Office of eDiplomacy

The Office of eDiplomacy acts as an applied technology think tank for the United States Department of State. The Office of eDiplomacy combines the expertise and experience of Foreign and Civil Service Officers and contract professionals and is divided into three branches, the Diplomatic Innovation Division, the Knowledge Leadership Division and the Customer Liaison Division.

Formed in response to recommendations from the Overseas Presence Advisory Panel that the State Department improve its ability to communicate and share knowledge, eDiplomacy hosts a variety of platforms that equip State Department employees with innovative tools for collaboration, an initiative that closely aligns with Secretary Clinton’s call for 21st Century Statecraft. Through the support and advocacy of new technology like blogs, wikis, professional networking and virtual student interns, eDiplomacy promotes an organizational culture for innovation that allows State diplomats to lead the foreign policy process at home and abroad.

Customer Liaison Division desk officers facilitate and enhance communications between the Bureau of Information Resource Management and its users and strive to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction with IRM products and services. In addition, they collaborate with other U.S. Government agencies and foreign/multinational entities to provide information services that advance our national security, emergency preparedness, and communications objectives.

History

In 2002, Ambassador James Holmes started the eDiplomacy Task Force. In 2003, the task force was reorganized into the Office of eDiplomacy. Currently, eDiplomacy falls under the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Business, Management, and Planning.

Kathryn Cabral is the current Director, Maeve Dwyer is the Chief of eDiplomacy's Knowledge Leadership Division, Daniel Sheerin is Chief of the eDiplomacy Diplomatic Innovation Division and Randy Lea is Chief of the Customer Liaison Division.^[1]

Other previous eDiplomacy Directors at the U.S. Department of State include:

• Joe Johnson
• Gerry Gallucci
• Gary Galloway (acting)
• Thomas Niblock
• Stephen Smith
• Daniel P. Sheerin (acting)
• Richard Boly
• Eric Nelson

Major programs of the Office of eDiplomacy

The Office of eDiplomacy runs several knowledge-management and new media technology programs for the State Department. Among the most prominent are:

• Diplopedia is the State Department's internal collaborative online wiki. ^[2]
• Communities @ State is an initiative enables and encourages Department personnel with shared professional interests to form online communities to publish information, connect with others, and create discussion.
• Corridor is the State Department's professional networking platform for all personnel with access to State's OpenNet network.
• The Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) program is part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young people to facilitate new forms of diplomatic engagement.
• TechCamps, a series of training events in cities around the world.
• After developing and launching the State Department Sounding Board in 2009, Office of eDiplomacy staff actively contribute to this internal idea sharing forum, now managed by the Management Bureau and the Secretary of State's cadre.
• Virtual Work Environments: eDiplomacy is poised to play a leading role in the Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) adoption effort at State. The State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset (SMART) program is heading the WSS deployment effort.

Criticism

In November 2013 Ukrainian MP Oleh Tsariov demanded a criminal investigation into the activities of TechCamp in Ukraine because he believed it was "preparations for inciting a civil war" because during training "instructors share their experience of Internet technologies, which are aimed at shaping public opinion and enhancing the protest potential and which were used to organize street protests in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Syria".^[3]

Other media mentions

• Advancing U.S. Foreign Policy through eDiplomacy

See also

• Government crowdsourcing
• State Department Sounding Board
• Transformational Diplomacy
• United States Department of State
• United States Cyber-Diplomacy

References

External links

• Office of eDiplomacy

Agencies under the United States Department of State
Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building John Kerry, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources
Deputy Secretary of State & Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources	Bureau of Budget and Planning Counselor of the Department Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources
Under Secretary for Political Affairs	Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of International Organization Affairs Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Office of the Science and Technology Adviser Office of the Chief Economist
Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs	Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Public Affairs Bureau of International Information Programs Department Spokesperson Office of the Historian Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs United States Diplomacy Center
Under Secretary for Management	Bureau of Administration Bureau of Consular Affairs Bureau of Diplomatic Security Bureau of Human Resources Bureau of Information Resource Management Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Diplomatic Reception Rooms Foreign Service Institute Office of Children's Issues Office of eDiplomacy Office of Foreign Missions Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation Office of Medical Services Office of White House Liaison
Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Office of Global Criminal Justice Office of Global Youth Issues Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Bureaus/Offices reporting directly to the Secretary	Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Executive Secretariat Operations Center Office of Civil Rights Office of Inspector General Office of the Legal Adviser Office of Policy Planning Staff Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of Global Food Security Office of Global Women's Issues Office of the United States Global AIDS Coordinator Office of Global Partnerships