This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Administrator J. Brian Atwood
Town Hall Meeting on State Department Reorganization
Washington, D.C., April 29, 1997
U.S. Agency for International Development
(As Prepared for Delivery)
Madame Secretary, we have heard your message and we
are prepared to make this process of reorganization work for you
and for our country.
What we are about to undertake is of vital importance not
only to the foreign policy leaders of today, but also to those who
will follow in the 21st century. For we are about to create the
foreign affairs architecture that will serve our country for at least
the next two decades.
President Kennedy once said "the purpose of foreign policy
...is to shape real events in a real world." The reorganization
framework announced by the President acknowledges the global
changes we have been struggling with on a daily basis. It
confirms the importance of the diplomatic, development, public
diplomacy, and arms control missions. It is a framework that
considers carefully the uniqueness of each of these missions and
recommends their organizational position in support of our overall
foreign policy.
Now it is up to us to transform a framework into functioning
organizations. It is up to us to put aside the narrower goals we
pursued during a very difficult decision process and make the
President's framework a living reality.
We at USAID can offer some advice about radical
organizational change. It is anxiety producing but need not lead
to a nervous breakdown. Several principles have helped our
agency change:
-- most importantly, we went out of our way to involve
people at all levels in the analysis of what was needed and the
implementation of the plan.
-- second, we were open about our intentions and open about
our uncertainties. Bureaucratic paranoia is a common state in the
best of times. In times of change paranoia affects everyone.
Open communication is the only antidote.
-- third, we wanted people to understand that reform was a
constant companion not a one-time thing. We remain open to
suggestions for positive change even today -- after all we have
been through. Change is a part of the "real world" President
Kennedy referred to, and it is something with which we all need
to live. It is inevitable. It can even be invigorating.
Madame Secretary, let me add a final thought to help us
along this path. Different bureaucratic cultures exist at State,
USAID, USIA, and ACDA. We who are associated with the
foreign service make it a point to understand the nuances of other
cultures. We are fully capable of applying our professional skills
to this endeavor and we must.
But this reorganization will fail if it is seen as an attempt to
achieve cultural assimilation, a common culture for very different
missions. What we need is an exercise in cross-cultural
appreciation. We need a learning experience wherein development professionals come to appreciate the special skills of
diplomats and vice versa. Where arms control specialists come to
appreciate the talents of those who practice public diplomacy.
Only in this way can we build the cohesive team we need for
today's real world.
For our part, USAID looks forward to achieving a new
partnership with our colleagues from the other agencies. While
we will remain a separate agency under the authority of the
Secretary of State, we know we can achieve even more in
undertaking our sustainable development and humanitarian
missions if we can form a new partnership based on mutual
respect and shared goals.
Madame Secretary, you have made it clear that sustainable
development is an important part of your foreign policy. You
and I have the benefit of a two-decades old friendship. I have no
doubts that this partnership will work to the advantage of our
nation's foreign policy. Thank you.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 18, 2001
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