Thirty-two extraordinary contenders. Only eight winners. On September 15, the Partnership will present the 2010 Service to America Medals (Sammies) to eight outstanding federal employees.
Hailing from San Francisco to Afghanistan, Sammies finalists are working to confront increasingly complex challenges, from environmental crises to foreign wars to economic recovery.
They are our nation's unsung heroes. Their accomplishments tell the true stories of a dynamic group of talented, bright individuals who work tirelessly on behalf of the American people.
Who will shine in this year's Sammies spotlight? Will it be Sgt. Kimberly Munley and SrSgt. Mark Todd, Sr....
Confronting an armed gunman and mass chaos, the two civilian Defense Department police officers brought an end to the tragic rampage at Fort Hood that killed 13 people and wounded 43 others.
For more on their story »
...or William van der Schalie and team in the Homeland Security medal category?
They created an innovative system that monitors fish behavior to detect toxicants in drinking water supplies and protect the health of millions of Americans.
For more on their story »
Meet all of the 2010 finalists »
In a unique collaboration, The Washington Post and the Partnership produce The Federal Coach, a leadership column and blog hosted by Tom Fox, director of the Partnership's innovative Center for Government Leadership. Please visit The Federal Coach for advice on how to break through the bureaucracy and overcome professional obstacles unique to the public sector. Bookmark us in your favorites!
Wednesday, September 1
Interview with the Peace Corps' Aaron S. Williams: Learning to be a 'risk-taker'
Monday, August 30
Taking stock of agency performance
Friday, August 27
Showing your team you've 'got their back'
To read past columns and blogs, go to the Federal Coach page »
Michelle Collins, FEMA
After Katrina, preparing students for emergencies
To read more stories of remarkable federal employees doing extraordinary work on behalf of the American people, please visit The Washington Post's Web site. The Partnership collaborates with The Washington Post to produce its weekly Federal Player and Fed Faces series.
Opinion: Don't Cut Civil Workforce
Politico
Recent
events have, understandably, contributed to a loss of confidence in our government and prompted increased congressional oversight. At the same time, alarm bells over steeply rising deficits have led to a call in some quarters for a freeze on government hiring and civil service salaries.
We cannot ignore either economics or politics, but neither can we fool ourselves into believing that the federal work force is the cause of, or the solution to, excessive federal spending. As history shows, any small, short-term budgetary gains from work force cutbacks are likely to be offset by serious regulatory missteps, more after-the-fact finger-pointing and a continuation of the cycle of failure and mistrust.
Read more.
For more media coverage, visit our Press Room page »
Tune in to Federal News Radio 1500 AM every other Tuesday to hear John Palguta, Vice President for Policy, discuss the latest in federal workforce issues on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Amy Morris.
Tuesday, July 27
Accelerating innovation in government discussion
Every other Friday, listen to Tim McManus, Vice President for Education and Outreach, on the Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris, where he shares tips on how to land a hot federal job, among other topics!
Friday, August 20
Culture shift needed for successful federal hiring
Find the Best Places to Work in Government
The Partnership has released its highly anticipated 2010 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings. The rankings are the most comprehensive and authoritative rating and analysis of employee satisfaction and commitment in the federal government.
According to the Best Places to Work analysis, employee satisfaction is at an all-time high of 65 out of 100, a 7.4 percent jump from 2003 when the rankings were first released, with 68 percent of agencies improving their index score since the last rankings in 2009.
Visit bestplacestowork.org to see which agencies top the rankings and to access trend analysis, demographic data and all 10 workplace categories, as well as generate custom reports and conduct side-by-side comparisons for up to three agencies.
Visit Best Places to Work »
Go to news release »
The Weakest Link in the Government's Problematic Hiring Chain: Applicant Assessment
For our government to succeed and achieve its mission, it must be able to identify and hire skilled, capable and dedicated employees.
The Partnership's report The Weakest Link: How Strengthening Assessment Leads to Better Federal Hiring, sponsored by PDRI, examined the state of federal applicant assessment and found that this step is the weakest aspect of the government's hiring process.
The Weakest Link is an in-depth look at how agencies are assessing candidates for federal jobs today, the barriers to hiring the best candidates and how the process can be improved so that government can select the right people who will be most successful in the job.
Read the report »
Go to news release »
Become a Stronger Federal Leader:
Excellence in Government Fellows Program
To deliver the solutions that the times demand, our government needs a new generation of leaders who are more than managers—they must be innovators whose creativity in problem-solving stands up to the complexity of 21st century challenges.
The Partnership's Excellence in Government Fellows (EIG) program strengthens the leadership skills of GS-14 and GS-15 federal employees through a proven combination of innovative coursework, best practices benchmarking, challenging action-learning projects, executive coaching and government-wide networking.
The deadline to apply for the Fall EIG session is September 20.
Learn more and apply online »
How to Build a First-Class Federal Workforce
The Partnership and Grant Thorton LLP released Closing the Gap: Seven Obstacles to a First-Class Federal Workforce, a report examining the state of federal human capital management.
Based on in-depth interviews with government's human resource policy and management leaders, the report found that the ability to build and maintain a high-quality federal workforce is being seriously hampered by a number of longstanding, systemic and often dysfunctional practices and policies.
Closing the Gap outlines specific recommendations from Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCOs) for how government can repair and overhaul the ineffective systems and policies in order to build a dynamic and talented federal workforce capable of serving the needs of the American people.
Read the report »
Go to news release »
For additional coverage, please read:
Federal Diary: Key Personnel Officials Identify Obstacles to Federal Hiring
Federal Government Offers Wide Range of Career Opportunities for Young Job-Seekers
On Wednesday, July 14, the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service hosted its largest-ever federal government job fair to promote public service careers among young people – bringing together hundreds of recruiters from 80 federal agencies and thousands of young job-seekers.
The federal government offers a ray of hope for new college graduates trying to find jobs. According to the organization’s research, the federal government will fill more than 50,000 entry level jobs in the next 12 months, along with about 60,000 paid internships. There are jobs and internships available in practically every interest and skill area, in all 50 states and around the world.
Go to NPR All Things Considered report »
Partnership Releases Report on Flexible Work Arrangements in Government
The Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton released a report on the current state of federal government flexible work arrangements, Thursday, July 1. "On Demand Government: Deploying Flexibilities to Ensure Service Continuity" examines the use of teleworking, compressed workweeks, flextime, part-time schedules and job sharing in the federal government, the barriers to their use and offers recommendations for change.
Go to report »
For additional coverage, please read:
Obama Administration Needs to Work More on Telecommuting, Report Says, The Washington Post
Partnership Hosts Workshop for CIOs
Thirty-eight federal Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Deputy CIOs and their staffs enjoyed a preview of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) soon-to-be released 2.0 version of the IT Dashboard at the IT Investment, IT Dashboard and TechStat Workshop. This was the second in a series of Continuous Improvement Workshops produced by the Partnership for Public Service's Strategic Advisors to Government Executives (SAGE) program and the CIO Council Best Practices Committee.
OMB also shared insight about its intent and use of TechStat with workshop attendees, who represented large and small civilian agencies and the DoD. Participants also learned Earned Value Management key concepts for CIOs from EVM experts and heard from SAGEs (former federal CIOs, CFOs & CAOs) about best practices for IT investments.
Learn more about SAGE »
Go to workshop resources »
Get the Scoop on Landing a Government Job
The Partnership released its first book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Government Jobs, on May 4 during Public Service Recognition Week. The how-to guide offers advice and insider tips for job and internship seekers to navigate the often intimidating government application process. In addition to a rundown on USAJOBS.gov, KSAs, resume-writing and more, the Partnership covers getting jobs in all three federal government branches, as well as state and local government. The books are available at major retailers, including Amazon.com, Borders, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.
The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
Center for Government Leadership
Excellence in Government Fellows
Public Service Recognition Week
THE DAILY PIPELINE
Keep up with the latest news on public service with the Daily Pipeline e-mail newsletter.
Sign Up » | Read Today's Edition »
THE PARTNERSHIP IS HIRING
The Partnership for Public Service is currenly hiring for the following positions: Development Manager, Corporate Partnerships; Program Manager, Center for Government Leadership
Apply Online »
PUBLIC SERVICE FELLOWS PROGRAM
The Partnership for Public Service is seeking current students or recent graduates to join our team and contribute to our mission.
Apply Online »
Best Places to Work Rankings Release Event and Awards Breakfast
Date: September 1, 2010
Partnership Contact: Janelle Callahan
Hiring Reform Boot Camp #1: Managing the Change in Motion
Date: September 9, 2010
Partnership Contact: Andy Lowenthal
Effective Hiring Webinar: Hire the Best! Using Innovative Assessment Techniques to Save Time and Improve Results
Date: September 9, 2010
Partnership Contact: Erin Creasy
Service to America Medals Gala
Date: September 15, 2010
Partnership Contact: Jim Seymour
For questions about our events, please contact events@ourpublicservice.org or call (202) 775-9111.
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