Letter from the President and Chair

Some 250 years ago, our founders created a government designed to serve the evolving needs of our nation.

Today, this vision is being threatened by the largest assault on our government’s capacity to serve the public good in modern history. In the first year of its second term, the Trump administration removed hundreds of thousands of professional, nonpartisan civil servants from the workforce, shuttered agencies, hampered the delivery of critical services, manipulated and censored government data, and eroded long-standing oversight and guardrails meant to check waste and corruption.

These actions represent a fundamental attack on the Partnership’s mission.

For the past 25 years, we have been the leading nonprofit striving to improve how the federal government works so that our country and our democracy are strengthened. Underlying this nonpartisan mission has been our core belief that a merit-based, expert civil service—and the millions of career public servants who comprise it—are essential to keeping our nation running.

These views put us on a collision course with the administration. In 2025, our ability to work in the federal space and much of our programming was upended.

But we responded.

Pivoting to meet the moment, we launched a bold new strategy that seeks to protect our government from further harm, while making it more effective, responsive and accountable in the future.

Today, we are working toward these goals with energy, conviction and confidence. Our impact is growing, our mission is strong, and our future is bright.

Hundreds of thousands of current and former federal employees have used our FedSupport resources to navigate the complex federal environment and plan career transitions necessitated by the Trump administration’s arbitrary workforce cuts.

We informed the public about the administration’s actions, launching the Federal Harms Tracker, a data and storytelling project that demonstrates the destructive nationwide effects of the mismanagement of our government. We also garnered more than 16,000 media mentions last year, more than any other one-year period in our history.

Our efforts to strengthen government leadership evolved. Recognizing the increasing pressure on state and local agencies to fill gaps in federal programming, we grew and expanded our work outside the federal sector. Notably, leaders from over 40 states joined federal cohorts in our training programs, many through our in-demand AI Government Leadership Program.

With a growing network of individuals and organizations, we also began to reimagine the future of government. Our Government for a New Era Initiative will develop and advance critical reforms that empower federal institutions to better serve the public, establishing the Partnership as a central hub for developing constructive alternatives to the administration’s slash-and-burn approach.

Our impact report highlights these achievements and more, outlining our plans to protect and support the federal government in the years to come.

The Partnership’s work remains nonpartisan, grounded in defense of the long-standing consensus that our government must effectively serve the public good. We speak out against the administration’s actions not for political reasons, but to sound the alarm about the damage being done to the institution most critical to our democracy.

Today, we are optimistic as ever about our cause, confident that we will seize this moment of opportunity to activate the public and create a government better able to help our country thrive for many years to come.

Thank you to the donors and partners who make our work possible. We look forward to engaging others as we expand our impact.

We invite you to join us at this critical moment.

Our Work

The Partnership for Public Service is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to build a better government and a stronger democracy.

But today, with the core functions and purpose of government under threat, we are advancing three priorities that seek to protect our federal institutions from further harm while fundamentally transforming the way they work on behalf of the public.

First, we are engaging the public about the value of government and how its erosion harms us all. Through this work, we are activating the public to push back against the administration’s harmful changes, holding those in power accountable and encouraging future leaders to take responsibility for making our public institutions work better.

By getting the public to appreciate the value of effective government, we seek to build momentum for government reform, sparking a groundswell of support for bold changes that offer a better path forward. Through our Government for a New Era initiative and with various stakeholders, we are proposing plans to develop and implement these changes so that our government works better for those it serves.

Finally, we are supporting, developing and training public servants—those who remain on the front lines of protecting the purpose of government—as well as former federal employees who want to stay connected to public service. We are also expanding our programs to state and local governments, recognizing their critical role in serving the public and the management challenges they share with the federal sector.

Engage the Public

Our Goal

Hold the administration accountable by calling out actions that harm government and by mobilizing the public to understand what is at stake when it is dismantled and to support positive reforms for more accountable and responsive federal institutions.

Our Progress

Federal Harms Tracker

In 2025, we launched the Federal Harms Tracker, an interactive tool that documents how ongoing cuts to federal services, funding and personnel are affecting Americans nationwide.

The tracker includes:

A timeline of federal workforce reductions

A map showing the effects of federal cuts on every congressional district in the U.S.

Quantitative data showing the economic consequences of the administration’s actions

Our data and analysis were included in major news coverage on the Trump administration.

Protecting Federal Science

Our Speakers Bureau of current and former federal employees highlights the value of public service, with an initial focus on federal science, and we built a tracker that documents the public consequences of severe efforts to disrupt the federal scientific community.

Federal Harms Tracker by the Numbers

Showcasing Success

25^th Annual Service to America Medals® Gala

The Partnership’s 25th annual Service to America Medals® program highlighted the strength, resilience and continued impact of public servants working in a difficult climate.

Recognizing both new and past honorees who have made America safer, stronger, healthier and more prosperous, the 2026 Sammies featured videos from former Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden, as well as numerous luminaries from government, the media, and the private and social sectors. Award-winning journalist Ari Shapiro emceed the program.

Since 2002, the Sammies has honored over 800 public servants. In early June, the 2026 program aired on the local PBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.

Shaping the Public Conversation

Garnering major media coverage, we emerged as a leading voice against the administration’s harmful efforts to decimate our civil service and undermine democratic norms, including by speaking out early against the chaotic and haphazard actions of the Department of Government Efficiency.

We partnered with social media influencers to expand our reach, launching a TikTok account and tapping into other nontraditional media, including podcasts and Substack platforms.

We are engaging with local journalists and media outlets to surface relevant stories about public servants, government and the effects of the Trump administration’s actions for local audiences.

By the Numbers

Uncovering Public Perceptions of the Government and Federal Cuts

We published nine research products to better understand public perceptions of government and the Trump administration’s management actions, shedding light on how they are being experienced by Americans across the country.

Our sweeping analysis of President Trump’s first year back in office examined how numerous actions taken by his administration have undermined the government’s capacity to serve the public interest.

By the Numbers

*According to our October 2025 online poll

Federal Public Service in Peril: A Report Card on the Trump Administration’s Management of Our Government

Last August, the Office of Personnel Management canceled the administration of the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, an instrument that has measured how civil servants view their jobs and workplaces across four administrations, with serious implications for government performance.

Instead of leaving government leaders without essential data to understand the state of their workforce and organization, the Partnership administered its own Public Service Viewpoint Survey.

Our survey, while not administered at the same scale as the FEVS, is the only source showing how federal employees view their jobs and workplaces. More than 11,000 civil servants responded to the survey, which revealed deep dissatisfaction and disengagement throughout the federal workforce.

These findings underscore the dire need for Congress to act. We urge lawmakers to provide greater oversight, preserve civil service worker protections and improve employee engagement for the good of the public.

Our Public Service Viewpoint Survey analysis has garnered over 43,000 total website views and roughly 60,000 views on Reddit, where it went viral in its first week of publication.

By the Numbers

The Partnership at 25: Bestselling Author Michael Lewis Speaks With Partnership President and CEO Max Stier

This excerpt has been lightly edited for clarity.

Lewis: Catch us up. How is the Partnership doing?

Stier: I am hopeful. I believe there is an amazing opportunity to activate the public to understand something they always should have but haven’t. We have seen a 10-point jump in Americans’ belief that civil servants help people like them. That’s powerful. This is the way out for us: A public that cares, understands and demands of our political leaders that they do more.

Lewis: Walk me through your decision to speak up about what is happening in government.

Stier:   We are in a world where we must stand up for the idea that our government exists for the public interest. Our leadership model is based on the idea that leading in government is special because you are a steward of the public good. We have our North Star, we have our values, and we do not want to compromise those.

Lewis: Looking back on 25 years and where the Partnership is now, how do you feel?

Stier: I feel a great deal of peace—I feel like I am doing what I need to do to help us build a brighter future.

Build Better Government

Our Goal

Develop and advocate for a plan to reimagine the federal government with a broad coalition of stakeholders.

Our Progress

The Partnership’s Vision for Better Government

To build a government that delivers for the American public, we must think beyond “the way things have always been done,” develop a roadmap of constructive solutions and bring experts, new voices and policymakers together to make those solutions a reality.

Our Government for a New Era initiative is developing policy proposals to reimagine the operations of the executive branch, offering a better path to modernizing our federal institutions than this past year’s destructive approach. In tandem, we are building coalitions, engaging the public and leading advocacy efforts to turn these proposals from promising ideas into concrete action that enables our government to meet its responsibilities to the public.

By the Numbers

Our Goal

Activate Congress by educating its members about how arbitrary and deep cuts are affecting their constituents nationwide and by engaging policymakers to advance crucial reforms for better government.

Our Progress

Together with a network of other organizations, we are leading a coordinated advocacy effort to engage and activate Congress at this critical moment.

Our priorities include educating legislators about harms to their constituents, the needs of federal employees in their district, and solutions to timely civil service and government management issues.

By the Numbers

Support, Develop and Train Public Servants

Our Goal

Support current and former civil servants and engage former federal workers to help inform a better path forward.

Our Progress

FedSupport

We developed the FedSupport Hub, a centralized resource that helps public servants navigate a challenging federal landscape as they continue to serve in government or seek a new career. The hub also offers former federal employees opportunities to stay involved in efforts to improve government.

Our growing collection of resources includes:

Free webinars

Career transition guidance

Information on federal job protections

Links to pro bono legal support

A guide for employees facing layoffs or other job separations

Federal Alumni Network

We convened the Federal Alumni Network, a group of more than 25 organizations representing former federal employees. The network offers a space for its members to build community, share stories, stay up to date on changes to the civil service and shape government reform.

FedSupport by the Numbers

Our Goal

Provide government leaders with the skills, and government agencies with the talent, to enable effective, responsive and accountable government.

Our Progress

Public Service Leadership Institute®

Despite federal cutbacks, our Public Service Leadership Institute® helped civil servants meet the standards for effective government leadership, offering training centered on the core values of stewardship of public trust and commitment to public good.

For the first time, we also expanded our work to state and local government, recognizing the Trump administration’s efforts to shift responsibility for many services away from the federal space.

Public servants from across more than 40 states joined our eLearning and leadership development courses for individual leaders, and we delivered our first paid custom engagement with state and local governments, most notably a senior leadership retreat for Wisconsin’s Department of Administration. We also offered executive coaching and customized, off-the-shelf training for state offices and teams across the country.

By the Numbers

AI Center for Government®

In March 2025, we established the AI Center for Government®, which fosters AI leadership, talent and literacy across federal, state and local governments.

A centerpiece of these efforts is the AI Government Leadership Program, run in partnership with the Public Service Leadership Institute®.

The Center also helps administer the Future Leaders in Public Service Program. In 2025, Future Leaders launched its first AI intern cohort, placing interns across 11 different Maryland state agencies—the first time the program operated outside the federal government. The program is currently expanding to more states.

In the coming year, the Center will develop a national inventory of government AI use cases and an AI Leadership Maturity Model. It will also host its first AI Summit, convening public sector practitioners to learn and connect.