It’s Official: All Foreign Service Officers Must Learn Data
By: Dan Spokojny | March 21, 2022
Tomorrow’s diplomats will use rigorous data and qualitative evidence to drive more impactful policy.
The State Department will now be evaluating foreign service officers on their proficiency in data collection, analysis, and decision-making following an update to the decision criteria for tenure and promotion. Decision criteria, or “Core Precepts,” used by Foreign Service Selection Boards determine an officer’s tenure and promotion — you can read a selection from the updated criteria at the bottom of this article. This change to the core precepts reflects the Department’s recognition that data skills are an indispensable part of every leader’s toolkit in today’s information economy.
The data movement is gathering momentum at State. The new promotion precepts, published in February, come on the heels of the first-ever Enterprise Data Strategy (EDS) released in September. As we previously wrote about the strategy, data-driven decision-making has the potential to transform the policy process. In the foreword of the strategy, Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon termed a data-powered world a “paradigm shift” which necessitates a “culture change in the Department.”
Promotion incentives cut to the core of an organization’s culture, so the new data precepts are a meaningful step forward. Our leaders have long declared that diplomacy is an art, not a science. These new promotion criteria challenge this narrative and expand opportunities for quantitatively-inclined policy experts to make rigorous contributions to foreign policy.
A key challenge is that the state Department treats data as a specialty skill. Data collection and analysis tend to be conducted by subordinate in the policy process, such as the Center for Analytics, the Office of Advanced Analytics in the conflict bureau, and public diplomacy’s Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources, to name a few. This model positions data-scientists as service providers rather than decision-makers in their own right. In other words, today’s data-informed products are produced for policymakers, not by policymakers.
These promotion precepts represent a challenge to the old model by demanding that all officers demonstrate data proficiency.
Change will be uneven, at best. Promotion precepts are relatively toothless in reality, more guidance than requirement. There are over thirty precepts, and participants can choose which precepts to cite in their reviews. No instructions exists for how managers should measure skill or achievement. These evaluation procedures are thus often derided as more of a “writing contest” than an objective evaluation of one’s record. Further, we cannot expect managers with little data competency to assess the quality of a subordinate’s contribution.
Finally, it is evident that someone in the approval chain for the new promotion precepts watered down the data language. Look closely at the precepts (below): after every instance of the word data, the clause “as appropriate” is inserted. Many senior decision-makers still harbor deep skepticism about the value of data.
Nevertheless, the power of this new language in the promotion precepts is that they offer a bureaucratic foothold for future data-driven work to be codified into the practice of diplomacy. Here are five ways that foreign service officers can help build those footholds:
Work requirements statements: Add data-driven projects to your work requirements statement to lock in the value of data for your work. Better yet, include data projects in the work requirements of your subordinates.
Mission strategic plans: Think at scale by including data collection and analysis requirements into mission strategic plans for your bureau, embassy, or office.
Employee evaluation reviews: Brag about your (or your subordinate’s) data wizardry in your EER, or cite data skills as an area for improvement.
Promotion panels: Serve on a promotion panel and reward officers who demonstrate commitment to data-driven skills.
Policy process: Challenge bad policies using data and push for more debates about the hard evidence underlying policy claims rather than simply debating opinions. Cite your evidence in the clearance process.
Appendix
Foreign service officers are expected to demonstrate substantive and technical expertise by progressively building upon the skills and qualities outlined below. Note that this precept is one of 31. While the full list has yet to be published publicly, here are the previous promotion precepts for comparison.
Entry-level onward:
Masters one's own portfolio, to include pertinent rules, regulations, procedures, and specific technical skills. Maintains and applies institutional and subject matter knowledge and relevant technical expertise, as applicable, to position. Embraces innovation and improves processes. Pursues training opportunities to keep abreast of professional standards, policies, programs, and trends. Develops as appropriate the ability to read, understand, create, and communicate data as information. Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches based on data-driven analysis, as appropriate. Develops interageney knowledge and understanding of foreign cultures and languages as appropriate to position. Understands the roles and authorities of the Department and other USG agencies. Applies that knowledge to build interagency cooperation and provide effective customer service. Meets language requirements for tenure; uses foreign language skills to enhance job performance and better serve customers.
Mid-level onward:
Consistently demonstrates and models all the elements above. Deepens professional expertise and applies this knowledge to achieve mission and/or Department goals. Uses expertise to evaluate policies and programs, and to advise, develop, and assist others. Bases recommendations and decisions on data-driven analysis, as appropriate. Uses knowledge of interagency as well as foreign cultures and languages to achieve policy and customer service goals. Builds language skills to meet Career Development Program requirements for Senior Foreign Service eligibility. Uses language skills to exercise influence and build relationships.
Senior-level onward:
Consistently demonstrates and exemplifies all the elements above and leads and mentors others to develop the same. Promotes an organization-wide culture of innovation. Demonstrates both mastery of own specialty and a broad knowledge of processes and practices throughout the Department. Anticipates the need for new knowledge for self and staff, identifies and communicates sources of new information; fosters a culture of professional growth and staff’s full utilization of professional and technical skills, and technology to achieve bureau mission customer objectives. Uses data driven analysis as appropriate to influence and steer policy and processes and guides others to do the same. Uses sophisticated knowledge of foreign cultures and other USG agencies to advance U.S. goals and solve complex problems. Works to develop this ability in subordinates. Maintains and further develops proficiency in foreign language(s). Uses language skills to promote U.S. interests with a wide range of audiences.