A look at managing the multi-million dollar U.S. State Department initiative of growing the U.S. presence in Iraq while managing security and cost.



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SUMMARY

The State Department teamed with RGS to evaluate options for rightsizing its overseas presence. The team generated and evaluated ideas for reducing the footprint of Department staff abroad, eventually focusing on options for the feasibility of consolidating its management support services to a shared services model and domestic support to Embassy Baghdad.

THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE

The State Department faces unprecedented demands on its diplomatic mission, while simultaneously needing to reduce unnecessary risk to citizens abroad and maximizing its fiscal resources. The President’s Management Agenda, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Accounting Office (GAO) believe that the State Department can address these challenges through rightsizing.

THE PROJECT

During this phase, RGS conducted a feasibility study for consolidating management support services at the Department of State into a shared services organization. The study included:

  • cost benefit analysis and projected ROI
  • evaluation of regional service center locations
  • organizational and cultural challenges associated with such a transformation
  • success criteria for shared services at state
  • high-level organizational design for regional support centers
  • quality management requirements and approaches
  • communications plan and strategy
  • expected qualitative and quantitative benefits

Mr. Beekman currently serves as the Principal Consultant of the Enterprise Architecture Solutions (EAS) center at RGS Associates, Inc. He is responsible for the development and implementation of RGS’s cost management consultancy. Mr. Beekman specializes in cost and performance management, economic cost analysis and activity-based cost management. Mr. Beekman is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI). In 2004, Mr. Beekman was elected by the Upstate NY Chapter of PMI to the Board of Directors.

Mr. Beekman currently resides in Saratoga Springs, NY with his wife Kim and their one year-old daughter Ava.