American Fellow Diane MacLaren, Program Evaluation

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000569 SIPDIS For State ECA/PE/C/WHA/EAP Laverne Johnson, Ray Harvey; WHA/PDA Julie Greenblatt MONTREAL, TORONTO, VANCOUVER FOR PAO CALGARY FOR FIELD REP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO OIIP SCUL OEXC CA SUBJECT: American Fellow Diane MacLaren, Program Evaluation ¶1. Summary: Diane MacLaren, Senior Manager with the Canadian Treasury Board Secretariat, participated in the new American Fellow Exchange Program September 15-December 15, ¶2004. (The American Fellow Exchange Program was announced at the Quebec Summit of the Americas in April, 2001). In a debriefing with the Cultural Affairs Officer in Ottawa February 17, Ms. MacLaren reported that she found her internship with the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Financial Performance both professionally and personally rewarding, and she will share what she learned about accountability and transparency in U.S. government with her Canadian colleagues. The post thanks the Office of Private Sector Programs, Partners of the Americas, and the Department of the Treasury for their roles in providing Ms. MacLaren, the first Canadian participation in the American Fellow Program, a successful exchange experience. End Summary. ¶2. In recruiting Canadian participants for the American Fellow Program of exchange of civil servants, the post worked with Canada's Public Service Commission Interchange Office to identify outstanding managers involved in issues of significance in the U.S.-Canada relationship, including border security and counterterrorism cooperation. Nominee Ms. MacLaren, a senior manager at the Treasury Board Secretariat with responsibility for analysis and performance SIPDIS reporting on the Canadian government's public security and anti-terrorism programs, proposed an exchange that would enable her to observe and better understand the accountability and performance reporting work of U.S. counterparts. The post and Ms. MacLaren suggested affiliation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the Office of Management and Budget's public security review division. Although U.S. security restrictions prevented affiliation with either of these two departments, Partners of the Americas was able to arrange an internship for Ms. MacLaren at the Department of the Treasury's Office of Financial Performance. ¶3. Ms. MacLaren and her Department of the Treasury hosts outlined three objectives for her three-month internship: familiarizing herself with American performance measurement techniques and policies; familiarizing herself with American budget management methods, particularly with regard to security-related programs; and assisting with the development of the Department of the Treasury's performance and accountability report (PAR). The exchange program more than met the grantee's expectations and provided her with first-hand insights into the U.S. budget and accountability process. ¶4. Among the highlights of her visit, Ms. MacLaren noted the opportunity to observe Office of Management and Budget 2006 budget hearings at the White House, discussions with officials from several agencies on their respective approaches to performance management (e.g. she was impressed with the high OMB rating of State Department performance measurement efforts),the opportunity to work with the Department of the Treasury on their performance accountability report, and her production of a highlights report on the Treasury's budget submission, making it user- friendly and accessible to readers. Through these activities, Ms. MacLaren gained an appreciation for the seriousness with which federal government agencies take accountability reporting and for the innovative approaches various agencies have taken to measure their performance. As do many Canadian visitors to the U.S., Ms. MacLaren gained an appreciation for the complexity of our system of government and its capacity to respond to a wide array of demands from various stakeholders. Her newly acquired knowledge of the U.S. system and management approaches in its executive branch will be of tremendous benefit in her current work with the public security portfolio and in potential future jobs involving Canada-U.S. cooperation. While Ms. MacLaren was modest about her own contributions to her host agency, the post trusts that her Canadian perspectives and management contributions were helpful to her Treasury colleagues. ¶5. Personally, Ms. MacLaren reported that she found her Treasury colleagues and other interlocutors in federal agencies warm, helpful, and open. She continues communication with a number of colleagues she met in Washington and plans a personal visit this spring. ¶6. Ms. MacLaren was quite pleased with the support provided by Partners of the Americas, with the lodging provided her in a convenient neighborhood of Washington, and with the overall logistics of her exchange program. ¶7. The post thanks ECA/PE/C/WHA/EAP, Partners of the Americas, and the Department of the Treasury hosts for creating a unique and relevant exchange program for Ms. MacLaren. Cellucci