Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) recently took a critical step forward in efforts to increase e-Training offerings to the foreign affairs community by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), adding them to the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) e-Training Service Provider Consortium as a content provider.

This will allow FSI to offer federal agencies with a full range of e-learning, services and related goods that comply with standards and policies set by the Federal Enterprise Architecture and OPM's Human Resources Line of Business. Formerly, OPM recognized only three government entities as service providers: OPM's GoLearn, the National Security Agency's FasTrac and the Department of Commerce's National Technical Informational Service.

Additionally, the MOU allows FSI to be the preferred provider for agencies requiring training content for the foreign affairs community through FSI's established procedures and infrastructure.

Dr. Jeff T.H. Pon, Acting Project Manager, OPM e-Training Initiative and Department of State's Under Secretary for Management, Henrietta H. Fore served as representatives for their respective agency and department in the signing of the document (see photo below).

"This is a significant step forward for the e-Training initiative," said Pon. "The addition of the Foreign Service Institute to the consortium will lead to increased training and services while providing the most innovative tools for those who serve as the face of America to the world. In support of the President's Management Agenda, the MOU will facilitate the expansion of business and technology solutions to support the vital work being done by public servants here and abroad."

OPM's e-Training, one of twenty-four e-Government initiatives outlined in the President's Management Agenda, has won several awards for demonstrating best practices in Federal e-Government implementations. The e-Training Initiative is one of five e-Government initiatives managed by OPM.

The FSI is the federal government's training institution for officers and support personnel of the U.S. foreign affairs community, and prepares American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.