The Committee took over nine months to complete its business and experienced some delays and complications stemming from the 1960 presidential campaign.
In October 1960 the White House felt compelled to refute an allegation that the Sprague Committee had drawn conclusions regarding the status of the United States’ prestige abroad, a political issue during the campaign.
This report called for substantial expansion of the United States’ information efforts, especially in such developing areas as Africa and Latin America.
The Committee urged extensive training of government personnel in informational and psychological aspects of policy, recommended increased assistance to educational development abroad, and expansion of exchange programs including those with the Soviet Bloc, and pointed out the need to pay attention to the impact on foreign opinion of U.S. economic, scientific and military programs and activities.
The seemingly perpetual cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union was undoubtedly the primary reason for the establishment of the Sprague Committee and clearly influenced the tone of the report and the nature of the recommendations.