GAO Survey on Interagency Rotational Assignments Intended to Improve National Security Collaboration: All Host Agency Supervisors

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Contents

• Introduction
• Section I: Demographic Questions
• Section II: Interagency Rotational Assignment Outcomes
• Section III: Perceptions of Interagency Rotational Assignments
• Section IV: Publicity and Information for Interagency Rotational Assignment Programs
• Section V: The Match between Participant and Assignment
• Section VI: Participant Performance Appraisal
• Section VII: Interagency Rotational Assignment Program Evaluation
• Section VIII: Additional comments
• Submit your responses to GAO
• View and print responses

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Introduction

Congress has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to identify policies and practices that contribute to effective interagency rotational assignment programs as part of a Congressional effort to better understand the role that such programs can play in helping to improve national security collaboration. As part of this effort, GAO is surveying supervisors of personnel who participated in one of three categories of interagency rotational assignment programs during fiscal year 2009: (1) Army Intermediate Level Education Interagency Fellowship, (2) Department of State (State) POLAD, or (3) other State sponsored interagency rotational assignments (State does not consider the third category to be a formal program. Therefore, for the questions below that refer to a "program," please respond based on your experiences with the interagency assignment participant.) The purpose of the survey is to gain the supervisor perspective on the effectiveness of these programs or types of assignments in improving interagency collaboration, as well as how these programs have incorporated key policies and practices. You were selected to complete this survey because you supervised _____ who participated in _____ in fiscal year 2009. In addition, GAO will be surveying participants to gain their perspectives on these matters.

Your responses will provide critical information that will help GAO inform the Congress as it considers a variety of mechanisms for improving collaboration among agencies and personnel with national security responsibilities. We will not release individually identifiable data outside of GAO, unless compelled by law or requested by the Congress. While the results of the survey will generally be provided in summary form in our report, individual answers may be discussed, but they will not include any information that could be used to identify individual respondents.

We ask that you complete this survey within 10 days of receiving it. This survey is divided into eight short sections and should take about 15 minutes to complete. This survey does not need to be completed in one sitting. Your responses can be saved and accessed at a later date. To learn more about completing the questionnaire, printing your responses, and whom to contact if you have questions, click here for help. If you are unsure of how to respond to a question, please contact us for assistance.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Section I: Demographic Questions

This section of the survey covers some basic information about you and your agency or organization (referred to as "agency" throughout this survey).

1. Did you serve as a supervisor to _____ who participated in _____ in fiscal year 2009?

If you answered "no" to question 1, skip to question 24.

2. At which agency were you employed when you supervised _____?

2a. If other agency, please specify:

3. Under which personnel system were you employed at the time you supervised the participant in fiscal year 2009?

3a. If other personnel system, please specify:

4. What was your rank or pay grade at the time you supervised the participant in fiscal year 2009?

4a. If other rank or pay grade, please specify:

Section II: Interagency Rotational Assignment Outcomes

This section of the survey asks for your perspective on outcomes of the interagency rotational assignment program.

5. In your view, how effective, if at all, is the interagency rotational assignment program in each of the following?

5a. Allowing you to obtain (on a temporary basis) personnel with knowledge, skills, and abilities to help meet your agency's national security goals

5b. Providing you with a better understanding of how another agency operates

5c. Building interagency professional relationships and networks that will be useful in carrying out your agency's national security responsibilities

5d. Contributing to improved collaboration between your agency and other agencies with national security responsibilities

5e. Providing participants with a better understanding of how your agency operates

5f. Developing participants' abilities to consider complex national security issues from a broad-based, interagency perspective

5g. Helping participants to develop interagency professional relationships and networks

5h. Helping participants to develop the skills necessary to lead in an interagency environment

6. How effective, if at all, is the interagency rotational assignment program in contributing to improved collaboration among agencies with national security responsibilities?

7. Please use the space below if you would like to describe any other outcomes of the interagency rotational assignment program.

Section III: Perceptions of Interagency Rotational Assignments

This section of the survey asks about perceptions--at your agency--of interagency rotational assignments. ("Your agency," in this case, refers to the agency where you worked when you were supervising the interagency rotational assignment participant.)

8. Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements as they apply to your agency?

8a. Participants require a significant investment of time that may outweigh the benefits they can provide during their assignment

8b. Participants may not be at my agency long enough to be able to significantly contribute

8c. Participants may not have the knowledge, skills, or abilities needed to be able to contribute

8d. Participants may not be high performing

Section IV: Publicity and Information for Interagency Rotational Assignment Programs

This section of the survey asks about the information you received on the interagency rotational assignment program.

9. Are you aware of any efforts to market or publicize the interagency rotational assignment program?

If you answered "no" to question 9, skip to question 11.

10. Do you think those efforts were adequate?

11. Were you provided with written guidance or other materials intended to prepare you to host a participant?

12. Did you take part in an orientation or training intended to prepare you to host a participant?

If you answered "no" or "don't know" to both questions 11 and 12, skip to question 15.

13. If yes to either question 11 or 12, was the training and/or written materials you received sufficient for you to understand each of the following aspects of the interagency rotational assignment program?

13a. The goals of the interagency rotational assignment program

13b. Information about the participant's home agency mission and organization

13c. The process for selecting a participant

13d. The process for assigning a participant to an interagency rotational assignment

13e. The process for setting goals and expectations for a participant

13f. The process for appraising participant performance during an interagency rotational assignment

13g. The process for transitioning a participant back to his/her home agency or next assignment

13h. How to optimize your experience in hosting a participant

14. Please use the space below if you would like to describe any other useful information that you received on the interagency rotational assignment program.

15. Please use the space below if you would like to describe any information that you did not receive but that would have been useful.

Section V: The Match between Participant and Assignment

This section of the survey asks about the match between the participant and the position at the host agency.

16. How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with each of the following?

16a. The match between the participant's abilities and the assignment

16b. The participant's contribution toward achieving your agency's mission and goals

16c. The overall quality of the participant

16d. Your involvement, as a supervisor, in selecting the participant for the assignment

Section VI: Participant Performance Appraisal

This section of the survey asks about the participant's performance appraisal.

17. Did you communicate the assignment-specific goals and expectations to the participant?

18. Did you contribute to the participant's performance appraisal?

If you answered "no" or "don't know" to question 18, skip to question 20.

19. Did the home agency take your feedback into account in the participant's performance appraisal?

Section VII: Interagency Rotational Assignment Program Evaluation

This section of the survey asks about any evaluation you might have completed for the interagency rotational assignment program.

20. Did you have an opportunity to complete an evaluation or provide feedback on the interagency rotational assignment program in some formal way?

If you answered "no" or "don't know" to question 20, skip to question 22.

21. How effective, if at all, was the evaluation tool or feedback mechanism in collecting your opinions on the interagency rotational assignment program?

22. Please use the space below if you would like to convey how the evaluation tool or feedback was or was not effective.

Section VIII: Additional comments

23. Please use the space below if you there is anything else you would like to tell us about the effectiveness of the interagency rotational assignment.

Submit your responses to GAO

24. This completes our survey. Are you ready to submit your final completed survey to GAO?

View and print responses

You may view and print your completed survey by clicking on the Summary link in the menu to the left.