Inspection of Embassy Warsaw and Constituent Post, Poland

You are subscribed to Reports for Department of State OIG. Manage Subscriptions Inspection of Embassy Warsaw and Constituent Post, Poland 06/14/2024 03:19 PM EDT What OIG Inspected OIG inspected the operating environment, executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations of Embassy Warsaw, Poland. The inspection included Consulate General Krakow and Consular Agency Poznan.   What OIG Recommends OIG made 38 recommendations: 36 to Embassy Warsaw, 1 to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and 1 to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with 37 recommendations and neither agreed nor disagreed with 1 recommendation. OIG considers all 38 recommendations resolved. The Department's response to each recommendation, and OIG's reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department's formal responses are reprinted in their entirety in Appendix B. What OIG Found • The Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission led Mission Poland in a professional and collaborative manner consistent with the Department of State's leadership and management principles. • Three areas significantly impacted the mission's operations: (1) the effects of, and the mission's response to, Russia's war against Ukraine; (2) the mission's outdated and inadequate facilities; and (3) locally employed staff wages not keeping pace with the cost of living and high inflation in Poland. • Regional bureau guidance on how to expend Ukraine supplemental funds was not always sufficient and clear. Additionally, the embassy lacked some supporting documentation and justifications for its use of Ukraine supplemental funds. • In response to the increase in foreign assistance due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the mission created new coordination mechanisms. • The mission's public diplomacy grants management record keeping for closed awards did not fully comply with Department standards. • The mission had deficiencies in the safety, health, and environmental management program and the fire protection program. Additionally, the motor vehicle, property, contracting officer's representative, and financial management programs did not fully comply with Department standards. • Mission Poland also had deficiencies related to information security, non-enterprise networks, telephone system operational readiness, and mobile devices management. • Spotlight on Success: Embassy Poland's Economic Section automated the production of reporting cables, saving time, improving predictability, and fostering staff collaboration on reporting, resulting in products Washington end users praised. • Spotlight on Success: Embassy Warsaw's Strategic Messaging Working Group enabled well-coordinated, timely public messaging for mission-wide deployment.

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