to 90 days. During this stage much of the logistic work is done and the
research for the desk study is also accomplished. Further, specific
experts in each of the disciplines are identified, recruited and briefed.
Upon the request of the individual experts, the desk study is tailored to
address areas of concern, and together with the Washington staff, an
interviewee list is assembled. Near the end of the first phase, the
interviewee list and travel logistics are coordinated with the USG incountry mission to help streamline the in-country visit and allow as
much assessment exposure as possible.
The second, most visible, aspect of the CJSART process is the in-country
assessment visit by the team of interagency experts. Depending on the
country and the complexity of the assessment, the assessment visit will
run from one to two weeks. During this period, the experts of
interagency assessment team will function semi-independently of each
other, conducting up to 7 assessment interviews and facility visits each
day. The task of the CJSART team is to return with short narratives and
composite scores for each of the 100 or so performance measure
capabilities. Although there are a sizeable number of categories, each
expert is generally only responsible for a far more manageable number of
15-25 performance measures, consisting of approximately 100 individual
inquiries in their professional discipline.
Most experts find it useful to capture the information as they conduct
each interview, and then compile the record each evening along with
their narrative impressions and the scores for the categories addressed
that day. Of course, not every interview or facility visit will address all
the categories – indeed most will allow a look at a only segment of a
discipline. So, experts will need to track which capabilities they need
additional information and begin to solicit answers in those areas.
As the accumulation of interview and scores build up, the experts can
expect to see a pattern or, more likely, a series of patterns. Additional
patterns will develop as individual experts begin to compare there finds
and typically cross-cutting patterns will emerge. For instance, a country
that has trouble paying its police may also have trouble paying its border
security. Or, a country which has no effective ethical oversight
mechanism for its judiciary, may also show signs of lack of oversight for
police, prison security and others. Typically these findings will become
evident rather quickly during comparisons across disciplines as experts
identify and pinpoint cross-cutting factors or cross-disciplinary
impediments. The experts are encouraged to pursue these, as well as to
offer their expert opinions on possible solutions, whether small and local,
or large and systemic.
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