    Foreign Assistance: Actions Needed to Better Assess the Impact of
    Agencies' Marking and Publicizing Efforts (12-MAR-07,
    GAO-07-277).

    The negative perceptions of the United States associated with
    U.S. foreign policy initiatives have underscored the importance
    of the United States presenting a complete portrayal of the
    benefits that many in the world derive from U.S. foreign
    assistance efforts. Congress has expressed concerns that the
    United States has frequently understated or not publicized
    information about its foreign assistance programs. As requested,
    this report (1) describes the policies, regulations, and
    guidelines that agencies have established to mark and publicize
    foreign assistance; (2) describes how State, USAID, and other
    agencies mark and publicize foreign assistance; and (3)
    identifies key challenges that agencies face in marking and
    publicizing foreign assistance.
    -------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
    REPORTNUM:   GAO-07-277
        ACCNO:   A66704
      TITLE:     Foreign Assistance: Actions Needed to Better Assess the
    Impact of Agencies' Marking and Publicizing Efforts
         DATE:   03/12/2007
      SUBJECT:   Federal aid to foreign countries
    	     Foreign aid programs
    	     Foreign financial assistance
    	     Foreign governments
    	     Foreign policies
    	     Interagency relations
    	     International agreements
    	     International food programs
    	     International organizations
    	     International relations
    	     Policy evaluation
    	     Program evaluation
    	     Public assistance programs
    	     Reporting requirements
    	     Strategic planning
    	     Policies and procedures

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    GAO-07-277

         * [1]Results in Brief
         * [2]Background
         * [3]Most Agencies Have Marking and Publicizing Policies, Regulat

              * [4]USAID Has Established Detailed Policies, Regulations, and Gu
              * [5]State Policy Allows Program Managers and Ambassadors Discret
              * [6]Most Agencies Have Established Some Requirements or Guidanc

         * [7]Foreign Assistance Marking Efforts and Publicity Have Varied

              * [8]Agencies Marking Efforts Vary

                   * [9]USAID Using New Brand to Mark Its Foreign Assistance
                     Activit

              * [10]Other Agencies' Marking Efforts Vary

                   * [11]State Department Marking Efforts

              * [12]USDA, DOD, and HHS Marking Efforts

                   * [13]Agencies Exercise Flexibility in Making Decisions on
                     When to

              * [14]Embassies' Public Affairs Offices Generally Publicize Most U
              * [15]U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Foreign Assistance Publicity Eff

                   * [16]USAID Foreign Assistance Publicity Efforts

         * [17]Challenges to Marking and Publicizing May Result in Missed O

              * [18]Agencies Conduct Some Research on Impact of U.S. Foreign Ass
              * [19]The United States Lacks Governmentwide Guidance for Marking

                   * [20]DFA Faces Key Challenges in Coordinating Marking and
                     Publici

         * [21]Conclusions
         * [22]Recommendations for Executive Action
         * [23]Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

              * [24]Other Governments' Donor Organizations and the GTZ Use Marki
              * [25]Other Governments' Donor Organizations and the GTZ, to Varyi
              * [26]Other Donors' and the GTZ Publicizing Efforts Generally Targ
              * [27]Other Donors' and the GTZ Generally Do Not Formally Monitor

         * [28]GAO Contact
         * [29]Staff Acknowledgments
         * [30]GAO's Mission
         * [31]Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony

              * [32]Order by Mail or Phone

         * [33]To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs
         * [34]Congressional Relations
         * [35]Public Affairs

    Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House
    of Representatives

    United States Government Accountability Office

    GAO

    March 2007

    FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

    Actions Needed to Better Assess the Impact of Agencies' Marking and
    Publicizing Efforts

    GAO-07-277

    Contents

    Letter 1

    Results in Brief 3
    Background 5
    Most Agencies Have Marking and Publicizing Policies, Regulations, and
    Guidelines 7
    Foreign Assistance Marking Efforts and Publicity Have Varied 12
    Challenges to Marking and Publicizing May Result in Missed Opportunities
    to Increase Public Awareness of U.S. Foreign Assistance 26
    Conclusions 30
    Recommendations for Executive Action 31
    Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 31
    Appendix I Scope and Methodology 33
    Appendix II Key Marking and Publicity Practices Used in the Public Sector
    36
    Appendix III Other Governments' Donor Organizations and the GTZ Marking
    and Publicity Practices 37
    Appendix IV Statutes, Policies, Regulations, and Guidance for Marking or
    Publicizing Foreign Assistance 41
    Appendix V Comments from the Department of State 43
    Appendix VI GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 46

    Table

    Table 1: Key Agencies That Provide and Manage the Majority of Foreign
    Assistance 6

    Figures

    Figure 1: Changes of USAID's Brand 13
    Figure 2: USAID Sign with New USAID Brand at a Health Clinic in Indonesia
    14
    Figure 3: MEPI Logos 15
    Figure 4: State Marking at Peruvian Police Training Academy 16
    Figure 5: U.S. Embassy/Serbia-Developed Flag Logo Marks an Environmental
    Project 17
    Figure 6: USDA Food Aid Marking 18
    Figure 7: DOD Marking of Humanitarian Daily Rations 19
    Figure 8: DOD Marking of School Constructed in South Africa 20
    Figure 9: HHS Marking of Talking Book in Afghanistan 21
    Figure 10: Logos of Other Governments' Donor Organizations and the GTZ 38

    Abbreviations

    AusAID Australian Government's Overseas Aid Program
    CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
    DFA Director of Foreign Assistance
    DFID Department for International Development
    DOD Department of Defense
    EU European Union
    FAA Foreign Assistance Act
    GTZ German Agency for Technical Cooperation
    HHS Department of Health and Human Services
    ICEIDA Icelandic International Development Agency
    JICA Japan International CooperationAgency
    MCC Millennium Challenge Corporation
    MEPI Middle East Partnership Initiative
    NGO Nongovernmental Organization
    OTA Office of Technical Assistance
    PEPFAR President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
    USAID U.S. Agency for International Development
    USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

    This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
    protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
    its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this
    work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the
    copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material
    separately.

    United States Government Accountability Office

    Washington, DC 20548

    March 12, 2007

    The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
    Ranking Minority Member
    Committee on Foreign Affairs
    House of Representatives

    Dear Mrs. Ros-Lehtinen:

    The negative perceptions of the United States, associated with U.S.
    foreign policy initiatives, have underscored the importance of the United
    States presenting a complete portrayal of the benefits that many countries
    in the world derive from U.S. foreign assistance efforts. A recent
    worldwide survey by the Pew Research Center^1 and our reports have noted
    that negative perceptions of the United States increased^2 in recent years
    in response to U.S. foreign policy initiatives, particularly in the Middle
    East.

    The United States is one of the largest donors of foreign assistance to
    countries around the world; however, many of the recipients of this aid
    are unaware that it is provided by the United States. In fiscal year 2005,
    the United States provided about $20 billion in humanitarian and
    development assistance throughout the world to, among other things,
    relieve suffering, educate children, feed the hungry, promote economic
    opportunity, and support democracy and human rights. Congress has
    expressed concerns that the United States has frequently understated or
    not publicized information about its foreign assistance programs and, as a
    result, the generosity of the people of the United States has not been
    fully understood abroad.

    ^1The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, America's Image
    Slips, but Allies Share U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas, Pew Global
    Attitudes Project (June 13, 2006). Pew interviewed 16,710 people in Great
    Britain, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan,
    Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the United States from March
    31 through May 14, 2006.

    ^2GAO, U.S. Public Diplomacy: State Department Efforts Lack Certain
    Communication Elements and Face Persistent Challenges, [36]GAO-06-707T
    (Washington, D.C.: May 3, 2006). GAO, U.S. Public Diplomacy: State
    Department Efforts to Engage Muslim Audiences Lack Certain Communication
    Elements and Face Significant Challenges, [37]GAO-06-535 (Washington,
    D.C.: May 3, 2006).

    According to the United States Agency for International Development
    (USAID), marking of foreign assistance refers to using methods such as
    applying graphic identities or logos to program materials or project
    signage to visibly acknowledge contributors and identify organizations
    supporting the work. Publicity of assistance is the dissemination of
    information about assistance to generate interest and create positive
    perceptions in citizens of foreign countries. Marking and publicity are
    complementary communication tools, but with different goals. Marking can
    raise the awareness about the source of assistance with individuals who
    come in contact with the assistance sites or materials, whereas publicity
    can potentially communicate more detailed information about assistance to
    broader audiences.

    As requested, this report focuses on the efforts of key U.S. agencies^3 to
    mark or publicize U.S. foreign assistance. It (1) describes the policies,
    regulations, and guidelines that agencies have established to mark and
    publicize foreign assistance; (2) describes how the Department of State
    (State), USAID, and other agencies mark and publicize foreign assistance;
    and (3) identifies key challenges that agencies face in marking and
    publicizing foreign assistance. In addition, as requested, we describe
    selected public sector and foreign government organizations' marking and
    publicity practices.

    To meet these objectives, we reviewed legislation forming the statutory
    basis for marking and publicizing assistance, and obtained and analyzed
    related agency documents. We also met with representatives from USAID, the
    Departments of State, Agriculture (USDA), Defense (DOD), Health and Human
    Services (HHS), Justice, the Treasury, and Millennium Challenge
    Corporation (MCC). In addition, we met with representatives of
    nongovernmental organizations, host governments, international assistance
    organizations, and with executives working in the advertising industry. We
    conducted fieldwork in Washington, D.C.; New York City; Indonesia;
    Liberia; Montenegro;^4 Peru; Serbia; and South Africa. In this review, we
    excluded the following foreign assistance: contributions to multilateral
    organizations, military assistance that is related to acquisition of U.S.
    military equipment and training, programs related to peacekeeping
    operations, antiterrorism programs, and programs related to weapons
    proliferation. We also excluded foreign assistance programs that provide
    economic support payments to Middle East countries.

    ^3Key executive branch agencies that administer foreign assistance are
    USAID and the Departments of State, Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human
    Services, Justice, and the Treasury, as well as the Millennium Challenge
    Corporation.

    ^4Our fieldwork in Montenegro and Serbia occurred shortly after the May
    21, 2006, Montenegro referendum on independence from Serbia that resulted
    in Montenegro's separation from Serbia. However, since this event was so
    recent, the conditions we reviewed essentially reflected prereferendum
    conditions.

    We conducted our work from December 2005 through January 2007 in
    accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Appendix
    I contains a more detailed description on our scope and methodology.
    Appendixes II and III contain information on public sector and other donor
    key marking and publicizing practices.

    Results in Brief

    Most agencies we reviewed that are involved in foreign assistance
    activities have established some marking and publicity requirements in
    policies, regulations, or guidelines. USAID, which has the most detailed
    policies and regulations, requires that the agency and its implementers
    ensure that all programs, projects, activities, public communications, and
    commodities be marked, except where waivers or presumptive exceptions are
    granted. USAID also has established a network of communications
    specialists at USAID missions worldwide to publicize the agency's
    assistance efforts and has issued communications guidelines to promote
    that assistance. State has not established agencywide assistance marking
    or publicity requirements; but, according to State officials, the
    department's policy is to allow its program managers and ambassadors to
    use their discretion when determining which programs and activities should
    be marked or publicized. USDA, DOD, HHS, Treasury, and MCC also have
    established some policies for marking and publicizing foreign assistance,
    though these policies vary in their level of formality and detail.

    To increase awareness of U.S. assistance abroad, key agencies that we
    reviewed used various methods to mark and to publicize some of their
    activities and exercised flexibility in deciding when it was appropriate
    to do so. These agencies used different methods of marking, or visibly
    acknowledging, their assistance, including applying graphic identities or
    logos on such things as publications and project signage. In addition,
    agencies generally used embassy public affairs offices for publicizing or
    disseminating information about the source of their assistance and, in
    some cases, augmented these efforts with their own publicity methods.
    USAID has developed the most extensive and formalized requirements for
    marking its assistance, and its identifying mark communicates that the
    agency is a U.S. entity and identifies the American people as the source
    of the foreign assistance. Other agencies' marking efforts are not as
    extensive or as formalized as those of USAID. For example, State's Middle
    East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) developed two versions of a logo;
    however, State did not specify which logo implementing organizations
    should use--which, at times, created confusion with project implementers
    regarding the appropriate use of the MEPI logo. Further, in the countries
    we visited, we saw various marks used by agencies to identify U.S. foreign
    assistance--such as the use of the U.S. flag in combination with host
    country flags as well as program logos. Only USAID and Treasury's Office
    of Technical Assistance (OTA) have established a process for determining
    when marking requirements can be modified or suspended to allow for
    differences in the nature of foreign assistance projects and special
    circumstances that could include safety and security concerns. Embassy
    public affairs offices are responsible for publicizing activities of all
    U.S. agencies, through press releases, Web sites, speeches by U.S.
    officials, and other means. These efforts are augmented by other agencies
    efforts, such as USAID--which has established a global network of
    communications specialists to publicize its programs, while DOD public
    affairs staff publicize information about some DOD activities, such as
    tsunami relief assistance.

    We identified some challenges to marking and publicizing U.S. foreign
    assistance, including the lack of (1) a strategy for assessing the impact
    of marking and publicity efforts on increasing the awareness of U.S.
    foreign assistance and (2) governmentwide guidance for marking and
    publicizing U.S. foreign assistance. First, although some agencies conduct
    surveys in recipient countries that primarily capture information on
    public opinion of the United States, little reliable work has been done to
    assess the impact of U.S. assistance on foreign citizens' awareness
    concerning the source of the assistance. For example, although State's
    Bureau of Intelligence and Research conducts approximately 120 surveys per
    year in about 80 countries, according to a State official, these surveys
    focus on tracking trends in the foreign public's perception of the United
    States to serve U.S. public diplomacy efforts and do not assess public
    awareness of U.S. foreign assistance activities or the effectiveness of
    those activities. Second, we found that USAID missions, federal agencies,
    and presidential initiatives providing assistance overseas have not
    received clear and consistent direction on marking and publicizing U.S.
    foreign assistance. For example, of the five countries we visited, the
    embassy strategic planning document of three countries--the Mission
    Performance Plan--did not identify increasing awareness of U.S. assistance
    as part of the country strategy, nor did any of the embassies receive
    specific guidance on this issue. While the newly appointed Director of
    Foreign Assistance (DFA) has begun to address the issue of developing a
    governmentwide policy for marking and publicizing all U.S. foreign
    assistance, it is unclear to what extent this policy will be implemented
    by agencies whose foreign assistance programs are not under DFA's direct
    authority.

    We are making two recommendations to the Secretary of State to enhance
    efforts to mark and publicize U.S. assistance. Specifically, we recommend
    that the Secretary of State work in conjunction with other executive
    agencies to (1) develop a strategy, which appropriately utilizes
    techniques such as surveys and focus groups, to better assess the impact
    of U.S. marking and publicity programs and activities on public awareness
    and (2) establish interagency agreements to facilitate implementation of
    State's planned governmentwide guidance for marking and publicizing U.S.
    foreign assistance.

    We received written comments on a draft of this report from State (see
    app. V) indicating that it concurred with our recommendations. We also
    received technical comments on this draft from USAID, State, DOD, and MCC,
    which we incorporated where appropriate.

    Background

    For the purposes of this report, foreign assistance is any tangible or
    intangible item provided by the U.S. government to a foreign country or
    international organization, including but not limited to any training,
    service, or technical advice; any item of real, personal, or mixed
    property; any agricultural commodity, U.S. dollars, and any currencies of
    any foreign country that are owned by the U.S. government. Foreign
    assistance has grown in complexity in recent years as the United States,
    through the efforts of a wide spectrum of U.S. agencies, has used foreign
    aid to address transforming events such as the end of the Cold War; the
    terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This
    report focuses on bilateral foreign assistance^5 that includes development
    foreign assistance programs to promote sustainable economic progress and
    stability; economic foreign assistance in support of U.S. political and
    security goals; and humanitarian foreign assistance, which primarily
    addresses immediate humanitarian emergencies.

    ^5In this review, we excluded contributions to multilateral organizations,
    military assistance that is related to acquisition of U.S. military
    equipment and training, programs related to peacekeeping operations,
    antiterrorism programs, and programs related to weapons proliferation. We
    also excluded foreign assistance programs that provide economic support
    payments to Middle East countries.

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

    Agency      Description of foreign assistance related activities
    USAID       Implements the largest portion of bilateral development and,
                   with State, economic foreign assistance programs, including
                   technical assistance and capacity building, training and
                   scholarships, food aid and disaster relief, infrastructure
                   construction, and small enterprise loans.
    State       Administers economic and humanitarian foreign assistance
                   programs such as narcotics control, international law
                   enforcement, and refugee relief. State implements some of its
                   foreign assistance programs through other agencies such as
                   USAID, HHS, and Justice. Further, the U.S. ambassador, as
                   chief of mission, has authority over all U.S. government
                   activities in a foreign country.
    Agriculture USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service provides U.S. agricultural
                   commodities to assist millions of people in needy countries
                   through direct donations and concessional programs.
    DOD         Provides deployments of U.S. military personnel to plan,
                   oversee, and conduct specific humanitarian projects and
                   activities including assistance to host nation civilian
                   authorities in disaster preparedness, mitigation and response,
                   such as search and rescue and provision of humanitarian daily
                   rations. Also provides training in identification, removal
                   techniques, safety, and education in awareness and risk of
                   explosive remnants of war. Additional assistance includes the
                   donation of nonlethal excess DOD property and other relief
                   supplies to nations in need, transportation of privately
                   donated relief materials, and training and material assistance
                   to host nations' HIV/AIDS and Avian Influenza prevention
                   programs.
    HHS         Several offices conduct assistance programs and activities
                   abroad supporting activities such as the President's Emergency
                   Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and promotes global health in
                   many areas, including providing training to health specialists
                   in epidemiology, surveillance, U.S. regulatory requirements,
                   and management.
    Justice     Implements training and technical assistance programs, funded
                   primarily by State, that include law enforcement,
                   prosecutorial development, international narcotics control,
                   and financial crimes.
    Treasury    OTA provides financial advice around the world, primarily
                   through advisors who work directly with foreign government
                   officials to support their efforts to improve their financial
                   systems.
    MCC         Provides foreign assistance to developing nations with a
                   demonstrated commitment to political, economic, and social
                   reforms.

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

    Provisions in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA), and
    Public Law 480 (P. L. 480), are the statutory basis for existing
    regulations and policies for marking and publicizing most U.S. foreign
    assistance. Specifically, Section 641 of the FAA provides that "programs
    under this Act shall be identified appropriately overseas as `American
    Aid.' " Section 202 of P.L. 480 requires that, to the extent practicable,
    commodities provided under that act be clearly identified with appropriate
    markings in the local language as being furnished by "the people of the
    United States." In addition, section 403(f) of P.L. 480 requires that
    foreign countries and private entities receiving P.L. 480 commodities will
    widely publicize "to the extent practicable" in the media that the
    commodities are provided "through the friendship of the American people as
    food for peace." However, a major foreign assistance agency, the
    Millennium Challenge Corporation, which is authorized and funded under
    legislation other than the FAA or P.L. 480, is not subject to explicit
    statutory marking or publicity requirements. The 2004 Intelligence Reform
    Act, in establishing broad public diplomacy responsibilities for the
    Department of State, assigned State a coordination role regarding marking
    and publicizing U.S. foreign assistance and called for closer cooperation
    between State and USAID in these efforts. Appendix IV provides more
    detailed information on the statutory provisions and agencies' policies,
    regulations, and guidelines for marking and publicizing U.S. foreign
    assistance.

    To better coordinate U.S. foreign assistance activities, the Secretary of
    State appointed a DFA in January 2006, who is charged with directing the
    transformation of the U.S. government approach to foreign assistance. The
    DFA serves concurrently as USAID Administrator, ensuring that foreign
    assistance is used as effectively as possible to meet broad foreign policy
    objectives. The DFA:

               o Has authority over all USAID and most State foreign assistance
               funding and programs, with continued participation in program
               planning, implementation, and oversight conducted by the various
               bureaus and offices within State and USAID, as part of the
               integrated interagency planning, coordination, and implementation
               mechanisms;
               o Develops a coordinated U.S. government foreign assistance
               strategy, including multiyear country specific assistance
               strategies and annual country-specific assistance operational
               plans;
               o Creates and directs consolidated policy, planning, budget, and
               implementation mechanisms and staff functions required to provide
               overarching leadership to foreign assistance; and
               o Provides guidance to foreign assistance delivered through other
               agencies and entities of the U.S. government, including the MCC
               and the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

    			  Most Agencies Have Marking and Publicizing Policies, Regulations,
    			  and Guidelines

               Most of the agencies we reviewed involved in foreign assistance
               activities have established some marking policies, regulations,
               and guidelines. USAID has established the most detailed policies,
               regulations, and guidelines for marking and publicizing its
               assistance. State has also established marking and publicity
               policies for two presidential initiatives, MEPI and PEPFAR.
               However, USDA, DOD, HHS, Treasury, and MCC efforts in this area
               have been more limited. Since Justice does not have independent
               authority to conduct foreign assistance but implements politically
               sensitive programs for State and USAID, it has not established
               departmentwide marking or publicity policies, but allows its
               component agencies to determine when it is appropriate to mark and
               publicize their activities. Appendix IV provides the statutory
               provisions and agencies' policies, regulations, and guidelines for
               marking or publicizing U.S. foreign assistance.

    			  USAID Has Established Detailed Policies, Regulations, and
    			  Guidelines

               To ensure that U.S. taxpayers receive full credit for the foreign
               assistance they provide, USAID in 2004 undertook a campaign to
               clearly communicate that USAID foreign assistance is from the
               American people. This campaign included publication of a Graphic
               Standards Manual containing new marking guidelines and the
               development of a new Graphic Identity.^6 In January 2006, USAID
               revised its foreign assistance awards regulations to include new
               marking requirements for USAID staff and all nongovernmental
               organizations (NGO) receiving funding under grants and cooperative
               agreements.^7 The regulations require that all programs, projects,
               activities, public communications, and commodities partially or
               fully funded by a USAID grant or cooperative agreement be marked
               appropriately overseas with the Graphic Standards Manual's Graphic
               Identity of a size and prominence equal to or greater than the
               recipient's or other donors' logos or identities. The regulations
               provide for presumptive exceptions and waivers to the marking
               requirements.^8 USAID's final guidance for contractors, ADS 320,
               issued January 8, 2007, includes more comprehensive information on
               the process for preparing and approving marking plans and branding
               strategies in contracts and also eliminates the use of the USAID
               brand on NGO's and contractors' business cards.

               Also, USAID's Food for Peace program regulations^9 prescribe the
               terms and conditions governing activities under Title II of P.L.
               480, including provisions for implementing the marking
               requirements of section 202 of that law. The regulations require
               that, to the maximum extent practical, public recognition be given
               in the media that Title II-funded commodities or foreign
               assistance have been "provided through the friendship of the
               American people as food for peace"; cooperating sponsors, to the
               extent feasible, display banners, posters, and similar items at
               project sites containing similar identifying information; and,
               unless otherwise specified, bags or other containers of
               commodities packaged for shipment be similarly marked. The
               regulations also require that containers of donated commodities
               packaged or repackaged by cooperating sponsors prior to
               distribution be plainly labeled with the USAID emblem, and, where
               practicable, with the legend, "Provided through the friendship of
               the American people as food for peace."

               In addition, USAID has established regulations prescribing rules
               and procedures for the marking of shipping containers and
               commodities under commodity transactions financed by USAID. These
               regulations require that suppliers of such commodities be
               responsible for ensuring that all export packaging and the
               commodities carry the official USAID emblem, except where USAID
               prescribes otherwise in the case of commodities. The regulations
               also prescribe the manner in which the export shipping containers,
               cartons, or boxes are to be marked; how the USAID emblem is to be
               affixed to the containers; the size, design, and color of the
               emblem; exceptions to the requirement to affix the emblem; and
               waivers to the marking requirement where it is found to be
               impracticable.

               To publicize its foreign assistance, in 2004, USAID established
               communications guidelines and a network of over 100 communications
               specialists located at USAID missions around the world to promote
               the agency's foreign assistance abroad. The guidelines for
               communications specialists delineate their role, which is to be a
               comprehensive resource for information regarding USAID's work and
               its impact on the citizens of the host country, and provide
               guidance on the activities the communication specialists may
               undertake to fulfill this role. These outreach functions include
               responding to inquiries about USAID programs, collaborating with
               the embassy public affairs office on strategies, speech writing
               for the USAID mission director and others, preparing press
               releases, and coordinating Web site updates.

    			  State Policy Allows Program Managers and Ambassadors Discretion
    			  for Marking and Publicizing Assistance

               According to State officials, State's policy provides that
               department program managers and country ambassadors use their
               discretion to determine when it is appropriate to mark and
               publicize U.S. foreign assistance. As a result, some programs mark
               and publicize activities while others do not. For example, State
               has established guidelines for project implementers to acknowledge
               State's support for two presidential initiatives that State
               manages: MEPI and PEPFAR. The MEPI guidelines require NGOs that
               implement MEPI programs to include, in all public programs and
               publications, standard language acknowledging the support of MEPI
               and State. For PEPFAR, the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS
               Coordinator has instructed its implementing agencies to place the
               PEPFAR logo on all materials procured as part of the PEPFAR
               initiative. However, more sensitive Department of State activities
               are generally not marked or publicized. For example, according to
               State officials, in Peru, it is embassy policy to decide on a
               case-by-case basis, in close consultation with the host
               government, the appropriate type and extent of publicity to give
               counter-narcotics foreign assistance activities done in
               partnership with the host government. In addition, State officials
               noted that other assistance programs, such as those focusing on
               counter-terrorism and weapons proliferation, are not generally
               marked, but these efforts may be publicized.

    			  Most Agencies Have Established Some Requirements or Guidance for
    			  Marking and Publicizing Foreign Assistance

               Agencies' efforts in establishing requirements or guidance for
               marking and publicizing their foreign assistance include the
               following:

               o USDA has issued regulations^10 for its Foreign Agricultural
               Service that establish labeling requirements for commodities
               donated under its program for international food for education and
               child nutrition. The regulations require containers of commodities
               packaged or repackaged by a cooperating sponsor to indicate that
               the commodities are furnished by the people of the United States
               of America; if the commodities are not packaged, the cooperating
               sponsor must display such items as banners or posters with similar
               information. The Foreign Agricultural Service also has included
               standard language in all its food aid agreements with its
               implementing partners requiring them to highlight their programs
               in local media in the recipient country, identify USDA as the
               funding source in the media and to program participants, and to
               recognize USDA in all USDA-funded printed material.
               o DOD has established policy and program guidance for publicizing
               overseas humanitarian activities to ensure their maximum
               visibility and publicity. The policy and guidance provides that
               project planners and implementers will coordinate appropriate
               public affairs activities with embassy and combatant command
               public affairs officers, and, where appropriate, provide some
               tangible or visible marker of DOD involvement at the site of the
               activity.
               o HHS has established its own policies related to marking and
               publicizing HHS activities. HHS officials told us that the
               agency's departmentwide grants policy, as required by its annual
               appropriations acts, provides that all HHS grants recipients must
               acknowledge U.S. assistance when publicly describing a project.
               Also, HHS health projects are generally marked with the logos of
               HHS and the other HHS units such as the Centers for Disease
               Control or the National Institutes of Health that are involved in
               implementing the foreign assistance. HHS carries out foreign
               assistance programs under PEPFAR and the President's Malaria
               Initiative; HHS officials stated that the Office of the U.S.
               Global AIDS Coordinator has instructed HHS and its operating
               divisions to place the PEPFAR logo on all materials procured as
               part of the PEPFAR Initiative.
               o Treasury officials said they were not aware of agencywide policy
               on marking and publicizing foreign assistance activities. However,
               OTA issued its own marking policy, effective December 7, 2006, for
               certain types of foreign assistance provided by that office. This
               policy requires that the foreign assistance must be identified
               with the seal of the Treasury and the tagline: "From the American
               People." The policy covers any material, goods, or equipment
               provided by OTA to foreign government agencies or central banks;
               any public communications intended for distribution to foreign
               government officials; and any training courses or conferences
               sponsored and financed by OTA for the benefit of foreign
               government officials. In addition, the policy contains presumptive
               exceptions for waiving the marking requirements.

               o While MCC's organic legislation, the Millennium Challenge Act of
               2003, does not contain an explicit marking or publicity
               requirement for the foreign assistance it authorizes, MCC provides
               for such a requirement in its country compacts. MCC has
               distributed a marking and publicity policy that, according to
               agency officials, requires recipient countries and accountable
               entities to provide marking and publicity requirements to
               acknowledge the foreign assistance from MCC as being from the
               American people.

               o However, Justice officials said they rely on individual Justice
               agencies to determine when it would be appropriate to mark and
               publicize their activities. Justice officials said they have not
               issued guidance on assistance marking and publicity, and added
               that most of the agency's foreign assistance is not marked because
               of its sensitive nature. Some Justice officials said that they
               follow embassy guidance on when to mark and publicize the agency's
               foreign assistance activities. For example, Justice program
               managers in Indonesia and Serbia told us they had received no
               guidance from Justice headquarters on marking and publicizing
               agency activities, and the program manager in Indonesia said he
               follows embassy guidance in determining what to mark and how to do
               so.

    			  Foreign Assistance Marking Efforts and Publicity Have Varied

               To increase awareness of U.S. assistance abroad, key agencies that
               we reviewed used various methods to mark and to publicize some of
               their activities and exercised flexibility in deciding when it was
               appropriate to do so. These agencies used different methods of
               marking, or visibly acknowledging, their assistance, including
               applying graphic identities or logos on such things as
               publications and project signage. In addition, agencies generally
               used embassy public affairs offices for publicizing, or
               disseminating information about, the source of their assistance
               and, in some cases, augmented these efforts with their own
               publicity methods.

    			  Agencies Marking Efforts Vary

               USAID has established the most detailed processes of uniformly
               marking its assistance activities, while other key agencies either
               mark their assistance activities in some way, or they provide
               reasons for not marking some assistance. USAID has established a
               universal brand that conveys that the assistance is from USAID and
               the American people. Other agencies either use multiple logos, and
               in some cases, they use logos that do not convey that the agency
               is a U.S. entity or that the United States is the source of the
               assistance.

    			  USAID Using New Brand to Mark Its Foreign Assistance Activities

               After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, recognizing the connection
               between national security and the good will toward the United
               States that could be created if more accurate information about
               U.S. foreign assistance was widely known, agency officials
               determined that they should portray more complete and accurate
               information about USAID foreign assistance. To help focus its
               image abroad, USAID developed its new brand by updating a former
               USAID logo, and combining it with the agency brand name and a
               tagline, "From the American People."

               Although USAID first began marking assistance over four decades
               ago, agency officials acknowledged that it has not always
               systematically or effectively marked its foreign assistance. USAID
               had existing standards that specified that its foreign assistance
               activities were to be marked, but these standards were not
               consistently enforced; and at times, U.S. foreign assistance was
               marked with the implementer's logos and program names instead of
               the agency logo. Agency officials told us that it was often
               difficult for people to know that the foreign assistance they
               received was coming from the United States. USAID officials said
               they viewed the multiple brands used by USAID implementers as
               potentially confusing to recipients. However, in the past, some
               USAID staff believed that spending money on marking foreign
               assistance could take away funds from other foreign assistance
               activities, and therefore were reluctant to incur these costs.^11
               Also, USAID staff and implementers were concerned that
               communication about foreign assistance could potentially draw
               unwanted attention to the projects and make staff vulnerable.
               Figure 1 illustrates changes of USAID's brand over time, and
               figure 2 illustrates the use of USAID's current brand.

    ^6In this report, we will refer to the new USAID graphic identity as the
    USAID brand.

    ^7The revised regulations for marking assistance provided under grants and
    cooperative agreements are at 22 C.F.R. 226.91. AAPD 05-11 (Dec.13, 2005)
    implements the marking requirements of 22 C.F.R. 226.91. Also, see USAID
    policy at ADS 320 and its acquisition regulations at AIDAR Clause 752.7009
    (Jan. 1993) regarding marking guidance for USAID contractors. Grants and
    cooperative agreements are legal instruments for the transfer of money,
    property, or services to the recipient to accomplish a public purpose.
    Under grants substantial involvement of the granting agency is not
    anticipated, whereas under cooperative agreements, the donor agency
    anticipates it will have substantial involvement in the implementation of
    the agreement.

    ^8The intent of the USAID marking requirement is that programs and
    projects are marked, not people. Marking of vehicles, offices, and other
    administrative items for internal use by the recipient is not required.

    ^922 C.F.R. 211.

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

    Figure 1: Changes of USAID's Brand

    ^11A number of representatives of assistance organizations told us that it
    was not difficult or very costly to mark assistance.

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

    Other Agencies' Marking Efforts Vary

    While other departments and agencies also mark the foreign assistance that
    they provide, these efforts vary. In some cases, the markings used do not
    convey that the donor is a U.S. entity or that the United States is the
    source of the foreign assistance.

      State Department Marking Efforts

    State gives discretion to its department program managers and ambassadors
    to determine when and how it is appropriate to mark and publicize U.S.
    foreign assistance. Marking decisions are made at each U.S. embassy to
    account for the sensitive nature of the foreign assistance and the local
    conditions in country. State officials told us that, because State's
    foreign assistance addresses a wide range of issues--such as narcotics
    control, international law enforcement, terrorism, weapons proliferation,
    non-U.N. peacekeeping operations, refugee relief, the Global AIDS
    Initiative, and economic support--they did not see any benefits from using
    a single visual image or mark. Therefore, embassies have used a number of
    symbols to mark their foreign assistance, including program logos, a
    bureau seal or unit name, the Department of State seal, or an embassy
    logo.

    State manages MEPI, and has agreements with its project implementers on
    how MEPI assistance, which can include publications, products, and
    services, is to be acknowledged. State generally leaves most decisions on
    when to use the program logo to its implementing organizations but
    specifies that, if used with logos of other cofunding organizations, the
    MEPI logo should not be smaller than the others. Additionally, State has
    developed more than one version of the MEPI logo, one of which does not
    include the name of either the United States or the Department of State
    (see fig. 3).

    Figure 3: MEPI Logos

    The lack of clear marking requirements has at times created confusion with
    project implementers regarding the appropriate use of the MEPI logo. For
    example, in one instance a project implementer copied the logo without the
    U.S. tagline--"U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative"--from the MEPI Web
    site and used it on promotional materials, when the logo with the tagline
    would have been more appropriate, according to MEPI officials. In
    addition, a small portion of MEPI projects are implemented by USAID, and
    these projects follow USAID branding policy, according to an agreement
    between State and USAID.

    In other State marking efforts that clearly identified the U.S. government
    as the source of foreign assistance, there were differences in appearance
    from one mark to another. For example:

               o In a Peruvian police training academy that prepared recruits to
               support narcotics eradication teams, a computer room provided by
               State's Narcotics Affairs Section was marked with the unit's
               initials and the U.S. and Peruvian flags (see fig. 4).

               Figure 4: State Marking at Peruvian Police Training Academy

               o In Montenegro, a U.S. foreign assistance site was marked with a
               sign that included the Department of State emblem and the emblem
               of Serbia-Montenegro with a description of the project in English
               and the local language.
               o In Serbia, State foreign assistance was marked with an
               embassy-developed logo in which the U.S. and Serbian flags were
               joined to form a bridge (see fig. 5).

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

    			  USDA, DOD, and HHS Marking Efforts

               Other agencies generally determine how to mark their foreign
               assistance on a program-by-program basis. For example:

               o USDA specifies marking requirements in the programs' grants and
               cooperative agreements. USDA's food aid agreements require that
               the U.S. government is identified as the sources of the foreign
               assistance, while USDA grants and cooperative agreements that
               provide technical foreign assistance specify that printed
               materials include an acknowledgement that the United States is the
               source of the foreign assistance (see fig. 6). For Title II food
               programs managed by USAID, the USAID mark is used.

               Figure 6: USDA Food Aid Marking

               o DOD marks its humanitarian foreign assistance products and
               sites. For example, DOD's humanitarian daily ration packages were
               marked with a U.S. flag and a statement that the food gift was
               from the people of the United States. In South Africa, a sign for
               a DOD humanitarian foreign assistance project was marked with the
               U.S. and South African flags (see figs. 7 and 8).

               Figure 7: DOD Marking of Humanitarian Daily Rations

               Figure 8: DOD Marking of School Constructed in South Africa

               o HHS' health projects are generally marked with the HHS logo and
               those of other HHS units involved in implementing the foreign
               assistance. For example, an HHS-developed book--which was written
               for use in Afghanistan and provided information on HIV/AIDS--used
               U.S. and Afghani flags to mark the material. It also included a
               recorded message in two local languages stating that the book was
               being provided by U.S. taxpayers (see fig. 9).

               Figure 9: HHS Marking of Talking Book in Afghanistan

    			  Agencies Exercise Flexibility in Making Decisions on When to Mark
    			  Foreign Assistance

               The agencies we reviewed stated that when making decisions on
               whether or how to mark foreign assistance, they exercise
               flexibility to allow for variations in the nature of foreign
               assistance, risks to implementers, or other special circumstances
               that foreign assistance activities may entail. Some of these
               activities are more readily marked than others. Moreover,
               circumstances may occur when U.S. foreign assistance marking may
               need to be modified or withheld due to safety, political, or other
               concerns, such as concerns associated with advising high-level
               government officials or providing foreign assistance in volatile
               issue areas such as narcotics control. Also, at certain times,
               such as before elections, marking of foreign assistance activities
               may be suspended to remove any association of U.S. foreign
               assistance with certain issues--such as the connection between
               funding a health clinic and the issue of reproductive health. In
               other cases, marking may be withheld to ensure the local
               government's ownership of the programs is not called into
               question.

               USAID and OTA have established a process for determining when to
               modify its marking requirements to allow for the differences in
               the nature of foreign assistance projects and special
               circumstances that may be related to foreign assistance
               implementation. USAID's marking regulations identify a number of
               conditions under which the agreement officer can consider
               approving exceptions to marking requirements.^12 For example, in
               Serbia, in order to not compromise the perceived neutrality of
               program activities and diminish the credibility of materials
               produced during the course of the project, USAID approved
               exceptions to marking requirements for certain activities
               associated with a civil society project in public policy advocacy
               and reform. USAID regulations also allow for the possibility that,
               political, safety, or security conditions could warrant a request
               to the mission director or the most senior USAID officer at the
               mission for a full or partial waiver of the marking requirements.
               For example, in Indonesia, the mission director approved a waiver
               of the marking requirements for a project designed to demonstrate
               democracy's compatibility with Islam because of threats from
               religious fundamentalists to the safety of the individuals
               involved in the project. In December 2006, OTA had formalized its
               guidance on determining when marking requirements for a particular
               project should be modified or suspended. While this guidance
               states that much of OTA's work that includes oral advice or
               technical assistance provided to foreign governments and central
               banks is not marked, its rules for marking any commodities, public
               communications, or training courses provided by OTA may be waived
               in writing by the OTA Director or designee for conditions that
               include safety or security concerns, adverse political impact, and
               potential compromise of the intrinsic independence of a program or
               materials such as public service announcements.

    			  Embassies’ Public Affairs Offices Generally Publicize Most U.S.
    			  Assistance

               The U.S. ambassador, as chief of mission, has authority over all
               U.S. government activities in a foreign country, and the embassy
               public affairs office publicizes U.S. foreign assistance
               activities through press releases, Web sites,^13 and speeches by
               U.S. officials. To enhance publicity of its foreign assistance
               programs, USAID has also, as mentioned earlier, established a
               network of communications specialists to increase awareness of
               these programs in the host country. At the time of our field
               visits, the public affairs officers and USAID communication
               specialists were still defining their roles in publicizing U.S.
               foreign assistance. For example, the ambassador in Liberia and the
               public affairs officer in Indonesia expressed the opinion that all
               U.S. foreign assistance should be publicized by the embassy public
               affairs sections and did not see the need for separate USAID
               communications specialists.

    			  U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Foreign Assistance Publicity Efforts

               Following are some examples of foreign assistance publicity
               efforts conducted by the embassy in the countries we visited.

               o In Indonesia, in fiscal year 2003, the public affairs office
               developed a program to enhance media coverage of U.S. assistance
               and publicized 11 assistance projects. In February 2006, the
               embassy issued a press release on the distribution of books and
               school supplies funded by the United States to Indonesian school
               children. The distribution, done in cooperation with two leading
               Islamic organizations, supported the mutual goal of improving
               education and highlighted shared values between the two countries.
               o In Liberia, in June 2006, the embassy issued a press release on
               the launching of a USAID funded radio teacher training program.
               o In Peru, in June 2006, the public affairs office issued a press
               release on joint U.S.-Peruvian military exercises, which included
               DOD humanitarian foreign assistance to construct health clinics,
               done in conjunction with the exercises. These efforts were
               publicized to dispel citizens' anxiety over U.S. military
               exercises in that country. However, because of the sensitivity of
               some other activities in Peru, according to State officials, it is
               embassy policy to decide on a case-by-case basis, in close
               consultation with the host government, the appropriate type and
               extent of publicity to give counter-narcotics foreign assistance
               activities done in partnership with the host government.
               o In Serbia, the embassy public affairs office has issued press
               releases on U.S. foreign assistance provided by USAID, State,
               USDA, DOD, Justice and other agencies. For example, in April 2006,
               the embassy issued a press release on a Justice-implemented
               program to support the organized crime and war crimes specialized
               institutions.
               o In South Africa, the public affairs office has issued press
               releases on U.S. foreign assistance provided by USAID, State, HHS,
               MCC, and other agencies. For example, in January 2006, the embassy
               issued a press release on a HHS -implemented HIV vaccine research
               initiative.

    			  USAID Foreign Assistance Publicity Efforts

               In 2004, USAID established and trained a network of development
               outreach and communications specialists^14 to enhance the skills
               of officers who handle public outreach and media and improve
               coordination among USAID staff, foreign assistance implementing
               partners, and the embassy public affairs sections. An assessment
               of public diplomacy in the Muslim world, issued in 2003 by the
               Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World,
               concluded that too few people knew the extent of USAID's
               activities and recommended closer integration of the public
               diplomacy activities of agencies that administer foreign
               assistance.^15 The communications specialists are responsible for
               publicizing USAID foreign assistance (1) by developing public
               outreach and media materials and strategies and (2) by providing
               general communications support through writing, media relations,
               Web site development, and review of foreign assistance proposals.
               These specialists also work with public relations staff hired by
               foreign assistance implementing organizations to support them in
               addressing community relations issues and publicizing their
               projects. USAID has now placed these specialists at most missions;
               a few large missions have been assigned more than one
               communication specialist, while at a few small missions, program
               officers have been asked to perform these tasks. The communication
               specialists' resources vary based on individual USAID missions'
               decisions on how to fund their work and whether USAID headquarters
               has provided additional funds for communication pilot activities.

               Following are examples of initiatives communications specialists
               have carried out.

               o A pilot^16 communication campaign project in Indonesia, which
               was funded by USAID headquarters, involved communications officers
               overseeing the development and production of a radio, TV, and
               print advertisement campaign that focused on health care,
               education, and economic growth partnerships between American and
               Indonesian people. The purpose of this and other communication
               campaign pilots was to identify effective practices in foreign
               assistance publicity.
               o In Peru, communications specialists worked with implementing
               organizations to develop and distribute--for eventual broadcast on
               regional television stations--a video of a major U.S. alternative
               development^17foreign assistance project, which involved building
               a road in northern Peru to provide farmers with greater access to
               markets. On another project, a communication officer was contacted
               by television producers who were preparing a video about an
               ecological project that had received USAID foreign assistance
               funding. At the communications officer's suggestion, the producers
               interviewed the USAID mission director to highlight how USAID
               supported the project. The final film was shown on television.
               o In Serbia, two newly hired communication specialists redesigned
               a Web site and, subsequently, developed questions on public
               awareness of USAID's foreign assistance activities that were
               incorporated into the embassy's public opinion poll.
               o According to mission officials in South Africa, the outreach
               efforts of the communications specialist there have resulted in an
               improved perception among the local population of USAID/South
               Africa programs, which were previously hampered by negative
               comments made by high-level South African government officials in
               the late 1990s. In addition, the communications specialist
               conducted five training workshops, primarily for PEPFAR partners,
               on how to write stories of successful projects. The workshops
               resulted in more than 40 stories submitted by implementing
               partners, which were posted on various U.S. government Web sites
               and in publications. This effort was also sanctioned by the
               embassy public affairs section.

    			  Challenges to Marking and Publicizing May Result in Missed
    			  Opportunities to Increase Public Awareness of U.S. Foreign
    			  Assistance

               We identified some challenges to marking and publicizing U.S.
               foreign assistance that may result in missed opportunities to
               increase public awareness of U.S. foreign assistance. First,
               little reliable work has been done to assess the impact of U.S.
               assistance on foreign citizens' awareness of that assistance.
               Second, although the newly appointed DFA has begun to develop
               governmentwide guidance for marking and publicizing all U.S.
               foreign assistance, it is unclear to what extent this policy will
               be implemented by agencies whose foreign assistance programs are
               not under State's direct authority.

    			  Agencies Conduct Some Research on Impact of U.S. Foreign
    			  Assistance Activities, but Lack Clear Guidance for Such Research

               State conducts some research^18 on public perceptions of the
               United States and its foreign assistance activities. State's
               Bureau of Intelligence and Research conducts approximately 120
               surveys per year in about 80 countries, according to a State
               official. However, these surveys focus on tracking trends in the
               foreign public's perception of the United States to serve U.S.
               public diplomacy efforts and do not assess public awareness of
               U.S. foreign assistance activities or the effectiveness of
               publicity activities. Some individual embassies perform surveys of
               public attitudes and awareness relating to U.S. foreign assistance
               activities. For example, the surveys commissioned by the embassy
               in Serbia and Montenegro attempt to measure public awareness of
               foreign assistance programs in addition to measuring public
               perception of the United States. However, the surveys do not
               attempt to link any foreign assistance programs to the level of
               awareness, but instead track changes in the level of awareness for
               a given period of time.

               USAID also conducts some research. The agency requires that its
               communications specialists develop a communications strategy that
               includes methods to measure impact, and USAID's communications
               manual encourages communications specialists to monitor local
               media coverage and obtain and analyze locally conducted polls as a
               means to measures results. The agency has contracted with polling
               firms to conduct eight public opinion surveys in various locations
               overseas--including one survey in Egypt, two in Indonesia, one in
               Jordan (along with a focus group), one in Colombia, and three in
               the West Bank and Gaza. According to a USAID official, these
               surveys were designed to test different methods for conducting
               broad-based public affairs campaigns. The surveys included
               questions to assess (1) the extent of awareness of USAID and U.S.
               foreign assistance; (2) attitudes toward USAID and U.S. foreign
               assistance among recipients of that foreign assistance; and (3)
               which communication sources, ranging from billboards and magazines
               to television and the Internet, may be most effective in reaching
               target audiences. Although each of the USAID surveys we reviewed
               provide information about the extent of awareness of USAID and
               U.S. assistance, the surveys in Colombia, Egypt, Jordan, and the
               West Bank and Gaza were not designed to compare pre- and
               post-campaign levels of awareness. A USAID official agreed that
               pre- and post-branding measurement of public opinion was important
               to measure the impact of USAID's branding activities, know which
               branding activities were most effective, and use the lessons
               learned to improve USAID's branding activities.

               Recently, USAID has begun to provide some guidance to
               communications specialists responsible for managing research
               programs. USAID hired a contractor to train communications
               specialists on public opinion polling. The training instructs
               communications specialists on issues such as the importance and
               benefits of polling, types of polling, the most effective ways to
               deliver messages, principles of sampling in polling, and how to
               hire a qualified agency to conduct the polls. Also, USAID
               officials said they are developing a manual to provide guidance on
               communications research instruments, primarily focused on polling.
               The manual will include key criteria for evaluating the quality of
               the research instruments and a standard set of questions to
               include in research instruments.

               Ad Council^19 executives whom we met with emphasized that
               successful quantitative research, such as surveys, to measure
               results of efforts are key practices they use in their public
               service campaigns. Also they conduct pre- and post-tracking
               studies to benchmark attitudes and behaviors. In addition, they
               examine best practices, including areas where the practice has
               worked well and learned how to emulate them. In addition, these
               executives examine cases where their efforts have yielded poor
               results and implement some policies that could alleviate the
               situation. See appendix II for additional key practices identified
               by the Ad Council executives.

    			  The United States Lacks Governmentwide Guidance for Marking and
    			  Publicizing Its Assistance

               While some agencies have established policies, regulations, and
               guidelines on marking and publicizing U.S. foreign assistance, we
               found that USAID missions and all federal agencies and
               presidential initiatives providing assistance overseas have not
               received clear and consistent direction on marking and publicizing
               U.S. foreign assistance. During our field visits to five countries
               between May and August 2006, we found that three of the five
               embassies lacked specific guidance that addresses assistance
               publicity. Embassy Mission Performance Plans are the means by
               which an embassy aligns its plans, programs, and resources with
               the U.S. government's international affairs strategy, including
               publicizing foreign assistance. Only one Mission Performance
               Plan--for Serbia and Montenegro--listed foreign assistance
               publicity as an embassy priority and established that the embassy
               would increase its outreach activities and aggressive advertising
               of U.S. foreign assistance by (1) improving media coverage, (2)
               coordinating public diplomacy activities at the mission to improve
               synergy and publicity of foreign assistance programs, and (3)
               using polling and focus group information to help direct these
               efforts. The embassy was also planning to expand exchange programs
               that would bring individuals from Serbia and Montenegro to the
               United States. The ambassador said that he became aware that U.S.
               foreign assistance was not widely known in Serbia and Montenegro
               after he arrived at the mission and saw that implementing partners
               often used project logos that did not clearly communicate that the
               foreign assistance was from the United States. He identified a
               need to more clearly portray U.S. foreign assistance and made it a
               priority for the embassy. In addition, the Mission Performance
               Plan for Liberia called for publicizing U.S. efforts to rebuild
               security services and promote respect for human rights.

               In the five countries that we visited, we also found that
               assistance is publicized by public affairs officers on an ad hoc
               basis and, as a result, embassies may miss opportunities to
               publicize their foreign assistance activities. For example, in
               Indonesia, the USDA attache told us that an exchange program that
               brings agricultural specialists to the United States for training
               has not been publicized by the embassy because the public affairs
               officer was not aware of it. Also in Indonesia, the public affairs
               officer almost missed a publicity opportunity when the officer was
               initially opposed to issuing a press release on an event to
               promote a teacher-training program that was attended by
               representatives of an NGO and 15 Indonesian institutions, because
               communicating about the program was not an embassy priority. The
               public affairs officer later reconsidered and issued a press
               release.

               Moreover, agencies at embassies may receive conflicting guidance
               on marking their assistance activities when an agency's
               headquarters position on marking differs from an embassy's
               position. After USAID headquarters developed its logo in 2004, the
               Serbia and Montenegro embassy developed a logo (featuring the
               American and Serbian and Montenegrin flags) and encouraged all
               agencies to use it. Most agencies used the logo to mark and
               publicize their foreign assistance activities, and the logo was
               also used on the embassy Web site. Subsequently, the USAID mission
               developed and used a logo that combined the embassy logo and
               USAID's logo. Although the USAID mission's logo was different from
               the embassy logo, the ambassador agreed to the compromise, and
               USAID used that logo to mark and publicize its assistance
               activities. However, in June 2006, USAID headquarters told the
               mission that this new logo violated USAID standards and required
               the mission to discard that logo and use USAID's standard logo.

    			  DFA Faces Key Challenges in Coordinating Marking and Publicizing
    			  Efforts

               The DFA has acknowledged that the lack of governmentwide guidance
               on marking and publicizing foreign assistance activities limits
               agencies' ability to make recipients aware of the extent of U.S.
               assistance. In July 2006, the DFA requested that his office and
               the Bureau for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs work together
               to ensure that U.S. embassies, USAID missions, and all government
               agencies receive clear and consistent guidance on marking and
               publicizing U.S. assistance. Also, the DFA recommended that all
               foreign assistance be unified under one agency-neutral brand that
               would ensure that the assistance is recognized and associated with
               the United States. The DFA and the Under Secretary of State for
               Public Diplomacy are currently developing a proposal to provide
               guidance to all federal agencies in 2007.

               Despite these efforts to develop governmentwide guidance for
               marking and publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance, it is unclear
               to what extent this guidance will be implemented by agencies whose
               foreign assistance programs are not under the DFA's direct
               authority. According to DFA officials, the DFA has budget
               authority over USAID, most State foreign assistance activities,
               and activities of agencies funded by State or USAID. Also, the DFA
               will have authority to coordinate the activities of some foreign
               assistance activities managed by other agencies, because,
               according to DFA officials, any activities funded by USAID or
               State that are implemented by other agencies will fall under the
               authority of the DFA. For example, the DFA will have the authority
               to coordinate some of the technical foreign assistance and
               training programs administered by the Department of Justice that
               are funded by State. However, according to DFA officials, the
               director's office will not have authority over about 20 percent of
               all U.S. foreign assistance. This includes some of State's
               programs, such as State's Office of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator,
               which is funded separately from the Department of State
               budget--though DFA officials told us that the DFA's office has
               reached an oral agreement with the AIDS Coordinator to coordinate
               their activities. In addition, DFA has no authority over, for
               example, DOD, HHS, USDA, Treasury, and MCC activities that are
               funded by sources other than State or USAID.

    			  Conclusions

               Some key U.S. agencies providing foreign assistance have
               established policies, regulations, and guidelines on marking and
               publicizing U.S. foreign assistance, and some have used varied
               methods to implement these requirements. Despite these efforts,
               the United States lacks reliable information to assess the impact
               of marking and publicity on increasing awareness of U.S.
               assistance. According to U.S. public service awareness campaign
               executives with whom we met, quantitative research that includes
               pre- and post-tracking studies--as well as drawing from lessons
               learned regarding which types of approaches are working more
               effectively than others--are key practices that they use in
               measuring the impact of their awareness campaign. Although State's
               public opinion polls measure general public opinion trends, they
               do not specifically provide information on the impact of the U.S.
               government's overall efforts to increase public awareness of U.S.
               foreign assistance activities. USAID has only completed a limited
               number of surveys to measure public awareness of U.S. assistance,
               including a public opinion survey of U.S. post-tsunami efforts in
               Indonesia. According to USAID officials and USAID surveys, marking
               and publicizing the source of U.S. foreign assistance following
               the December 2004 tsunami likely contributed to increasing
               favorable public opinion about the United States in Indonesia.
               USAID has begun to develop guidance on measuring the effectiveness
               of its publicity efforts.

               In addition, the DFA acknowledges that because there is no
               governmentwide guidance on marking and publicizing assistance,
               there may have been missed opportunities to increase recipient
               awareness of the extent of U.S. foreign assistance. To address
               this issue, the DFA plans to establish marking and publicizing
               guidance for all U.S. agencies providing assistance abroad in
               2007. However, obtaining the cooperation of those agencies
               implementing foreign assistance programs not under the DFA's
               direct authority is critical to a successful U.S. governmentwide
               marking and publicizing approach and remains a challenge.

    			  Recommendations for Executive Action

               To help the United States ensure that recipients of its foreign
               assistance are aware that this assistance is provided by the
               United States and its taxpayers, we are making two
               recommendations.

               o To enhance U.S. marking and publicity efforts, and to improve
               the information used to measure the impact of U.S. marking and
               publicizing programs, we recommend that the Secretary of State, in
               consultation with other U.S. executive agencies, develop a
               strategy, which appropriately utilizes techniques such as surveys
               and focus groups, to better assess the impact of U.S. marking and
               publicity programs and activities on public awareness.
               o To facilitate State's effort to implement its planned
               governmentwide guidance for marking and publicizing all U.S.
               foreign assistance programs and activities, we recommend that the
               Secretary of State, in consultation with other U.S. executive
               agencies, establish interagency agreements for marking and
               publicizing all U.S. foreign assistance.

    			  Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

               We provided a draft of this report to USAID, State, Agriculture,
               DOD, HHS, Justice, the Treasury, and MCC. We obtained written
               comments from State (see app. V). State concurred with our
               recommendations and indicated that a Policy Coordination Committee
               formed by the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy in the
               National Security Council plans to develop a governmentwide
               Strategic Communications Plan that will address assessment of
               marking and publicity programs and will develop governmentwide
               marking and publicity guidance. We also received technical
               comments on this draft from USAID, State, DOD, and MCC, which we
               incorporated where appropriate.

    ^12Rationales for withholding marking requirements include marking that
    would compromise the intrinsic independence or neutrality of a program,
    diminish credibility of assistance products, undercut country ownership of
    assistance products, incur excessive cost or be impractical for marking
    certain products, and violate international laws.

    ^13The Bureau of Public Diplomacy in Washington prepares articles on U.S.
    policies, society, and assistance that are translated into seven world
    languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Persian, Russian, Spanish, and
    English) and made available to embassies to include in their Web sites if
    they choose to do so.

    ^14There were 102 communications specialists working in 73 countries as of
    September 20, 2006.

    ^15Report of the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and
    Muslim World, Changing Minds, Winning Peace: A New Strategic Direction for
    U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab & Muslim World (Washington, D.C.: Oct.
    1, 2003).

    ^16In 2005 and 2006, USAID, Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
    funded pilot communication campaigns in Jordan and West Bank, Gaza, in
    addition to Indonesia. A more limited campaign was also implemented in
    Lebanon. In Egypt, Legislative and Public Affairs has started to identify
    messages and themes with a nationwide survey to define audiences and
    develop strategies for future communication campaigns in the country; and
    in Colombia, Legislative and Public Affairs helped develop a survey to
    establish a baseline to evaluate the USAID outreach strategy.

    ^17The Alternative Development Program supports the reduction of illegal
    coca crops in targeted areas of Peru. The program (1) helps families to
    increase their income from legal crops and other income generating
    activities, (2) improves access to markets for legal goods and services,
    (3) improves living conditions for citizens, (4) strengthens local
    governments, and (5) raises awareness of the environmental and social
    damage caused by drug production and use.

    ^18Research instruments include surveys and focus group discussions.

    ^19The Ad Council is a private, nonprofit organization that marshals
    volunteer talent from the advertising and communications industries, the
    facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and nonprofit
    communities to deliver critical messages to the American public. The Ad
    Council produces, distributes, and promotes thousands of public service
    campaigns on behalf of nonprofit organizations and government agencies in
    issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children,
    preventative health, education, community well being, environmental
    preservation, and strengthening families.

               We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional
               committees, USAID, the Departments of State, Agriculture, Defense,
               Health and Human Services, Justice, the Treasury, and Millennium
               Challenge Corporation. We will also make copies available to
               others upon request. In addition, the report will be available at
               no charge on the GAO Web site at [38]http://www.gao.gov .

               If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
               contact me at (202) 512-4268. Contact points for our Offices of
               Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the
               last page of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions
               to this report are listed in appendix VI.

               Sincerely yours,

               Jess Ford, Director
    			  International Affairs and Trade

    			  Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

               To determine the regulations and policies that agencies have
               established to mark and publicize foreign assistance, we analyzed
               legislation establishing the statutory basis for marking and
               publicizing foreign assistance, including legislation providing
               funding for foreign assistance activities, and organic legislation
               establishing the various foreign assistance agencies. We reviewed
               major foreign assistance legislation including the Foreign
               Assistance Act of 1961 and Public Law 480. We also reviewed the
               Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, which assigns the Department of
               State (State) a coordination role in publicizing foreign
               assistance, as well as legislation that authorized foreign
               assistance programs separate from the Foreign Assistance Act, such
               as the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 that established the
               Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). We discussed these laws
               with agency officials at the United States Agency for
               International Development (USAID), State, the Departments of
               Agriculture, Defense (DOD), Health and Human Services (HHS),
               Justice, the Treasury, as well as MCC who are responsible for
               their implementation as it applies to marking and publicizing
               their foreign assistance activities. In addition, we reviewed
               regulations these agencies had established to implement
               legislative marking requirements related to agencies' policies and
               other relevant documents. We also discussed the agencies'
               regulations and policies with cognizant officials at each agency.

               To determine how USAID, State, and other agencies are marking and
               publicizing their foreign assistance activities, we discussed
               their activities with cognizant officials at their headquarters in
               Washington, D.C. We also met with representatives of
               nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and contractors in the
               Washington, D.C., area--such as Food For The Hungry, National
               Democratic Institute, the American Bar Association/Central
               European and Eurasian Law Initiative, Chemonics, and Development
               Alternatives, Inc.--who implement many of the agencies' foreign
               assistance activities. In addition, we traveled to U.S. embassies
               and USAID missions in Indonesia, Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, and
               South Africa. In those countries, we (1) met with agency officials
               at the embassies and missions and representatives of NGOs and
               contractors who implement foreign assistance activities; (2)
               collected and analyzed agency documents, regarding their foreign
               assistance marking and publicizing efforts; and (3) visited
               several sites in each country to observe marking and publicizing
               activities of U.S. agencies and their implementing organizations.
               In particular, we visited various recipients of U.S. foreign
               assistance in Belgrade, Serbia; Podgorica, Montenegro; and
               Pretoria, South Africa. We also traveled to Banda Aceh, Indonesia,
               and several locations in Serbia, Montenegro, and Peru, to observe
               marking and publicizing activities and discuss those activities
               with U.S. government officials, representatives of implementing
               organizations, and recipients of foreign assistance. We also
               traveled to Liberia and met with embassy and USAID mission
               officials.

               To determine the challenges the United States faces in marking and
               publicizing foreign assistance activities, we met with cognizant
               agency officials in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. embassies and
               USAID missions in Indonesia, Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, and South
               Africa. We also analyzed agency documents, including Mission
               Performance Plans and other policy and guidance documents at
               headquarters, U.S. embassies, and USAID missions in Indonesia,
               Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, and South Africa. In addition, we
               analyzed surveys and polls conducted for USAID and State,
               communications manuals, and training materials used as part of
               USAID's and State's efforts to determine foreign audiences'
               opinions about the United States and their awareness of U.S.
               foreign assistance activities. Further, we discussed those surveys
               and polls with cognizant agency officials in USAID and State.

               To determine foreign government organizations' marking and
               publicity practices, we held discussions with representatives of
               international foreign assistance organizations, including the
               Australian Government's Overseas Aid Program (AusAID), the
               Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Department
               for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, the
               European Union (EU) assistance implemented through the European
               Agency for Reconstruction, German Agency for Technical Cooperation
               (GTZ), the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA),
               and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). We also
               reviewed relevant documents provided by these organizations on
               their marking and publicity practices, including guidelines on
               marking and communications.

               We included in the scope of this review foreign assistance
               programs administered or implemented by USAID, State, Agriculture,
               DOD, HHS, Justice, the Treasury, and MCC. Among these entities, we
               included programs in the following categories--bilateral
               development foreign assistance; humanitarian assistance; and
               economic assistance in support of U.S. political and security
               goals, with the exception of payments to support countries
               involved in the Middle East Peace Process, including countries of
               importance in the war on terrorism, and programs that address
               issues of weapons proliferation. We excluded from the scope of
               this review multilateral economic contributions or payments that
               are combined with funds from other donor countries to finance
               multilateral development projects of international organizations
               that include the United Nations, the World Bank, and other
               multilateral development banks. We also excluded military foreign
               assistance provided to help selected countries acquire U.S.
               military equipment and training. We conducted our work from
               December 2005 through January 2007 in accordance with generally
               accepted government auditing standards.

    			  Appendix II: Key Marking and Publicity Practices Used in the
    			  Public Sector

               Ad Council executives with whom we met with identified key
               practices that they use to guide their public service campaigns.
               These practices relate to areas that we assessed as part of our
               examination of U.S. government efforts to mark and publicize
               foreign assistance. Specifically, the key practices identified
               include the following:

               o Determine what is appropriate to be marked. It is important to
               maintain flexibility and conduct research to ensure that efforts
               do more good than harm. Be mindful of potential unintended effects
               of branding.
               o Maintain a simple message. Conduct research regarding
               sensitivity of wording and language.
               o Articulate the universal truth or message differently, as
               appropriate for specific demographics and international backdrops.
               It is critical to separate programs from political issues to
               prevent programs and policies from being linked together.
               o Use targeting or tailoring to help create connection with
               audience. Examine best practices, identify where the practices
               have worked well, and learn how to emulate them. Also examine
               cases where branding has been ineffective and implement some
               policies that could alleviate the situation.
               o Conduct quantitative research, such as surveys, to measure
               results of efforts. Conduct pre- and post-tracking studies to
               benchmark attitudes and behaviors.

    			  Appendix III: Other Governments’ Donor Organizations and the GTZ
    			  Marking and Publicity Practices

               While other governments' donor organizations and the German Agency
               for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) generally mark and publicize their
               assistance, none of these organizations have undertaken a campaign
               to develop a mark for their foreign assistance abroad on the scale
               that USAID has to date. ^1 Like the United States, other
               governments' organizations generally use marking to gain recipient
               recognition for their contributions. We found that the six donors
               and the GTZ generally had some form of marking implementing
               policies and procedures. However, unlike most U.S. foreign
               assistance publicizing efforts, other government organizations'
               efforts to communicate about foreign assistance were more targeted
               toward their own constituents rather than host country citizens.
               These organizations generally do not formally monitor or measure
               their marking or publicity efforts.

    			  Other Governments’ Donor Organizations and the GTZ Use Marking to
    			  Gain Recognition for Their Contributions

               Other governments' donor organizations and the GTZ that we studied
               generally use marking to gain recognition or maintain domestic
               support for their contributions. Donor organizations and the GTZ
               that we contacted identified a number of practices for marking,
               including adapting such efforts for each host country, and
               ensuring high-level stakeholder cooperation to facilitate
               implementation of these marking efforts. Additionally, in some
               countries, to ensure marking consistency, governments require all
               organizations, including bilateral donors, to use the national
               symbol along with the organization's logo. For example, the
               Australian Government's Overseas Aid Program (AusAID) and the
               Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) marks include the
               national symbols of Australia and Canada, respectively, and
               assistance provided by the European Union (EU) are generally
               marked with the EU logo. Other organizations, including the
               Department for International Development (DFID) of the United
               Kingdom, GTZ, the Icelandic International Development Agency
               (ICEIDA), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
               have their own unique organization logos. In addition, some donors
               are more flexible than others with their marking requirements. For
               example, according to representatives of ICEIDA, their marking
               procedures are not mandatory, but implementing partners often use
               their marks on publications. Conversely, AusAID requires its
               partners to mark all of its assistance. Figure 10 illustrates each
               of the selected organizations' marks.

    ^1The GTZ is an implementing agency that works on behalf of the Federal
    Republic of Germany.

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

    Other Governments' Donor Organizations and the GTZ, to Varying Degrees, Have
    Marking Procedures or Guidance

    The marking efforts for the six donors and the GTZ that we reviewed have
    some form of procedures or guidance for implementation. The following
    provides a brief description of each organization's procedures or
    guidance.

               o AusAID's standard mark is used on its foreign assistance. The
               organization's written guidelines apply to all contractors and
               implementing partners to ensure marking consistency. The
               Australian government has also developed a unique mark and design
               manual for its Indonesia program.
               o CIDA has a corporate identity logo, and grant and contribution
               agreements require recipients to recognize CIDA's contribution
               with acknowledgments or use of CIDA's logo in their publications,
               advertising, and promotional products.
               o DFID has a standard mark, which is guided by its Identity
               Standards Manual. The mark is used mostly for project-based
               foreign assistance and not budgetary support programs or
               activities. Humanitarian assistance is branded with the United
               Kingdom Emergency Aid logo. This branding applies to DFID staff
               and to large nonperishable items. It will not be used
               when it may detract from humanitarian operations or increase risk
               to staff or beneficiaries.

               o The European Union has Visibility Guidelines specifying how
               technical foreign assistance, supplies and equipment, and
               infrastructure projects are to be marked.
               o GTZ uses a standard logo and a tagline, "German Technical
               Cooperation" on its information material in partner countries. An
               optional slogan, "Partner for the Future. Worldwide" may be used.
               Although not required, the tagline is frequently used on project
               information, brochures, products, and presentations, and, in
               partner countries, the name of the country is included.
               o ICEIDA uses a standard logo on all of its publications. Although
               not required, implementing partners often include the mark on
               their publications.
               o JICA has a logo that is to be used on publications, business
               cards, envelopes, and vehicles. JICA also has a slogan, "For a
               better tomorrow for all.", and has translated this into English,
               French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. A Corporate Identity
               Design Manual was produced in 2003 that provides color, font, and
               usage guidance.

    			  Other Donors’ and the GTZ Publicizing Efforts Generally Target
    			  Domestic Constituents Rather Than Host Country Recipients

               According to representatives of most of the organizations with
               whom we spoke, domestic constituents and not foreign audiences are
               the target of their communications about foreign assistance
               efforts. In contrast to marking intended to ensure that
               governments receive recognition for their contributions, these
               organizations' publicizing efforts generally focus on informing
               the general public in their respective countries about their
               initiatives to enhance the reputation of the aid agencies, engage
               the public, create interest among civil society, and highlight
               success stories. According to ICEIDA, for example, it is required
               by law to publicize its foreign assistance efforts domestically.
               The organizations implement these efforts by, among other things,
               coordinating publicity activities between implementers' and
               donors' information units; constructing project Web sites; and
               through other communication mechanisms such as special events,
               press releases, conferences, publications, Web pages, and plaques.

               Two of the organizations required that their projects have a
               communications plan targeting recipient countries. For example,
               CIDA requires a communications plan on how to inform the public in
               the recipient country of their projects prior to approval.

    			  Other Donors’ and the GTZ Generally Do Not Formally Monitor or
    			  Measure Marking or Publicity Efforts

               Only one of the organizations, AusAID, told us that it monitors
               implementation of its marking and publicity efforts domestically
               and internationally. AusAID monitoring is done through (1)
               domestically focused community awareness research and (2) a mix of
               qualitative and quantitative measures, including press releases,
               special events, correct markings or signage, and newsletter
               subscriptions. AusAID also attempts to determine the quality of
               its relationships with its partners and assesses who the
               assistance is reaching and how often. Representatives from CIDA
               and DFID told us that they conduct public opinion surveys, but
               these surveys are intended to gauge public opinion about the
               agency or support for assistance in general and not to measure
               marking or publicity efforts.

    			  Appendix IV: Statutes, Policies, Regulations, and Guidance for
    			  Marking or Publicizing Foreign Assistance

    Statutory      Content of
    marking or     marking or        Key agencies
    publicizing    publicizing       with covered Key agencies' policies,
    provision      provision         programs     regulations, and guidance
    Section 641 of Provides that     HHS          HHS: Follows State policy on
    the Foreign    "programs under                placing PEPFAR logo on all
    Assistance Act this Act shall be Justice      materials procured by HHS;
    (FAA) of 1961, identified                     policy memorandum on the
    as amended     appropriately     State        appropriate use of logos on
                      overseas as                    conference material; policy
                      `American Aid.' " Treasury/OTA on marking health projects.

                                        USAID        Justice: Relies on
                                                     individual component
                                                     agencies to determine
                                                     appropriateness of marking
                                                     or publicizing activities.

                                                     State: State Financial
                                                     Assistance Standard Terms
                                                     and Conditions, Part II,
                                                     Attachment 1-MEPI.

                                                     Treasury: OTA Instruction
                                                     4035.1--guidance for marking
                                                     certain types of assistance.

                                                     USAID: 22 C.F.R. Part 226,
                                                     sec. 226.91-- regulations
                                                     prescribing marking
                                                     requirements for grants and
                                                     cooperative agreements; 22
                                                     C.F.R. Part 201, sec.
                                                     201.31(d)--regulations
                                                     regarding marking shipping
                                                     containers and commodities;
                                                     AIDAR Clause
                                                     752.7999---standard clause
                                                     in contracts regarding
                                                     marking of foreign
                                                     assistance; ADS 320-policy
                                                     directives and procedures on
                                                     marking USAID-funded
                                                     activities; AAPD
                                                     05-11--policy directive
                                                     regarding acquisition and
                                                     assistance regulations and
                                                     procedures.
    Section 202 of Requires that, to USDA         USDA: 7 C.F.R. Part 1599,
    Public Law 480 the extent                     sec. 1599.12(b)--regulations
    (P. L. 480)    practicable,      USAID        on labeling of commodities
                      commodities                    donated under USDA's
                      provided under                 international food education
                      that act be                    and child nutrition program.
                      clearly
                      identified with                USAID: 22 C.F.R. Part 226,
                      appropriate                    sec. 226.91-- regulations
                      markings in the                prescribing marking
                      local language as              requirements for grants and
                      being furnished                cooperative agreements; 22
                      by "the people of              C.F.R. Part 211, sec.
                      the United                     211.5(h)--regulations
                      States."                       prescribing marking and
                                                     publicity requirements for
                                                     USAID's Food for Peace
                                                     program; 22 C.F.R. Part 201,
                                                     sec. 201.31(d)-- regulations
                                                     regarding marking shipping
                                                     containers and commodities.
    Section 403(f) Requires that     USDA         USDA: 7 C.F.R. Part 1599,
    of Public Law  foreign countries              sec. 1599.12(b)--regulations
    480 (P. L.     and private       USAID        on labeling for commodities
    480)           entities                       donated under USDA's
                      receiving P.L.                 international food education
                      480 commodities                and child nutrition program.
                      will widely
                      publicize "to the              USAID: 22 C.F.R. Part 211,
                      extent                         sec. 211.5(h)--regulations
                      practicable" in                on marking and publicity
                      the media that                 requirements for USAID's
                      the commodities                Food for Peace program.
                      are provided
                      "through the
                      friendship of the
                      American people
                      as food for
                      peace."
    Section 7109   Directed the      State        State: None
    of             Secretary of
    Intelligence   State to          USAID        USAID: None
    Reform and     coordinate the
    Terrorism      public diplomacy
    Prevention Act activities of
    of 2004        federal agencies
                      and called for
                      cooperation
                      between State and
                      USAID to ensure
                      that information
                      related to U.S.
                      foreign
                      assistance is
                      widely
                      disseminated.
    Established                      MCC          MCC: Standards for Global
    pursuant to                                   Marking--guidelines on the
    agency policy                    DOD          use and placement of MCC
    rather than                                   logo or other appropriate
    statutory                                     logos.
    provision
                                                     DOD: Policy and Program
                                                     Guidance for Overseas
                                                     Humanitarian, Disaster, and
                                                     Civic Aid Activities--policy
                                                     and guidance for overseas
                                                     humanitarian, disaster, and
                                                     civic aid activities and
                                                     assistance.

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

    			  Appendix V: Comments from the Department of State

    			  Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

    			  GAO Contact

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

    			  Staff Acknowledgments

               Zina Merritt served as Assistant Director responsible for this
               report, and Maria Oliver was the Analyst-in-Charge. In addition to
               those named above, the following individuals made significant
               contributions to this report: Virginia Chanley, Lauren Geetter,
               Ernie Jackson, and James Strus. The team benefited from the expert
               advice and assistance of Joe Carney, Etana Finkler, Lessie
               Burke-Johnson, Cynthia Taylor, and Wilda Wong.

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    Highlights of [47]GAO-07-277 , a report to the Ranking Minority Member,
    Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives

    March 2007

    FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

    Actions Needed to Better Assess the Impact of Agencies' Marking and
    Publicizing Efforts

    The negative perceptions of the United States associated with U.S. foreign
    policy initiatives have underscored the importance of the United States
    presenting a complete portrayal of the benefits that many in the world
    derive from U.S. foreign assistance efforts. Congress has expressed
    concerns that the United States has frequently understated or not
    publicized information about its foreign assistance programs. As
    requested, this report (1) describes the policies, regulations, and
    guidelines that agencies have established to mark and publicize foreign
    assistance; (2) describes how State, USAID, and other agencies mark and
    publicize foreign assistance; and (3) identifies key challenges that
    agencies face in marking and publicizing foreign assistance.

    [48]What GAO Recommends

    GAO recommends that the Secretary of State, in consultation with other
    U.S. executive agencies, (1) develop a strategy, which appropriately
    utilizes techniques such as surveys, to better assess the impact of U.S.
    marking and publicity programs on public awareness, and (2) establish
    interagency agreements to facilitate implementation of governmentwide
    guidance for marking and publicizing U.S. foreign assistance. State
    provided comments and concurred with the report's recommendations.

    Most of the agencies we reviewed involved in foreign assistance activities
    have established some marking and publicity requirements in policies,
    regulations, or guidelines. USAID has the most detailed policies and
    regulations relating to marking and publicity. USAID has also established
    a network of communications specialists at its missions to publicize its
    assistance efforts and has issued communications guidelines to promote
    that assistance. According to State officials, its policy is to allow its
    program managers and ambassadors to use their discretion when determining
    which programs and activities to mark or publicize. USDA, DOD, HHS,
    Treasury, and MCC have also established some policies for marking and
    publicizing assistance, though these policies vary in their level of
    formality and detail.

    To increase awareness of U.S. assistance abroad, key agencies that we
    reviewed used various methods to mark and publicize some of their
    activities and exercised flexibility in deciding when it was appropriate
    to do so. These agencies used different methods of marking, or visibly
    acknowledging, their assistance. In addition, agencies generally used
    embassy public affairs offices for publicizing, information about the
    source of their assistance and, in some cases, augmented these efforts
    with their own publicity methods.

    We identified some challenges to marking and publicizing U.S. foreign
    assistance, including the lack of (1) a strategy for assessing the impact
    of marking and publicity efforts on increasing the awareness of U.S.
    foreign assistance and (2) governmentwide guidance for marking and
    publicizing U.S. foreign assistance. First, although some agencies conduct
    surveys in recipient countries that primarily capture information on
    public opinion of the United States, little reliable work has been done to
    assess the impact of U.S. assistance on foreign citizens' awareness of the
    source of U.S. provided assistance. Second, while the newly appointed
    Director of Foreign Assistance has begun to address the issue of
    developing a governmentwide policy for marking and publicizing all U.S.
    foreign assistance, it is unclear to what extent this policy will be
    implemented by agencies whose foreign assistance programs are not under
    DFA's direct authority.

    USAID Marking of Health Clinic in Indonesia

    References

    Visible links
      36. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-707T
      37. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-535
      38. http://www.gao.gov
      47. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-277
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