About the Project
The American Diplomacy Project – Phase II, in collaboration with the Una Chapman Cox Foundation and ASU, will build on the original report published in 2020 by Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs entitled The American Diplomacy Project: A U.S. Diplomatic Service for the 21st Century.
Arizona State University, through its Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab, will now provide the new institutional home for assembling a detailed blueprint – a “workbook” – for carrying forward the original report’s plan for the revitalization and modernization of the United States Foreign Service. The work of the project will be directed by a team of former Ambassadors and will draw on extensive discussion with experts and current and former members of the Foreign Service.
ASU-supported project presents blueprints for changes to US foreign service
"The American Diplomacy Project–Phase II proposes concrete change, offering a plan of action for a new generation of American diplomats to meet the demands of American foreign policy today...Read More from ASU News
ASU-SPONSORED AMERICAN DIPLOMACY PROJECT ADVANCES
ASU Ambassador-in-Residence and LDNS Lab Co-Founder Ambassador Michael Polt attended a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma on March 20 to discuss the State Department plans to pilot one of the ASU-Sponsored American Diplomacy Project’s (ADP) “Blueprints for a More Modern Diplomatic Service.” Together with other leaders of the project, Ambassador Polt received a briefing on the envisioned Diplomatic Reserve Corps, designed to bring much needed emergency surge capacity to our nation’s diplomatic efforts.
The ADP team applauded this initial step by the Department of State in seeking to implement this much needed facility and provided feedback on the draft plan to be implement in FY 2025. ASU and Leadership, Diplomacy, and National Security (LDNS) Lab sponsorship of the project featured prominently in the State Department meeting. Ambassador Polt will visit Pennsylvania’s Millersville University in early April to present the full set of ASU Blueprints at a meeting of the Harrisburg World Affairs Council.
Article
State of the State Department: Hiring above attrition, training a new generation of diplomats
The State Department is bringing in a record volume of new hires. The Foreign Service is recruiting new diplomats at a rate not seen in more than a decade.
But even at these robust hiring rates, which the department expects to rein in due to recent budget cuts, top leaders say it’ll take years to get to a healthy level of staffing.
Four Blueprints to Modernize Diplomacy
1. Mission and Mandate
Led by Ambassador Michael C. Polt, ASU Ambassador-in-Residence and former U.S. Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro and Estonia.
2. Professional Education and Training Priorities
Led by Ambassador Dan Smith, former Director of the Foreign Service Institute, and Ambassador Joyce Barr, former Assistant Secretary of State for Administration.
3. A Modern and Flexible Personnel System
Led by Ambassador Jo Ellen Powell, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Resources.
4. Establishment of a Diplomatic Reserve Corps
Led by Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, former Under Secretary of State for Management.
Event Recordings
Presentation of the Blueprints | Sept. 8, 2022
The Phase II project team, in collaboration with the Una Chapman Cox Foundation and ASU, has assembled detailed blueprints for four critical areas of State Department reform. At this event, team leaders presented their work and took audience questions.
Midterm Report | May 31, 2022
Following its launch in January this year, this is the second Roundtable dedicated to ASU’s engagement in support of the modernization of U.S. diplomacy. The Phase II project team, in collaboration with the Una Chapman Cox Foundation and ASU, is assembling detailed blueprints for four critical areas of Foreign Service reform. At this event at the midpoint of the effort, team leaders provided a brief progress update and answered audience questions.
Inaugural ASU Washington Diplomatic Roundtable | January 31, 2022
This inaugural Roundtable launched ASU’s engagement in support of modernization of U.S. diplomacy. Hosted by ASU’s Ambassador-in-Residence Michael C. Polt, this Roundtable featured the new Project Co-Chairs Ambassador Marc Grossman and Ambassador Marcie Ries, as well as comments by the Project’s leadership team.
Event Photos
Collaborators
Una Chapman Cox Foundation
The American Academy of Diplomacy