Overview and Strategy

Our Mission
Building a better government and a stronger democracy.

Our Vision
We envision a dynamic and innovative federal government that effectively serves our diverse nation.

At the Partnership for Public Service, we believe that our future and our democracy depend on our ability to solve big problems—and that we need an effective federal government to do so.

For more than 20 years, we have helped make this vision a reality, working across four different presidential administrations to help our government address the challenges of the moment and those to come.

Our nonpartisan strategy

While others may debate whether government should be bigger or smaller, we focus on making it better. We serve as a bridge across the political aisle to build a government that meets its fundamental responsibilities to the public, no matter the political makeup of any presidential administration or Congress.

We also serve as a conduit between the public, private and social sectors, drawing support from foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, individual contributions and federal agency engagements. Our diverse sources of funding provide us with the resources and expertise across sectors to achieve our mission and build consensus around the need for effective government.

To reach our goals, we offer key solutions and performance measures that transform the way government works, focusing on three main areas:

• Federal Talent: We help our government recruit, empower and retain the nation’s best talent.
• Public Service Leadership: We equip federal leaders to serve the public good.
• Society’s Commitment to Government: We work to ensure the public trusts and engages with a well-functioning government.

These issues are not partisan in nature, and we remain steadfast in pursuing meaningful change and advocating for both the federal government and the millions of employees who ensure it continues to work on our behalf both now and in the future.

Fulfilling our mission also means embracing diverse voices, perspectives and discourse within and outside our organization, and upholding the nonpartisan values of fairness and equity that are rooted in our representative democracy.

Our Strategy

Our current strategy seeks to expand and grow our impact in four core areas, each of which include solutions and performance measures designed to transform the way the federal government works.  

 

Federal Talent

Our government recruits, engages and retains the nation’s best talent.

 

Public Service Leadership

Federal leaders are equipped to achieve their agencies’ missions and contribute to the public good.

 

Society’s Commitment to Government 

Society trusts and engages with a well-functioning government.

 

The Partnership

The Partnership has the talent and organizational capacity to deliver on and sustain its nonpartisan mission.

Learn more about our impact and our future plans in our 2023-24 impact report.  

Our Approach

Five main operational principles guide our work to build a better government and a stronger democracy:

Constructive

We act as a force for positive change and seek to not only find problems, but to identify possible solutions.

Continuity

We serve as a bridge between administrations, across the political aisle and between government and the private sector.   

Credible

We are nonpartisan, and our work is evidence-based and rooted in experience. 

Connector

We have created a robust community of leaders, practitioners and thinkers within and beyond government. 

Catalyzer

We help our partners take meaningful action to create a better government and a stronger democracy—and we help government do its job better rather than doing the job of government.