Secretary of State Tillerson’s vision is to reaffirm the United States’ position as a world leader for decades to come by modernizing the processes, procedures, and technology of the Department of State (State) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and strong leadership at every level.

To that end, in early 2017, he began the employee-led “Redesign” project. Through a listening tour and survey, more than 35,000 State and USAID employees submitted ideas and suggestions for agency improvements. After reviewing the survey results, the Secretary brought together a cross-section of rising leaders and experienced professionals to sort these ideas, apply further research, and refine them into proposals for action. This Redesign process identified projects in three focus areas: Information Technology (IT) and Human Resources (HR) modernization, policy formulation and global presence, and operational efficiencies.

Actions to move those projects forward are happening now. As a first step, the Secretary, with support from USAID Administrator Mark Green, agreed to implement seven projects that would immediately benefit the efficiency and effectiveness of organizational operations. While modest in scope, these seven immediate changes will free up employee time and attention to focus on the mission of diplomacy and development. They are described later in this chapter. The implementation of these immediate changes, and the identification of modernization projects in the three areas mentioned above, completed the 2017 Redesign.