities. The policy was developed 

in close coordination with USAID and other partner 

organizations to ensure uniform definitions and practices, 

and emphasizes the use of evaluation information to inform 

decision-making. Both the Department’s Evaluation Policy 

and USAID’s Evaluation policy, issued in 2011, recognize 

that evaluation is the means through which agencies can 

obtain systematic, meaningful feedback about the successes 

(and shortcomings) of their efforts. The Department and 

USAID developed an Evaluation Registry to track evaluations 

completed in a given fiscal year and to reduce duplication in 

the collection of evaluative information. The Department is 

currently building a document sharing site, similar to USAID’s 

Development Experience Clearing House, where evaluation 

reports of Department-funded programs and activities will be 

made available to the general public.

Data-Driven Reviews. In accordance with new requirements of 

the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization 

Act (GPRAMA), the Department and USAID initiated 

regular, data-driven reviews for both agencies’ highest foreign 

policy goals, known as Agency Priority Goals (APGs). These 

reviews engaged senior leadership at all levels in discussing 

progress on key efforts and recommended actions going 

forward. The data-driven reviews will serve as the basis for 

ongoing analysis by senior level officials of both agencies’ 

key program and budgetary priorities.

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 9

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
AVERAGE PERFORMANCE RATING AND NUMBER OF REPORTED RESULTS

Strategic Goal Above Target On Target Below Target Not Available

SG1: Achieving Peace and Security

6 6 0 6

SG2: Governing Justly and Democratically

2 0 3 5

SG3: Investing in People

4 2 2 20

SG4: Promoting Economic Growth and Prosperity

4 1 5 4

SG5: Providing Humanitarian Assistance

5 3 3 2

SG6: Promoting International Understanding

1 4 0 2

SG7: Strengthening Consular and Management Capabilities 6 10 8 7

The above chart displays the ratings of indicators for each Strategic Goal.

Total Appropriated Resources Invested 

The pie chart to the right reflects total resources invested in 

FY 2012 for the seven Joint State-USAID Strategic Goals. 

The total of $53.102 billion included $19.184 billion for 

State Operations and $33.918 billion for Foreign Operations. 

This amount included appropriations for contributions 

to international organizations, diplomatic and consular 

programs, and foreign assistance, among others. A breakdown 

of resources invested by Strategic Goal can be found in the 

following seven Strategic Goal chapters.

10 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
T

o assess FY 2012 results, program managers examined quantitative and qualitative indicators to determine whether 

indicators met previously established annual targets. Managers also considered how the results impact the achievement 

of the Department and USAID’s strategic goals. A rating was then assigned to each indicator based on the analysis. In the 

Strategic Goals and Results sections that follows, 16 illustrative indicators are highlighted to provide the reader with timely data 

and analysis of key achievements reported during FY 2012. 

Strategic Goal 1:

Achieving Peace

and Security

Preserve international peace by preventing regional conflicts 

and transnational crime, combating terrorism and weapons 

of mass destruction, and supporting homeland security and 

security cooperation.

Summary of Performance and Resources

The Department and USAID allocated $16.928 billion 

toward this Strategic Goal in FY 2012, which is 32 percent 

of the total State-USAID budget supporting all strategic goals. 

The performance of the illustrative indicator is provided in 

the following section. 

Secretary of State Clinton delivers remarks at the Global 

Counterterrorism Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, June 7, 2012. 

Department of State

Public Benefit

U.S. policy states that the security of U.S. citizens at home 

and abroad is best guaranteed when countries and societies 

are secure, free, prosperous, and at peace. The Department, 

USAID, and their partners seek to strengthen their diplomatic 

and development capabilities, as well as those of international partners and allies, to prevent or mitigate conflict, 

stabilize countries in crisis, promote regional stability, and 

protect civilians. In 2012, a profound and dramatic wave of 

change continued to sweep across the Middle East as people 

courageously stood up to their governments to express their 

legitimate aspirations for greater political participation and 

economic opportunity. Our close relationship with our interagency partners has enabled the United States to strengthen 

our national security and provide leadership in conflict areas, 

such as the Middle East, to promote democratic and political 

reforms and ensure a voice for all peoples, including women, 

in building stable and peaceful societies. 

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 11

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS

Strategic Goals and Results
Key Selected Achievements 

■ The United States has provided equipment, training, 

logistics, and advisory support to the African Union Mission 

in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somalia National Security 

Forces, which have in turn engaged in successful operations 

against the violent extremist organization al-Shabaab in 

Somalia; these efforts have greatly enlarged the area of 

territory held by legitimate Somali authorities and given 

the country its best chance in 20 years to achieve stability 

and self-governance. 

■ Addressing transition in the Middle East, the Department

has used its technical expertise to develop closer relationships 

with many key partners to mitigate regional and global 

threats. In the aftermath of the “Arab Awakening,” 

the Department led the effort to secure loose weapons 

in Libya, including securing or accounting for nearly 

5,000 Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) 

and components. 

■ The bilateral relationship between the United States and 

Iraq continues to deepen. Under the Strategic Framework 

Agreement, the Governments of Iraq and the United States 

continue to work together at the most senior levels on 

a wide range of issues through eight Joint Coordination 

Committees (JCC), including defense and security, 

education and cultural affairs, energy, law enforcement 

and judicial cooperation, politics and diplomacy, services, 

and trade and finance.

Selected Strategic Priorities and Analyses

CONFLICT PREVENTION, MITIGATION, AND RESPONSE: Support 

the prevention, containment or mitigation, and resolution of 

existing or emergent regional conflicts, as well as post-conflict 

peace, reconciliation, and justice processes. 

Analysis: This section details a key performance indicator to 

illustrate the Department of State’s performance in an area 

that links to key budget and policy priorities under Strategic 

Goal 1. The indicator—the number of key milestones achieved 

annually that improve the capabilities of nuclear scientists 

and foreign governments to combat nuclear smuggling and 

prevent terrorist acquisition of a nuclear weapon—represents 

the Department’s priority to improve the capabilities of 

foreign governments to prevent terrorist acquisition of nuclear 

materials or the expertise that could be used to develop 

and use a nuclear device. Overall, there have been some 

outstanding successes, including the maturation of the Global 

Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, development and 

expansion of the Preventing Nuclear Smuggling Program, and 

development of the nuclear component of the Global Threat 

Reduction program. Success has also been registered as the 

Department assists the International Atomic Energy Agency 

(IAEA) in developing and implementing norms, regulations, 

and guidelines regarding nuclear security. The diplomatic 

impetus provided by the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit in 

Washington and the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in South 

Korea greatly assisted in this effort. Success often depends 

on foreign government actions and decision-making, so 

performance targets are not met all the time. This indicator 

tracks work in multiple initiatives and programs, including, 

but not limited to: the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear 

Terrorism (GICNT), a voluntary partnership of 85 states 

that collaborate through multilateral activities to strengthen 

the global capacity to combat the nuclear terrorism threat; 

the Preventing Nuclear Smuggling Program (PNSP), which 

helps the most vulnerable states identify and address gaps in 

their capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear 

and radiological smuggling; and the Global Threat Reduction 

nuclear security program, which helps to build a self-sufficient 

nuclear security culture in priority countries, particularly in 

the Middle East, through training and integration into the 

international technical community.

12 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Strategic Goal 2:

Governing Justly and Democratically

Advance the growth of democracy and good governance, including civil society, the rule of law, 

respect for human rights, political competition, and religious freedom.

Public Benefit

T

he U.S. government views democratic governance and 

human rights as critical for sustainable development and 

lasting peace in a society. Countries cannot advance from 

conflict to peace, fragility to strength, and poverty to prosperity 

without inclusive, effective democratic institutions. The issues 

of authoritarianism, poor governance, disasters, conflict and 

poverty are inextricably linked. The 2011 World Development 

Report concluded that countries weak in government effectiveness, rule of law, and control of corruption have a 30 to 45 

percent higher risk of civil war and significantly higher risk of 

extreme criminal violence than other developing countries. 

The Department of State and USAID work with political and 

civil society leaders to support the emergence of civic norms 

and leadership that uphold the rule of law, reject corruption, 

and advance human rights. These programs assist in building 

key domestic institutions of democratic accountability 

such as vibrant civil societies, free and independent media, 

free and fair electoral processes, strong legislatures, and 

independent judiciaries. Recognizing that broad-based 

inclusive development is crucial for the achievement of 

lasting democracy and peace, the Department and USAID 

ensure that human rights and gender equality are integrated 

throughout their work, and are bolstering efforts to address 

the needs of marginalized populations such as survivors of 

torture and war and people with disabilities. At the same 

time, the Department and USAID continue to combat 

human trafficking and promote labor and LGBT (lesbian, 

gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights, and increase support 

for human-rights defenders and human-rights commissions.

Key Selected Achievements 

■ The United States Government assisted in improving the 

case management system of 702 courts leading to reductions 

in case backlog and case disposition time, reducing 

administrative burdens on judges, increasing transparency 

of judicial procedures, and improving compliance with 

procedural law. 

■ Legislatures receiving USG assistance increasingly exercised 

their oversight responsibilities of the Executive Branch of 

government, resulting in 279 oversight actions in FY 2012. 

Legislative monitoring is a key function of democratically 

elected legislatures and a key component of a system of 

checks and balances. 

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s province of Kasai Oriental, 

women lead a civic and voter education session with USAID support 

in preparation for historic national elections. USAID

Summary of Performance and Resources

The Department and USAID allocated $3.225 billion toward 

this Strategic Goal in FY 2012, which is six percent of the total 

State-USAID budget supporting all strategic goals. 

The performance of the illustrative indicators is provided 

in the following section. 

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 13

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
CIVIL SOCIETY: Strengthen democratic political culture and 

citizen engagement by supporting the means through which 

citizens can freely organize, advocate, and communicate with 

members of their own and other governments, international 

bodies, and other elements of civil society. 

Analysis: Civil society participation in democratic 

policymaking improves the transparency and accountability of 

one’s government and of the legislative process. The indicator 

measures Civil Society Organizations active participation in, 

or engagement with the legislature; for example, attend and 

contribute to committee meetings, send policy briefs, send 

comments on proposed legislation, and provide research. 

In FY 2012, more than 11,000 Civil Society Organizations 

receiving USG assistance engaged in one or more advocacy 

interventions, nearly triple the target. 

■ The Department of State and USAID continued to provide 

critical assistance to the “Arab Spring” countries of the 

Middle East and North Africa to help them navigate 

through challenging democratic transitions. 

■ More than 2,790 non-state news outlets were strengthened 

with assistance by the USG in order to provide a voice to 

civil society, business, government, and all other actors at 

the local, national, and international levels. A professional 

and independent press helps underpin democracy by 

disseminating accurate information, facilitating democratic 

discourse, and providing critical and independent checks 

on government authorities.

Selected Strategic Priorities and Analyses

RULE OF LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS: Advance and protect 

human and individual rights, and promote societies where the 

state and its citizens are accountable to laws that are publicly 

promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated, 

consistent with international norms and standards. 

Analysis: The United States supports programs that help 

countries build the necessary rule of law infrastructure, 

particularly in the justice sector, to uphold and protect their 

citizens’ basic human rights. The rule of law is a principle of 

governance under which all persons, institutions, and entities, 

public and private, including the state itself, are accountable 

to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, 

independently adjudicated, and consistent with international 

laws, norms, and standards. Activities in this Program Area 

also advance and protect individual rights as embodied in the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international 

conventions to which states are signatories. This includes 

defending and promoting the human rights of marginalized 

populations such as women, religious minorities, disabled 

individuals, indigenous groups, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

and transgendered people. 

The U.S. Government has a two-fold strategy to promote 

and defend human rights by supporting non-governmental 

organizations (NGOs) that advocate and monitor human rights 

and by training defenders of human rights in the legal profession 

and other watchdog groups. In FY 2012, more than 15,000 

human rights defenders were trained and supported, exceeding 

the target of 3,405 by 450 percent. 

Presentation of the ACTA Civil Society analysis of the FY 2013 Afghan 

national budget. USAID

14 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Analysis: The provision of voter and civic education in 

developing democracies helps ensure that voters have the 

information they need to be effective participants in the 

democratic process. This unit of measure is defined as any 

eligible voter that receives voter or civic education messages 

through print, broadcast, or new media, as well as via 

in-person contact. Voter and civic education also includes 

community-based trainings in underserved areas, public 

service announcements on electronic media, written 

materials, internet-based information and messages using 

the new media. Voter education efforts are concentrated 

prior to major national elections in order to increase voter 

participation. Nearly 60 million eligible voters were reached 

through USG assisted voter and civic education programs, 

well in excess of the nearly 30 million voters targeted. 

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 15

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Strategic Goal 3:

Investing in People

Ensure good health, improve access to education, and protect vulnerable populations to help nations create 

improvements in the well-being and productivity of their citizens. 

Public Benefit

I

nvestments in global health demonstrate our compassion 

and serve our interests. When we help fight global killers, 

such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, we strengthen social and 

regional stability, advancing our own security. When we 

immunize millions of children against deadly diseases, we 

help support productive, healthy populations and energize 

the economy. And when we help a mother give birth to 

a healthy child, we are advancing values that unite us as 

Americans: compassion, equality, and a belief in the potential 

of every individual. While recent decades have witnessed 

dramatic progress in global health, preventable disease and 

premature death continue to plague much of the developing 

world, particularly affecting women and children and other 

vulnerable populations.

Through the President’s Global Health Initiative (GHI), 

the Department of State and USAID are leading the effort 

to build on country-owned health platforms as well as the 

President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the President’s 

Malaria Initiative (PMI) and earlier investments in fighting 

tuberculosis and promoting maternal and child health, 

including family planning, to foster sustainable, effective, 

efficient and country-led public health systems that deliver 

essential health care and improve health outcomes. To 

maximize the impact of GHI, the Department and USAID 

target their efforts to improve the health of women, newborns, 

and children by focusing on safe births and family planning, 

child health, infectious disease, clean water, nutrition, and 

neglected tropical diseases.

The Department of State and USAID also recognize that 

investments in education are foundational to human 

development and critical to broad-based economic growth 

and poverty reduction. Together, our education programs are 

working to reduce illiteracy, provide safe spaces and learning 

opportunities for the most vulnerable children and strengthen 

higher education institutions and workforce development 

programs to support country development goals. 

Staff members at the Buge Health Center, SNNPR, Ethiopia. USAID 

works with the Ministry of Health to strengthen services at health 

centers around the country to prevent maternal and infant deaths. USAID

Summary of Performance and Resources

The Department and USAID allocated $10.838 billion toward 

this Strategic Goal in FY 2012, which is 20 percent of the total 

State-USAID budget supporting all strategic goals. 

The performance of the illustrative indicators is provided 

in the following section. 

16 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Key Selected Achievements 

■ Through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS 

Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Government continues to make 

unparalleled investments to combat HIV/AIDs, treating 

more than 50 million adults and children in 34 targeted 

countries with Antiretroviral Therapy, HIV/AIDs testing, 

counseling, and other services. 

■ The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has dramatically 

increased the coverage of malaria control measures and 

reduced related child mortality levels. During the past six 

years, 11 PMI countries—Angola, Madagascar, Ghana, 

Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, 

and Zambia—have reported an increase in household 

ownership of one or more Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) 

from an average of 31 to 60 percent. 

■ Through training of health care workers, USAID’s Global 

Health Initiative has helped to increase the percentage 

of births attended by skilled doctors, nurses or midwives 

from 41 percent in FY 2008 to 45 percent in FY 2012, 

in 23 targeted countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia.

■ U.S. assistance efforts helped to increase the percentage 

of households using an improved sanitation facility to 

26 percent in eight priority countries, nearly double the 

14 percent target. Use of an improved sanitation facility by 

households is strongly linked to decreases in the incidence 

of waterborne disease among household members, 

especially among children under age five. Diarrhea remains 

the second leading cause of child deaths worldwide. 

Selected Strategic Priorities and Analyses

HEALTH: Improve global health, including child, maternal, and 

reproductive health; prevent and treat infectious diseases; and 

increase access to better drinking water and sanitation services.

Analysis – Tuberculosis: Twenty-two developing countries 

account for 80 percent of the world’s tuberculosis (TB) cases, 

and in FY 2010, the disease killed approximately 1.4 million 

people. The focus of USAID’s TB program is to improve the 

quality of basic TB services as well as to prevent and combat 

multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extremely drugresistant TB in 20 Tier 1 priority countries. 

In USAID supported countries, the death and prevalence rates 

from TB have decreased 29 percent and 13 percent, respectively 

since 1990. In 2012, U.S. efforts helped ensure that 86 percent 

of registered new smear positive pulmonary TB cases were cured 

and completed treatment under a directly observed treatment 

short course strategy in health facilities and communities. 

Analysis – Nutrition: Over 130 million children worldwide, 

or one in every four children, are underweight. Under nutrition 

contributes to 3.5 million child deaths every year, making it 

the leading contributor to under-five mortality. The damage 

caused by insufficient nutrition to physical growth and brain 

development in pregnancy and early childhood is irreversible. 

It leads to permanently reduced cognitive function and physical 

capacity through adulthood. However, this cycle is preventable. 

Improving nutrition can reduce child and maternal mortality 

and morbidity as well as chronic diseases later in life, lift 

families out of poverty, and contribute to long-term economic 

growth. As part of the GHI, USAID’s nutrition programs 

are becoming integrated with activities under the maternal 

and child health and family planning/reproductive programs. 

Nutrition is the lynchpin between the United States’ Feed the 

Future (FtF) Initiative and the GHI. These initiatives helped 

reduce the percentage of underweight children under five years 

of age in 17 targeted countries from 27 percent in FY 2009 to 

25 percent in FY 2012. 

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 17

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Analysis – Water Supply and Sanitation: The U.S. 

Government is committed to using its foreign assistance 

resources to help achieve a water-secure world where people 

and countries have reliable and sustainable access to an 

acceptable quantity and quality of water to meet human, 

livelihood, production, and ecosystem needs. The centrality 

of water for individuals, societies, and the environment also 

means that water issues intersect with all other aspects of 

development. The U.S. Government uses a diverse number 

of approaches to increase access to water, including direct 

support for small- and large-scale infrastructure development 

and indirect support through community-based systems, 

facilitation of private supply of products and services, and 

financing to ensure long-term sustainability and expansion of 

access. Through these efforts, the percentage of households 

using an improved drinking water source increased to 

37.5 percent in seven priority countries in FY 2012, 

well above the 29 percent target. 

School programs have become particularly useful for students to bring 

home sanitary practices and health information that end up helping the 

whole family—messages on HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, personal 

safety for girls, nutrition, civic education, environment, and hygiene 

are just some of the topics of education. USAID

18 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Strategic Goal 4:

Promoting Economic Growth and Prosperity Support world economic growth and protect the environment, while expanding opportunities for 

U.S. businesses and ensuring economic and energy security.

Public Benefit

E

conomic growth is key to transforming the developing 

world. It is the only way for poor countries to reduce 

and eventually do away with extreme poverty. Economic 

growth is the surest way for countries to generate the resources 

they need to weather global crises—from unstable markets 

for finance to energy and food crises—and to address their 

own illiteracy, poor health and other long-term development 

challenges. Economic growth in developing countries is also 

important to the security of the United States. Poor countries 

are more susceptible to conflict, can harbor terrorist activity, 

and are often sources of illegal immigration, epidemic disease, 

and international crimes such as the trafficking of narcotics 

and persons.

Through complementary diplomatic and development efforts, 

the Department of State and USAID work to help developing 

countries achieve rapid, sustained and broad-based economic 

growth. The State Department is leading the effort to develop 

and implement economic growth, energy, agricultural, 

oceans, environmental, and science and technology policies to 

promote economic prosperity and address global challenges 

in a transparent rule-based system. At the same time, USAID 

economic growth programs are working in countries to improve 

the environment for enterprise growth and competitiveness, 

strengthen economic policy and governance, create sound, 

well-governed financial systems, support business enabling 

environments, microfinance programs and business services 

for micro and small enterprises, and build trade capacity. 

Through Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global 

hunger and food security initiative, the Department of State 

and USAID, along with the Department of Agriculture, are 

helping partner countries develop their agricultural exports to 

spur economic growth, protect the natural resource base upon 

which agriculture depends, and invest in nutrition for women 

and young children. Assisting countries to effectively protect 

and manage their natural resource base and mitigate the adverse 

impact of climate change is also fundamental to generating 

sustainable economic growth.

Summary of Performance and Resources

The Department and USAID allocated $5.109 billion toward 

this Strategic Goal in FY 2012, which is 10 percent of the total 

State-USAID budget for all strategic goals. The performance of 

illustrative indicators is provided in the following section. 

The 12 members of the Wanawake Kwanza (Women First) growers 

association in Maza village, Morogoro, Tanzania, have received Feed 

the Future support through USAID to boost their incomes and improve 

nutrition in the village. USAID

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 19

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Key Selected Achievements 

■ The ability of developing country economies to compete 

globally is steadily improving. Through technical 

assistance and training to support host government led 

macroeconomic and regulatory reforms that encourage 

private sector investment, fiscal discipline, and more liberal 

trade and investment systems, 90 percent of USG assisted 

countries saw their global competitiveness index score rise. 

■ Through the President’s Global Hunger and Food Security 

Initiative, Feed the Future, more than seven million farmers 

in 48 USG assisted countries applied new technologies or 

management practices, leading to increases in agricultural 

productivity and household income. 

■ In order to bolster USAID’s efforts to mitigate the impact 

of global climate change, the Agency issued a new climate 

change and development strategy for the period 2012-

2016. The strategy requires field missions to consider 

climate change in their programming, policy dialogues 

and operations in order to accelerate the transition to low 

emission development through investments in clean energy 

and sustainable landscapes, and build resilience of people, 

places and livelihoods through investments in adaptation.

Selected Strategic Priorities and Analyses

ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE: A solid macroeconomic foundation 

for broad-based growth consists of sound fiscal and monetary 

policies, capable institutions, and governments’ abilities to 

use these tools to manage the economy. U.S. assistance works 

to strengthen these foundations by establishing a stable and 

predictable macroeconomic environment that encourages the 

private sector to make productivity-enhancing investments. 

Countries with open, competitive economies tend to experience 

more rapid growth without sacrificing goals relating to poverty 

reduction or income distribution. The U.S. provides technical 

assistance and training to support the design and implementation 

of key macroeconomic reforms in money and banking policy, 

fiscal policy, trade and exchange rate policy, and national 

income accounting, measurement, and analysis. 

Analysis – Tax Administration and Compliance: Improved tax 

administration and compliance is linked to economic growth. 

When governments have more internally generated funds, they 

can invest in infrastructure, public services and social services 

that promote economic activity and productivity. Improved 

tax administration is most effective when it includes more 

complete audit and investigation coverage, modern customs 

enforcement and increased efficiency in tax submission and 

collection procedures. In those countries where USAID is 

working with governments to improve their tax systems, tax 

collections improved by 72 percent in FY 2012, far exceeding 

the 16 percent target. 

 

AGRICULTURE: There are more than a billion people suffering 

from hunger. Agriculture is a key driver to foster economic 

growth, reduce poverty and global hunger, and improve 

health. By the World Bank’s estimates, agriculture is twice as 

effective in reducing poverty as investments in other sectors like 

manufacturing or mining. To become competitive in today’s 

global marketplace, farmers need to integrate into the production 

chain—from farm to the grocery’s shelf. To bring about this 

integration, U.S. Government activities, including support 

provided through the President’s Feed the Future Initiative, 

promote the adoption of productivity enhancing technologies, 

improvement in product and quality control standards, and 

access to market information and infrastructure. 

Analysis – Farm Sales: In addition to working with rural 

households, farmers, and farm groups, U.S. agricultural 

assistance focuses on expanding access to markets by reducing 

trade barriers within and between countries. In FY 2012, 

USG investments increased the value of incremental farm 

sales from approximately $900,000 in FY 2010 to nearly 

$263 million in FY 2012. Activities such as the Staples Value 

20 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Chain Program (NAFAKA) in Tanzania and the Family 

Farming Program (FFP) in Tajikistan worked with farmers 

and agribusinesses to improve sales through credit, technology 

transfer, and marketing. 

ENVIRONMENT: Promote an integrated approach to natural 

resources management so that land and water can continue 

to sustain a growing world population. USG assistance 

helps support local efforts to protect land tenure rights, fight 

deforestation and plant trees, protect biodiversity, and mitigate 

and adapt to the effects of climate change.

Analysis – Natural Resource Management: Worldwide 

impoverishment of ecosystems is occurring at an alarming rate, 

threatening development by reducing soil productivity and 

water, diminishing resilience to climate change, and driving 

species to extinction. This decline in ecosystems annually 

contributes about 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

Through implementation of best practice approaches, increased 

technical or material capacity of resource managers, and a 

wide range of other context specific interventions, the USG 

helped put nearly 100 million hectares of biological significance 

under improved natural resource management in 15 targeted, 

high-priority countries. 

USAID projects in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Peten, Guatemala, focus 

on sustainable forestry management, ecotourism and the reduction of 

greenhouse gas emissions through reduced deforestation. USAID

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 21

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Strategic Goal 5:

Providing Humanitarian Assistance Save lives, alleviate suffering, and minimize the economic costs of conflict, disasters, and displacement. 

Public Benefit

T

he Department of State and USAID are the lead 

U.S. Government Agencies that respond to complex 

humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters overseas. 

The United States gives more to those in crises than any other 

country in the world. Humanitarian assistance is provided 

on the basis of need, according to principles of universality, 

impartiality and human dignity. In addition to providing 

emergency relief in response to natural and man-made disasters, 

the State Department and USAID also focus on building 

host nation capacity to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate 

the consequences of disasters on their own. In tandem with 

non-profit partners and international organizations such as 

the World Food Program and UNICEF, the Department 

and USAID help those affected by disaster to cope and then 

begin again by converting crisis situations into opportunities 

to promote peace, democracy, and economic growth. 

Where appropriate, humanitarian assistance and longerterm development planning and programming are linked to 

effectively reduce the long-term cost of conflict and natural 

disaster and cyclical need for humanitarian assistance and 

facilitate a country’s ability to transition away from relief 

assistance to developmental solutions. 

The Philippine government estimates that Typhoon Bopha damaged or 

destroyed nearly 70,000 houses. Emergency shelter supplies flown into 

the region by USAID/OFDA are helping communities get back on their 

feet. USAID

■ The U.S. Government provided more than $1.5 billion 

in emergency food assistance in 36 countries in FY 2012, 

reaching 97 percent of its planned beneficiaries.

■ In an effort to build disaster risk reduction capacity 

to mitigate the impact of natural disasters, the USG 

trained more than 6,872 representatives of local disaster 

preparedness and response organizations in FY 2012. 

Summary of Performance and Resources

The Department and USAID allocated $4.143 billion toward 

this Strategic Goal in FY 2012, which is eight percent of the 

total State-USAID budget for all strategic goals. The 

performance of the illustrative indicators is provided in the 

following section. 

Key Selected Achievements 

■ The Department of State and USAID have provided more 

than $200 million in humanitarian assistance to conflict 

affected people in Syria and neighboring countries in the 

form of critical medical supplies, emergency health care, 

food, and relief supplies.

22 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Selected Strategic Priorities and Analyses

PROTECTION, ASSISTANCE, AND SOLUTIONS: Protect vulnerable 

populations (e.g. refugees, internally displaced persons, and 

others affected by natural disasters and human-made crises) from 

physical harm, persecution, exploitation, abuse, malnutrition, 

disease, and other threats by providing disaster relief, food aid, 

and humanitarian assistance.

Analysis – Gender Protection: Combating gender-based 

violence (GBV) remains a United States priority. Available 

evidence suggests that the stress and disruption of daily life 

during complex humanitarian emergencies may lead to a rise in 

GBV. Efforts to prevent and combat GBV are integrated into 

multi-sectoral programs in order to maximize their effectiveness 

and increase protection generally. Combating GBV increases 

protection for women, children, and others at risk during 

complex humanitarian emergencies by preventing or responding 

to incidents of rape, domestic violence, forced marriage, sexual 

exploitation and abuse, and other forms of GBV. To support 

these efforts, community awareness, psychosocial counseling, 

health services and legal aid for survivors are mainstreamed 

into humanitarian programs. 

Since 2000, the State Department’s Bureau for Population, 

Refugees and Migration (PRM) has taken a leading role in 

raising and addressing the special protection needs of women 

and children in any humanitarian response by engaging with 

international and non-governmental organization partners to 

develop policies that better address the unique needs of women 

and children in conflict situations. In FY 2012, 45 percent of 

State funded NGO or other International Organization funded 

projects included activities to prevent and respond to GBV. 

Since 2000, PRM has provided over $60 million in targeted 

GBV programming.

Analysis – Disaster Relief: USAID provides rapid response to 

meet the basic needs of populations affected by life-threatening 

disasters, both natural and complex. In FY 2012, USAID 

obligated $1.6 billion for humanitarian assistance worldwide. 

USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), as 

the U.S. Government’s lead in international disaster response, 

reached nearly 50 million beneficiaries affected by 60 disasters 

in 53 countries during FY 2012 and provided targeted assistance 

to almost 30 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 

North, West, Central, and Southern Africa and the Horn of 

Africa, Central, South, and Southeast Asia, Central and South 

America, and the Caribbean. Major components of OFDA’s 

humanitarian assistance activities include food, shelter, water, 

sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and public health. 

Analysis – Disaster Readiness: Each year, USAID provides 

humanitarian assistance in the wake of natural disasters 

such as earthquakes, floods, and volcanoes. To minimize the 

risks of these and future disasters, USAID funds numerous 

disaster preparedness and mitigation programs. By making 

these strategic investments, USAID is saving lives, alleviating 

suffering, and reducing the economic impact of disasters by 

organizing and preparing communities before they are in 

jeopardy. By empowering individuals at the host government, 

community, and local levels to identify, prevent, mitigate, and 

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 23

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
respond to future crises, USAID continues to work toward 

advancing self-sufficiency in disaster management. OFDA 

works closely with vulnerable communities, national and 

local governments, international and regional organizations, 

universities, and non-governmental organizations to build 

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) capacity, and has been 

making significant progress in building local resilience to 

disasters. Within the past five years, 17 percent of local 

Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance 

partners implemented risk reducing practices to improve 

their country’s preparedness and response to natural disasters, 

a mark well above the seven percent target and more than 

triple the FY 2011 result. 

24 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Strategic Goal 6:

Promoting International Understanding Achieve foreign policy goals and objectives and enhance national security by fostering broad, mutually-respectful 

engagement and mutual understanding between American citizens and institutions and their counterparts abroad.

Public Benefit

T

he Department recognizes the central role of public 

diplomacy as a tool and an essential element of 21st 

century statecraft, and has committed to renewing 

America’s engagement with the people of the world by 

enhancing mutual respect and understanding, and creating 

partnerships aimed at solving common problems. To address 

the challenges of today, the Department has developed the first 

detailed global strategy for public diplomacy in more than a 

decade, ensuring its alignment with foreign policy objectives. 

Public diplomacy programs explain American society and 

culture and policy making to a broader international public. 

By improving their understanding of American society and 

values, the United States can establish a positive narrative 

and framework for policy discussions.

digital media through Regional Media Hubs, foreign 

language spokespeople and innovative uses of technology. 

The Department’s six Regional Media Hubs are positioned 

strategically around the globe in major media markets 

to reach the most influential global and regional outlets. 

As virtual extensions of the Department of State’s 

Spokesperson’s podium, the Hubs respond to the rapidly 

moving international media environment to amplify 

the U.S. Government’s highest priority policy messages. 

Hub video teams traveled to support major policy 

events, capturing footage of U.S. officials in action for 

Secretary of State Clinton, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to TimorLeste Judith R. Fergin, is greeted by traditional dancers at the Cooperativa 

Café Timor in Dili, Timor-Leste, September 6, 2012. Established in 1994 

with the support of USAID, the self-supporting cooperative has now 

expanded to vanilla, clove, cacao, and cassava production for export. 

UNMIT photo by Bernardino Soares. Department of State

Summary of Performance and Resources

The Department and USAID allocated $0.741 billion toward 

this Strategic Goal in FY 2012, which is one percent of the 

total State-USAID budget for all strategic goals. The 

performance of the illustrative indicator is provided in the 

following section. 

Key Selected Achievements 

■ The Department’s Fund for Innovation in Public Diplomacy

enables embassies to quickly capitalize on public diplomacy 

opportunities that advance Department policy priorities. 

In 2012, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy 

conducted a special Innovation Fund competition 

to advance Economic Statecraft; 33 projects were 

funded, for a total of $1.5 million, on topics including 

entrepreneurship, skills training for women and youth, 

travel, and tourism. 

■ International Media Engagement: The Department 

continued to expand its capacity to reach international 

audiences by engaging foreign broadcast, print and 

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 25

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
distribution to broadcast and digital media via satellite 

and the State Department’s newly launched online video 

distribution platform—StateOnDemand. Spokespeople 

amplified the President and Secretary’s messages in 

Arabic, Farsi, Spanish, Urdu, Dari, and other languages 

to ensure accurate coverage of U.S. policy in foreign 

media. In addition, media all over the world accessed 

senior policymakers in Washington via LiveAtState virtual 

press conferences, which use state-of-the-art technology 

to link foreign journalists and bloggers with U.S officials 

for meaningful discussions.

■ Crisis Communications Surge Capacity: To ensure that 

the Department can disseminate accurate and timely 

information to both domestic and foreign audiences 

during a crisis, the Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs 

established the Public Affairs Fly Away Communications 

Team (PA FACT). These rapid response teams deploy on 

a short-term basis to provide expertise and equipment for 

posts in time of crisis. PA FACT members also train and 

deploy with larger inter-agency teams to provide strategic 

messaging support for complicated operations during 

international crises.

■ Social Media: The Department continued to expand 

its social media outreach by routinely scheduling global 

online engagements in up to nine languages on a variety 

of social media platforms, from Facebook to Twitter 

to Google+. The Spokesperson responded to questions 

received from Twitter at the podium for the first time, 

and the Department conducted its first-ever Google+ 

Hangout in Farsi for Persian-language journalists. 

The State Department’s flagship social media sites saw 

exponential growth across platforms, and online audiences 

interacted with content tailored to their interests with 

the launch of “My State Department” on state.gov.

Selected Strategic Priorities and Analyses

NURTURE COMMON INTERESTS: Expand international 

understanding of common interests and values through messages 

and programs built on areas in which U.S. Government 

expertise corresponds to the interests and needs of its partners 

and counterparts. 

Analysis: The Department assesses educational and cultural 

exchange program performance by collecting data directly 

from program participants. The illustrative indicator below 

measures the percentage of exchange participants who reported 

an increase or positive change in their understanding of the 

United States (political and economic institutions, norms, and 

values) immediately following the conclusion of their programs. 

In FY 2012, the Department again exceeded its target, with 

more than 97 percent of foreign publics reporting an increased 

or positive change in understanding. Statistics are compiled 

from surveys of actual participants (“alumni”) of exchange 

programs. While there are many factors that could account 

for variations from year to year, what is most important is the 

trend: each year, overwhelmingly, the participants’ perceptions 

of the United States are positively impacted by their experiences. 

Other indicators measured changes in exchange participant 

favorability toward the U.S. Government (71 percent reported 

a more favorable view in FY 2012), and toward the American 

people (85 percent reported a more favorable view in FY 2012), 

as a result of their participation in an exchange program. 

These results show the effectiveness of educational and cultural 

exchange programs in positively and substantively reshaping 

understanding of, and attitudes toward, the United States. 

26 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Strategic Goal 7:

Strengthening Consular and Management Capabilities

Assist American citizens to travel, conduct business, and live abroad securely, and ensure a high quality workforce 

supported by modern, secure infrastructure and operational capabilities.

Public Benefit

Approximately 6.3 million U.S. citizens reside 

abroad, and U.S. citizens make about 65 million 

trips overseas every year. The Department provides 

citizen support throughout the cycle of life, from certifying 

the birth of U.S. citizens born abroad, to assisting families 

when a U.S. citizen dies overseas. The Department also assists 

U.S. citizens whose children have been wrongly taken to or 

retained in foreign countries. The Department continues, 

in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security 

and other agencies, to protect America’s homeland with 

improved technology and efficiency at ports of entry and in 

visa processing, smarter screening technology for Government 

officials, and more secure U.S. travel documents (both 

visas and passports). In support of this strategic goal, the 

Department is pursuing a multi-year hiring program to build 

the talented, diverse workforce needed to handle our foreign 

policy priorities and strengthen diplomacy.

thirty finalists and six categories across all of Government 

by ACT-IAC’s Overall Winner for Excellence.gov Top 

Government Programs and the winner for Excellence in 

Enterprise Efficiencies. 

■ The Denver Resident Office and Miami Field Office 

received Leadership in Energy and Environmental 

Design (LEED) Silver certification.

From left to right, Embassy Cairo Public Diplomacy Officer Adam 

Lenert, Embassy Riga Chief Consul Tim Buckley, Embassy Dhaka Chief 

Consul Bill Hammaker, and Embassy Cairo Consular Affairs Officer 

Jessica Adams, pose for a photo with an American couple at the Cairo 

International Airport in Egypt, February 7, 2011. Department of State

Summary of Performance and Resources

The Department and USAID allocated $12.118 billion toward 

this Strategic Goal in FY 2012, which is 23 percent of the total 

State-USAID budget for all strategic goals. The performance of 

the two illustrative indicators is provided 

in the following section. 

Key Selected Achievements 

■ The Integrated Logistics Management System (ILMS), 

the Department’s global platform for integrating post 

logistics operations with Washington headquarters and 

Regional Centers, became fully deployed domestically and 

overseas at 260+ posts. Critical to ensuring diplomatic 

personnel around the world can provide the goods and 

services that are essential to support the Department’s 

mission, ILMS was recognized by the American Council 

for Technology-Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) 

through two prestigious awards. ILMS was selected from 

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 27

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
■ The Department won the 2012 Archivist’s Achievement 

Award for innovative and cost-effective use of technology 

for a records management tool that is being promoted as 

a best practice in the U.S. Government. 

■ Global OpenNet: IRM successfully deployed its 

modernized remote access solution, Global OpenNet 

(GO). GO provides more user-desktop functionality 

to remote end users, making staff more productive 

when teleworking.

■ The Department continues to strengthen its global 

financial platform and endeavor to carry out the expanding 

landscape of financial initiatives, compliance, and reporting 

requirements. For FY 2012, the Department received 

an unqualified or “clean” opinion from its Independent 

Auditor on our annual Agency-wide Financial Statements 

and an unqualified statement of assurance for our internal 

controls over financial reporting.

■ A key USAID priority is USAID Forward, an initiative 

aimed at changing the way the Agency does business in 

order to more effectively achieve high impact development 

while making the best use of limited resources. From 

attracting and retaining talented Agency staff to creating 

new monitoring and evaluation systems and revitalizing 

our policy, financial, and technical expertise, USAID is 

strengthening its core capacity to achieve broader and 

deeper development results while reducing costs. The 

Agency met its Talent Management targets of 85 percent 

fill rates for Critical Priority Countries without the use 

of directed assignments.

■ Under USAID Forward, the Implementation and 

Procurement Reform Initiative focuses on improving how 

it does business—contracting with and providing grants to 

more and varied local partners, and forging partnerships 

to create the conditions where assistance is no longer 

necessary in the countries where USAID works. In 2012, 

the Agency made an estimated 608 new awards to local 

partners from 33 missions.

Selected Strategic Priorities and Analyses

HUMAN RESOURCES: Ensure a high-quality workforce with 

appropriate skill sets for today’s global context.

Analysis: During FY 2012, the Department and USAID 

began reporting its results quarterly for the goal to strengthen 

diplomacy and development by leading through civilian 

power. The following two illustrative indicators for Strategic 

Goal 7 show quarterly data for staffing priority for language 

designated positions and positions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and 

Pakistan (AIP).

The language-designated position (LDP) fill rate is the 

percent of all language-designated positions filled by 

incumbents meeting or exceeding the language requirement 

for the position. Since FY 2010, the Department has 

experienced a steady increase in the LDP fill rate because 

of Diplomacy 3.0, the Department’s multi-year hiring 

program that began in 2009. The goals of Diplomacy 3.0 

have been to mitigate extended vacancies caused by increased 

commitments at priority posts such as Afghanistan, Iraq and 

Pakistan (AIP); eliminate the mid-level staffing deficit; build 

in a training component; and strengthen the service with 

the right mix of entry-level, mid-level and senior employees. 

Under the Diplomacy 3.0 umbrella are various recruitment 

and training initiatives. For example, the Department has 

recruited individuals with language skills (Chinese Mandarin 

and Portuguese) to fill limited non-career appointments at 

posts with high volumes of visa adjudication, such as posts in 

Brazil and China. Additionally, with an increase in training, 

the Department has been able to provide more opportunities 

for short- and long-term foreign language training in priority 

languages such as Arabic and Chinese Mandarin, which 

take two years of training to become proficient.

With guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, 

the Department revised its FY 2012 and FY 2013 LDP fill 

rate targets based on FY 2012 funding, and the assumption 

that future funding levels might be less than funding requests. 

If resources remain at lower than requested levels, our 

improvement trend in the LDP fill rate may begin to plateau. 

The Department will continue to allocate staff to the highest 

global priorities and to maximize the number of LDPs that 

are filled to requirements, using available resources.

28 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
Analysis: The Staffing High Priority Posts metric is a 

measure of the percentage of AIP positions filled for 

the current assignment cycle, which begins one full year 

in advance of the rotation dates. This is not a real time 

metric of AIP staffing rates.

The targets for this metric illustrate the nature of the AIP 

assignment cycle. The AIP assignment cycle begins in the 

second/third quarter, about three months before the regular 

summer assignment cycle, and ends in the second quarter 

of the following fiscal year. Accordingly, the target is at its 

maximum value in the second quarter when the assignment 

cycle ends, and the target is at its lowest value in the third 

quarter when the new assignment cycle begins.

Current AIP fill rates for the 2013 summer (third quarter) 

assignment cycle, which we began tracking in the third 

quarter of 2012, are on par with previous assignment 

cycles. Staffing AIP posts continues to be a priority for the 

Department. Using a variety of recruitment strategies, which 

include robust incentive packages, the Department has 

consistently met staffing requirements in those posts with 

volunteers, bypassing the need for directed assignments.

The Department will continue to review long-term and 

short-term staffing requirements at these three embassies 

and constituent posts, which will inform future recruitment 

strategies and policies.

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 29

STRATEGIC GOALS AND RESULTS
T

he Agency Financial Reports (AFRs) of the Department 

of State and USAID disclose the agencies’ financial 

status and provide transparency and accountability to 

the American people, Congress, and the President—including 

both successes and challenges. The reports provide a snapshot 

in time of the immense financial work undertaken by each 

agency’s financial personnel to exercise good stewardship 

and management of public funds. The AFRs present each 

agency’s audited financial statements and notes, Management’s 

Discussion and Analysis, and performance and other required 

information.

Below are summary highlights of the AFRs for both the 

Department of State and USAID for FY 2012. Following the 

highlights are tables containing key financial information on 

each agency’s assets, liabilities, and net position in the Balance 

Sheet Summary; information on each agency’s net cost of 

operations in a Net Cost of Operations Summary; and available 

resources in a Budgetary Resources Summary. Both agencies’ 

AFRs are posted online. For a complete Department of State 

AFR, see http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/200506.

pdf. For the USAID AFR see, http://www.usaid.gov/results-anddata/progress-data/agency-financial-report/.

Department of State: The scale and complexity of the 

Department’s activities and corresponding financial 

management requirements continue to grow in the face of 

a wide range of global and regional issues. Financial staff 

operates in more than 270 locations, 180 countries, and in 

over 135 currencies and foreign languages, often in the most 

challenging environments. Despite these complexities, the 

Department is steadfast in its financial responsibilities to the 

American people in the pursuit of an efficient, accountable, 

and transparent financial management platform that enhances 

the Department’s foreign affairs mission. 

The external financial statement audit is now a year-round 

process and focus for the Department as we work to deliver 

meaningful financial statements by November 15 and 

demonstrate the Department’s strong financial management 

practices. The Department received an unqualified or “clean” 

opinion from the Independent Auditor for FY 2012. 

The Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) 

requires that agencies establish effective internal controls. The 

Department remains committed to strong corporate governance 

and internal controls, and maintains a robust system of internal 

controls overseen and validated by senior leadership. At the 

close of FY 2011, the Department reported material weaknesses 

in internal controls related to the accounting for FSN afteremployment benefits and the Educational and Cultural Affairs 

(ECA) Summer Work Travel (SWT) program. In FY 2012, 

Department staff worked diligently and resolved the material 

weakness regarding the complex task of accounting for FSN 

After-Employment Benefits around the world. As a result, the 

Department reported an unqualified statement of assurance 

as of September 30 for the internal control over financial 

reporting. The SWT Program was first identified during 

FY 2011 due to insufficient oversight to ensure the health, 

safety, and welfare of the SWT participants. Throughout 

FY 2012, the Department took unprecedented action to address 

the weaknesses in the SWT program. While great strides have 

been made to strengthen the oversight of the program, there is 

more to do, including the verification that the improvements 

made are working as intended. For this reason, the Department 

elected to continue to report the matter as a material weakness 

for FY 2012.

USAID: During FY 2012, the Agency made significant 

progress toward resolving the complex and long-standing 

unexplained cash balance differences between our general 

ledger and the U.S. Treasury. This amount was reduced by 

approximately 90 percent between September 30, 2011 and 

September 30, 2012. The Agency also made great strides 

towards improving the efficiency of operations and accuracy 

and reliability of financial data during FY 2012, including 

but not limited to the migration of the global missions cash 

reconciliation tool to a Web-based platform, and reducing 

aged suspense account items by 56 percent as of September 30, 

2012. However, the Agency received a qualified opinion on its 

FY 2012 financial statements for the first time in nine years. 

This was primarily due to auditor concerns that “unsupported 

adjustments” during the cash remediation process resulted in 

a material weakness. 

30 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Financial Highlights
USAID can provide reasonable assurance that its financial 

systems substantially comply with financial system requirements 

and applicable provisions of FFMIA as of September 30, 2012. 

The Agency will continue its efforts to satisfactorily resolve all 

known weaknesses or deficiencies, and maintain its current 

excellent standards of service to global missions.

Balance Sheet Summary

The following Condensed Balance Sheets present the assets, 

liabilities and net position of each agency. 

Department of State: Total Assets increased $5.9 billion 

or eight percent over FY 2011 levels. Fund Balance with 

Treasury was up $3.8 billion due to an increase in unexpended 

appropriations. Property and Equipment increased $1.5 

billion due to continued emphasis on the construction of new 

embassies and necessary security upgrades at existing embassies. 

Investment balances in U.S. Government securities for the 

Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund increased 

by $495 million during the year. Total Liabilities increased 

$1.3 billion in 2012, or five percent, compared to 2011. 

The After-Employment Benefit Liability (78 percent of total 

liabilities) increased by $1.2 billion. This liability includes 

amounts owed in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability 

Fund for Foreign Service retirees and amounts due to Foreign 

Service Nationals for after-employment benefits. Accounts 

Payable increased by $643 million and the International 

Organizations Liability increased $233 million.

USAID: Total assets increased by nearly three percent in 

FY 2012 over the previous fiscal year. Fund Balance with 

Treasury (unspent appropriations) represented 87 percent of 

these total assets. The Agency’s liabilities decreased by seven 

percent, due mainly to the pay down of Liability for Capital 

Transfers to the General Fund of the Treasury, as well as of 

Other Liabilities.

Net Cost of Operations Summary

The chart on the following page shows each agency’s gross costs 

less earned revenue called net cost, presented by each Joint 

Strategic Goal. These goals or objectives are consistent with 

the State-USAID Joint Strategic Goal Framework. Executive 

Direction and Operating Unit Management are costs that 

cannot be directly traced or reasonably allocated to strategic 

goals; however, these costs are captured and included in the 

total net cost of operations.

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

As of September 30, 2012

($ in millions) State USAID

Assets:

Fund Balance with Treasury $ 44,223 $ 28,999

Investments, Net 16,928 —

Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net 16,087 106

Accounts, Loans, and Interest Receivables, Net 632 2,862

Advances, Prepayments, Other Assets 1,702 1,187

Total Assets $ 79,572 $ 33,154

Liabilities:

After-Employment Benefit Liability $ 19,893 $ —

Liability for Capital Transfers to the General 

Fund of the Treasury

— 2,614

Accounts Payable 2,793 1,989

Loan Guaranty Liability — 2,012

International Organizations Liabilities 1,425 —

All Other Liabilities 1,316 1,805

Total Liabilities 25,427 8,420

Net Position:

Unexpended Appropriations 35,312 21,632

Cumulative Results of Operations 18,833 3,102

Total Net Position 54,145 24,734

Total Liabilities and Net Position $ 79,572 $ 33,154

Department of State: Total net cost of $26.5 billion is an 

increase of 14 percent or $3.3 billion over 2011. The goals 

of Achieving Peace and Security, Investing in People, and 

Strengthening Consular and Management Capabilities account 

for most of this change. As seen in the Net Cost by Strategic 

Goal chart, the goal of Achieving Peace and Security is the 

largest. This goal included an International Narcotics and 

Law Enforcement (INL) cost increase of $376 million. The 

increase includes contractual expenses, educational grants and 

personnel costs. The Strengthening Consular and Management 

Capabilities goal accounted for $1.5 billion of the increase in 

total cost. This was comprised of support cost for Diplomatic 

and Consular Programs and Diplomatic Security functions. 

Our second largest goal, Investing in People, accounted for 

$1.2 billion of the total net cost increase. This was primarily the 

result of an increase in initiatives for Global Health Programs, 

formerly known as Global Health and Child Survival.

USAID: The Statement of Net Cost reflects the amounts 

spent on achieving the Agency’s six objectives, which are 

consistent with the State-USAID Joint Strategic Goal Framework. In FY 2012, three objectives: Governing Justly and 

Democratically, Investing in People, and Economic Growth 

and Prosperity combined to represent 76 percent of total net 

cost, with the latter contributing 31 percent to the total.

Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012 | 31

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
NET COST OF OPERATIONS 

For the Year Ended September 30, 2012 ($ in millions)

Strategic Goal

STATE USAID

Net Cost Percent of Total

Net Cost Net Cost Percent of Total Net Cost

Achieving Peace and Security $ 8,272 31% $ 665 6%

Governing Justly and Democratically 722 3% 2,697 24%

Investing in People 7,711 29% 2,359 21%

Promoting Economic Growth and Prosperity 1,048 4% 3,462 31%

Providing Humanitarian Assistance 1,619 6% 1,306 12%

Promoting International Understanding 1,609 6% N/A N/A

Strengthening Consular and Management Capabilities 2,268 9% N/A N/A

Other Cost Category

Operating Unit Management N/A N/A 654 6%

Executive Direction and Other Costs Not Assigned 2,437 9% N/A N/A

Actuarial Loss on Pension Assumption Changes 770 3% N/A N/A

Total Net Cost of Operations $ 26,456 100% $ 11,143 100%

 Achieving Peace and Security

 Governing Justly and Democratically

 Investing in People

 Promoting Economic Growth and Prosperity 

 Providing Humanitarian Assistance

 Promoting International Understanding

 Strengthening Consular and Management Capabilities

 Operating Unit Management

 Executive Direction and Other Costs Not Assigned

 Actuarial Loss on Pension Assumption Changes

Budgetary Resources Summary

The Department reported budgetary resources of $57.5 

billion as of September 30, 2012, an increase of eight percent 

from the prior fiscal year. The increase in the Department’s 

authority resulted from offsetting collections, unobligated 

balances brought forward and an increase in appropriations 

granted by Congress for Overseas Contingency Operations in 

the Frontline States. USAID reported $ 23.2 billion in total 

budgetary resources for the fiscal year ended 2012, which 

reflects a reduction of one percent from the previous fiscal year. 

There was a significant reduction of 77 percent in recoveries 

from prior year unpaid obligations, but the consistency in total 

budgetary resources was achieved by an offsetting net increase 

in the unobligated balance. The chart to the right presents the 

Department’s and USAID’s status of budgetary resources on 

September 30, 2012.

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

$60

32 | Department of State-USAID Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information • Fiscal Year 2012

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
AcknowledgmentS

The Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information for FY 2012 was prepared by the State Department’s 

Bureau of Budget and Planning and the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources; and USAID’s Bureau for Policy, 

Planning, and Learning, Office of Learning, Evaluation and Research. 

The Joint Summary of Performance and Financial Information for FY 2012 Core Team is composed of Stephanie 

Cabell, Carol Gower, Lawrence Hamlet, Holly Herrera, John Kays, Tim MacDonald, Travis Mayo, Gary Russell, Erica 

Victoria, Curt Wahl and Wendy Williams. 

Special Acknowledgement to the Department of State’s Bureau of Public Affairs and Bureau of Administration and 

to USAID’s Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs for their assistance in posting the document to the internet. 

Additionally, State’s Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Website Management assisted the Bureau of Budget and 

Planning with the production of this report, including images from AP/Wide World.

We Offer Our Special Thanks to The DesignPond team of Sheri Beauregard and Michael James for its outstanding 

contributions to the design of the report.

CONTACT INFORMATION

We welcome your comments on this report. Please contact us by phone or e-mail as follows.

Department of State General Information: 202-647-4000 or performanceandplanning@state.gov

USAID General Information: 202-712-0000 or pmanagement@usaid.gov

Electronic versions are available at: 

http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2012performancesummary/index.htm

http://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/progress-data/summary

References

Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review

www.state.gov/qddr

FY 2012 Agency Financial Reports 

http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/perfrpt/2012/index.htm

http://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/progress-data/agency-financial-report

FY 2014 Department of State Congressional Budget Justification: Volumes 1 and 2

(FY 2012 Annual Performance Reports and FY 2014 Annual Performance Plans for 

State Operations and Foreign Assistance are included in the Congressional Budget Justification)

http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/c6113.htm

http://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/progress-data/annual-performance-report

USAID FORWARD

http://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/progress-data/usaid-forward

February 2013
www.state.gov www.usaid.gov

United States 

Department of State