Best Places to Work is the most comprehensive ranking of federal government organizations, drawing on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Human Capital Survey of more than 150,000 executive branch employees. The rankings are designed to offer job-seekers unprecedented insight into the best opportunities for public service and to provide managers and government leaders a road map for improving employee engagement and commitment.
The Call to Serve initiative is a joint effort of the Partnership and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to educate a new generation about the importance of a strong civil service, help re-establish links between federal agencies and campuses, and provide students with information about federal jobs. The Call to Serve network consists of nearly 600 schools and more than 60 federal agencies.
The Partnership seeks to be an agent of change through its work on behalf of civil service reform legislation. Our contributions to the debate, and our help in building relationships, is yielding results and advancing legislation that will make the federal government a more attractive and rewarding place to work.
The Partnership for Public Service’s Private Sector Council (PSC) connects experts from America’s top corporations with federal leaders to confront government’s key management challenges on an operational level. PSC’s primary purpose is to engage private sector expertise to improve the business of government.
The Service to America Medals pay tribute to America’s dedicated federal workforce, highlighting those who have made significant contributions to our country. Honorees are chosen each year based on their commitment and innovation, as well as the impact of their work on addressing the needs of the nation.
The Partnership has begun a new initiative, FedExperience, that will encourage retiring baby boomers to pursue encore careers with the federal government. The logic behind this project is that just as thousands of civil servants will be leaving government in the coming years, millions of boomers will be retiring from jobs in the private and nonprofit sectors. These “retirees” are healthy and well-educated. According to multiple surveys, the majority of them also want to continue working, and they are particularly interested in jobs where they can serve the greater good. The first phase of this project, funded by a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies and now underway, is research on the feasibility of attracting older Americans to government. After the research, we plan to conduct pilot projects with selected federal agencies.
The State of the Public Service is an important effort to create a meaningful report card that will measure the condition of our federal civil service. Work to develop this indicator system is underway, and the first State of the Public Service report is slated to be released in early 2008. Creating this national report card, giving it high-profile visibility, and renewing it on a regular basis will help inform decision-making and increase awareness about the state of public service in America and improve government performance.
Effective leadership is essential to driving reform in any organization. Unfortunately, leadership is one of the areas where our federal government most dramatically lags the private sector. The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Leadership Institute, with the support of the Annenberg Foundation,prepares rising federal leaders to solve pressing national issues by driving innovation, inspiring employees and delivering results.
To shape the next president’s management plan, the Partnership for Public Service launched the Presidential Management Initiative, which offers recommendations for the presidential transition and establishes a framework for effective management in the next administration. The centerpiece will be a strategy to build and lead a first-rate federal workforce.
The Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.