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(3.2MB)U.S. Agencies Should Establish a Mechanism to Assess Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Progress
Report to Congressional Requesters
GAO-19-201: Published: Feb 27, 2019. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2019.
The U.S. government and Caribbean countries formally launched the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative in 2010 to try to reduce drug trafficking, increase public safety, and promote social justice in the region. U.S. agencies allocated more than $560 million from 2010 through 2018 for this collaborative effort with 13 nations.
Is it working?
The State Department doesn’t know. We found that while U.S. agencies plan and report on their activities with specific countries, the State Department hasn’t established a way to assess overall progress.
We recommended that State improve its ability to monitor, evaluate, and report on the Initiative.
Comments from the U.S. Agency for International Development
January 29, 2019
Jennifer Grover
Director, International Affairs and Trade
U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20548
Re: SECURITY ASSISTANCE: U.S. Agencies Should Establish a Mechanism to Assess Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Progress (GAO19-201)
Dear Ms. Grover:
I am pleased to provide the formal response of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the draft report of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled, "SECURITY ASSISTANCE: US. Agencies Should Establish a Mechanism to Assess Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Progress" (GAO-19-201). USAID worked closely with the U.S. Department of State, as part of the interagency effort to formulate the formal response to this draft report.
USAID concurs with the GAO's recommendation to the Department of State to create an initiative-wide planning and repo1ting mechanism for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) that includes the ability to monitor, evaluate, and report the results of our collaborative effo1ts. USAID will cooperate fully in this process. USAID's Bureau for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs currently tracks the progress of our programs under the CBSI through the indicator data we collect from each Mission in preparation for inputs to the Department of State's Performance Plan and Report (PPR). We take monitoring, evaluating, and repo1ting very seriously, and fully support updating the CBSI Results Framework and developing an initiative- wide mechanisms for planning and reporting. We look forward to drawing upon the practices we already have in place, such as compiling indicator data from each of our Missions, to contribute to the implementation of the GAO's report recommendation.
I am transmitting this letter and the enclosed USAID comments for inclusion in GAO's final report. Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the draft report, and for the courtesies extended by your staff while conducting this engagement. We appreciate the opportunity to participate in the complete and thorough evaluation of our participation in the CBSI.
Sincerely,
Angelique M. Crumbly
Acting Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Management
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