Management Reform Bulletin No. 34No. 34
February 22, 1972
The Role of the Secretary’s Open Forum Panel
The Secretary’s Open Forum panel (OFP) was established in May 1967 by Secretary Rusk to encourage “innovation and creativity.” Its mandate was reaffirmed by Secretary Rogers.
Task Force IX recommended that the OFP should discover and transmit to the Secretary and his principal deputies ideas, concepts, and thoughtful criticism of current policies.
Membership in the Secretary’s Open Forum Panel is open to all interested employees of the Department of State, Agency for International Development (A.I.D.), and U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA). The active membership of the OFP elects a chairman and vice chairman annually. The Director of Planning and Coordination (S/PC), who is responsible for encouraging and supporting the work of the OFP, assigns an executive secretary to the panel.
In accordance with the Secretary’s concept and the Task Force recommendations, the Open Forum Panel has the following functions:
- Meet with the Secretary and other senior officers of the Department and discusses ideas and suggestions submitted by employees in the Department or at post aboard.
- Works closely with S/PC in receiving, transmitting to senior officers, and responding to expressions of divergent opinion and creative dissent on policy matters submitted to the Department by employees.
- Serves as a forum for discussion of policies and programs.
- Is a link with outside individuals and groups, especially youth groups, and, where appropriate, serves as a channel for their ideas.
Recent Open Forum Panel (OFP) activities include:
- Meetings with the Secretary and other senior officers for discussion of such topics as the Viet-Nam war, the Indo-Pakistan crisis, international implications of the New Economic Program, redefinition of national interests, and the role of dissent in foreign policy formulation. The Panel has also discussed the Department’s policies toward female employees, the role wives in the Foreign Service, and the effect of the “track system” on promotions and assignments. Reports have gone forward to the Secretary and other principals on many of these questions.
- The OFP has meet with members of the academic community, representatives of research institutions, and Congressional staff members. The Panel held open meetings with representatives of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, students from the Washington Semester Program of American University, and the Student Advisory Committee on International Affairs. The Panel also participates in regular discussions with members of the Department’s Scholar-Diplomat Program and meets annually with the Department’s Diplomats in residence.
The open Forum Panel’s activities are publicized in the Department of State Newsletter on a regular basis.
The foregoing represents actions taken to implement Action Program items Nos. 373 and 374.
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