VZCZCXRO0749
RR RUEHAST
DE RUEHBW #0907/01 1581154
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071154Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8761
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJL/DOJ WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000907 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DOJ FOR CARL ALEXANDRE 
DEPT ALSO FOR A/S HIGGINS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT EAID KSPR SR
SUBJECT: MISSION BELGRADE'S ROLLING POLICY AGENDA 
 
BELGRADE 00000907  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Mission Belgrade's interagency process - 
the "Rolling Policy Agenda" (RPA) - is the way we develop 
policy recommendations and implementation, the mechanism by 
which we oversee foreign assistance, and the vehicle by 
which we implement the Mission Performance Plan (MPP). 
Centered on seven interagency teams, each with a thematic 
focus closely linked to an MPP strategic goal, the RPA 
ensures broad-based participation and buy-in for decision- 
making, equitable division of responsibilities among 
agencies, and efficient dissemination of information. 
Active participation in the RPA by the Embassy Front Office 
injects discipline into the process and stimulates action. 
Nearing the two-year anniversary of its implementation, the 
RPA process has significantly improved inter-agency 
cooperation and stimulated "bottom-up" policy initiative in 
our Mission.  End Summary. 
 
ONE MISSION, ONE POLICY, ONE PLAN 
 
¶2. (U) Two years ago, this Mission developed the RPA to 
instill better coordination among its dozen agencies in 
both republics of Serbia and Montenegro.  The RPA process 
was envisaged as a way to brainstorm initiatives across 
agency lines, to review and oversee the mission's numerous 
assistance programs, and to ensure that the mission carries 
out the ambitious goals it sets through the yearly MPP 
process.  Free thinking is demanded; debate encouraged; and 
disputes brought to the Ambassador for final decision. 
 
¶3. (U) The core of the RPA process consists of seven 
interagency teams that represent our top Mission 
priorities.  Each of these teams is closely linked to an 
MPP Strategic Goal.   For example, the Democratization RPA 
team manages work that would fall under the MPP's 
"Democracy and Human Rights" Strategic Goal; the 
Management, Security and Infrastructure RPA team handles 
work relevant to the MPP's "Overseas and Domestic 
Facilities" Strategic Goal.  One exception is that three 
RPA teams cover the MPP's "Regional Stability" Strategic 
Goal -- one team on regional cooperation between Serbia and 
Montenegro, one on addressing vulnerable regions within 
Serbia, and one charged with military and defense issues. 
Since all RPA teams have a public diplomacy component, they 
all include representation from the Public Diplomacy 
section. 
 
HOW IT WORKS 
 
¶4. (U) Each interagency team has a Coordinator, a Deputy 
Coordinator, and an Entry Level (EL) Officer who serves as 
a team "secretary."  All three of these delegates represent 
different agencies or sections, ensuring broader 
information flow and efficient division of 
responsibilities.  For example, the Economic Development 
RPA team's coordinator is from the Economic section, the 
deputy is from USAID, and the secretary is from the 
Consular Section.  Each secretary is assigned to a team 
that is outside his or her normal portfolio in order to 
provide our EL officers broader exposure to the work of the 
mission, experience in inter-agency policy-making, and 
regular interaction with the Ambassador.  In addition to 
these standing RPA "officers," other American and local 
employees of the Mission with an interest or role in the 
subject matter handled by the RPA team participate in its 
work.  Membership is flexible and adapted to the projects 
at hand.  The agendas of the RPAs are indeed "rolling" in 
the sense that actions are routinely added and removed as 
old items are completed and new ones are addressed. 
 
¶5. (U) RPA teams meet for one hour with the Ambassador and 
Deputy Chief once every seven weeks (on a weekly rotating 
basis) to review policy and make recommendations.  While 
these meetings take place at the Embassy, members from the 
Consulate in Podgorica participate via DVC.  The teams also 
meet on an ad-hoc basis between these sessions to 
brainstorm, prepare agendas for the coming weeks, review 
policy or assistance issues, and agree on recommendations 
for the Front Office. 
 
BOTTOM-UP APPROACH 
 
¶6. (U) One of the positive results of the RPA process is 
that it has created a dynamic bottom-up approach to policy 
formulation and implementation within the mission.  The RPA 
process depends on the active participation and expertise 
of officers, specialists and locally employed staff (who 
are encouraged to participate actively.)  It eliminates 
barriers between agencies, establishes buy-in from the 
working-level at the earliest stages, and provides the 
 
BELGRADE 00000907  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Front Office with well-formulated policy recommendations 
that have already been fully coordinated among our various 
agencies.  The RPA process also injects discipline into the 
MPP process -- the MPP has become a living document, one 
that the RPA teams design, implement, and update throughout 
the year.  By the time MPP season arrives, RPA teams have 
by and large determined the mission's goals and strategies 
through their agendas and policy decisions.  The 
secretaries produce concise records of decisions made by 
 
SIPDIS 
the RPA teams, which are then placed in "shared folders" 
accessible to employees throughout the Mission. 
 
RPA SUCCESSES 
 
¶7. (U) The RPA has worked well at this post, and we can 
point to dozens of concrete success stories.  Of great help 
has been the RPA teams' review and preparation of our 
annual assistance budgets and their oversight of all new 
significant assistance initiatives in both republics of 
SAM.  We can cite other recent successes as well. The Rule 
of Law RPA team, which tackles issues within the MPP's "Law 
Enforcement and Judicial Systems" Strategic Goal, has had 
several recent successes.  This RPA coordinated policy on a 
high-profile murder case of three American-citizen 
brothers.  Drawing on members' expertise, particularly from 
the Consular section and the Department of Justice, the 
team synchronized its efforts to communicate with the 
American family and to move the investigation and legal 
case forward.  The RPA team also created a special working 
group to coordinate the mission's anti-corruption efforts; 
the group brings together members from the Economic, 
Political and Consular sections, USAID, and the Department 
of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, 
Assistance and Training (OPDAT).  These are just some very 
recent examples of the RPA's interagency efforts at work. 
 
MOORE