GAO reviews State bureau collaboration

In July the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report assessing interagency collaboration between the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and other government entities. GAO’s report evaluates progress made by the Bureau to counter violent extremism, build partner counterterrorism capacity, and improve coordination since it was elevated to bureau status in 2012.

During their review, GAO looked at coordination on two Bureau programs, Countering Violent Extremism and Counterterrorism Finance. The reviewers looked for key practices of effective collaboration, such as efforts to define outcomes and accountability, bridge organizational cultures, and establish written guidance and agreements, and found the Bureau was generally in line with key collaboration practices.

GAO found that the Bureau generally has laid out the intended outcomes of coordination efforts in interagency agreements, and that both the Countering Violent Extremism and Counterterrorism Finance programs included interagency cooperation in planning and executing initiatives.

The report also examined the Bureau’s staffing and performance.

For more information about GAO-15-684, please follow the link below.
GAO-15-684, Combating Terrorism: State Should Evaluate Its Counter Violent Extremism Program and Set Time Frames for Addressing Evaluation Recommendations