Archive - December 31, 2012

On October 2, 2012, the Congressional Research Service published a report entitled“Peace Corps Issues”. The potential impact to Peace Corps of sequestration was discussed. From the report: Also, pending sequestration would likely severely cut the current Peace Corps funding level. On September 14, 2012, the Office of Management and Budget issued its report on possible sequestration actions that might be taken on January 2, 2013,if  requirements of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) are not met. Under sequestration,the Peace Corps budget would possibly be cut by 8.2%, or about $31 million. This statement may be altered by directives from the Office of Budget and Management or other policy mandates, if sequestration actually goes into effect.  It is hoped that in that unfortunate event, Peace Corps will post on its official website the actual changes that will happen. A FOIA request is pending asking for those potential changes, but it is . . .

The Peace Corps Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2012  Annual Report (PAR) FY 2012 is as ponderous to read as any government report.  However, it does have some gems.  Here is one: Over the last four years, Peace Corps has conducted a series of Host Country Impact Studies that contribute to Peace Corps’ ability to measure the impact of its Volunteers. The studies are unique in that they focus on learning about the Volunteers’ impact from the host country nationals who lived and worked with the Volunteers. The in-country field work is conducted by local research teams. The studies demonstrate the Volunteers’ ability to build local capacity and illustrate the transformation in host country nationals’ understanding of Americans after working with a Volunteer. The reports and summary information sheets for each study are posted below. Armenia (PDF) / Armenia Summary (PDF) Bulgaria (PDF) / Bulgaria Summary (PDF) Burkina . . .