Letter from the President and Chair
At the start of 2020, we could not have predicted what was about to befall our country. The COVID-19 pandemic and many months of recovery left no doubt: We need to build a better government for a stronger democracy.
At the Partnership for Public Service, we see a path forward for our government and our nation. Next month, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Partnership’s founding. For two decades, we have promoted service to our country, advocated for critically needed system reforms, and supported federal leaders and institutions as they responded to the challenges of our time.
While the pandemic laid bare some of government’s most longstanding shortcomings, there were many instances where our government adapted and kept delivering, often in new and better ways. This unexpected grand experiment led to innovative responses to a wide array of urgent problems—from processing loan applications for small businesses to expanding telemedicine to veterans to distributing millions of vaccines to the public. Federal leaders across government also rose to the occasion and engaged and supported the workforce in new and creative ways. This included greater collaboration within agencies and across the government and providing employees with the technology necessary to do their jobs in remote settings and the flexibility to meet their personal needs.
Our government has emerged from the pandemic stronger, smarter and nimbler, and there is no turning back. This experience provides a tremendous opportunity for President Joe Biden and his administration—a-once-in-a-generation opportunity—to continue the advances and build a more modern and effective government. Agencies need to build on improvements they made, sort through what worked and what did not, and set the government on a sustained path to revitalization. They need to envision more possibilities for government and work toward making them a reality. To seize the opportunity, we believe there are four key issues the president and his team must prioritize:
- Leadership and Stewardship: Federal leaders must understand their responsibilities to the institutions and the workforces they lead, commit to leaving their agencies better then they found them and be stewards of the public trust.
- Workforce: Government needs to attract new and diverse federal talent at all levels and improve the federal hiring process.
- Innovation and Tech Modernization: Government must improve its ability to meet the demands of the interconnected, technology-driven world by investing in modern technology and becoming more innovative.
- Collaboration: Federal leaders need to build communities within and outside of government to solve problems and deliver services more effectively.
In this Impact Report, we share the results of the Partnership’s programs and activities in 2020 and our plans for the coming year. Our accomplishments would not be possible without the generous support of our donors and partners, whom we thank for supporting our work.
Together, we can build a better government. Join us.
Max Stier
President and CEO
Tom Bernstein
Chairman of the Board
Center for Presidential Transition
The 2020 presidential election and weeks that followed were unlike any in modern American history. After months of a surging pandemic, economic turmoil and racial inequity resulting in social unrest, the country experienced additional tumult as ballots took four additional days to tabulate, and President Trump sowed distrust in the results in the weeks following the election. These factors further delayed the federal transition support for President-elect Joe Biden and was followed by a violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, challenging the founding principles of our democracy as Congress was meeting to officially certify Biden as the winner. Yet, on January 20, the world watched as Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.
During this tumultuous time, the Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition® served as a trusted, nonpartisan resource on the importance of a peaceful transition and held the outgoing administration accountable for its performance. We had been working on presidential transition issues for nearly a decade when we established the Center in 2016. The Center provides information, advice, training and advocacy to help ensure smooth transitions, improve the appointments process and equip new political leaders for success.
Throughout the 2020-2021 transition, the Center engaged with and provided invaluable support to three key constituencies: the Biden transition team, the incumbent administration and career agency transition officials. Building on our efforts from the past three presidential transition cycles, we hosted conferences, meetings and onboarding sessions for transition teams and federal agencies, developed webinars, fact sheets and issue briefs, and conducted research into past practices that highlighted successes and stumbling blocks. We offered wide-ranging guidance to the Biden transition team, Trump administration and career agency officials based on our extensive knowledge of past presidential transitions. Despite the challenges and roadblocks along the way, the Biden transition team was able to execute one of the most well-planned transitions, as well as the first-ever virtual transition.
Center for Presidential Transition Advisory Board
Our advisory board members—Democrats and Republicans—have been involved in planning, executing and closely observing presidential transitions. They volunteer their expertise to support early and effective transition planning for new and second-term administrations.
| Josh Bolten | Former Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush |
| Edward “Ted” Kaufman | Former Chairman of the Biden Transition, Former United States Senator |
| Michael Leavitt | Former Governor of Utah, Former Chairman of the Romney Readiness Project |
| Thomas “Mack” McLarty | Former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton |
| Penny Pritzker | Former Secretary of the Department of Commerce |
FEATURED REPORT
Outlines the Center’s role in helping achieve one of the most well-planned transitions in history
2020 Center Accomplishments by the Numbers
1,000+
The number of pages of new transition-related resources created
150+
The number of historical documents provided
200
The number of subject matter experts engaged
“I cannot imagine doing a presidential transition in a modern era without the Partnership. If a transition team itself had to assemble the information that the Partnership provides to every presidential transition, it would turn an incredibly difficult job into a complete nightmare. What the Partnership does is incredibly worthwhile.”
Former chairman of the Biden Transition; former United States Senator
Looking Ahead
We are gathering lessons learned from the 2020-2021 presidential transition, to determine what went well and what needs to be improved for future transitions and will release a report on our findings in early 2022.
As the new administration continues to nominate individuals to fill about 4,000 political appointments, our focus has shifted from the transition to helping prepare new appointees to lead by providing onboarding and resources.
As we have since the 2016 presidential transition, we are partnering with The Washington Post on our appointments tracker to track and publish the number of nominated and Senate-confirmed political appointees, enabling the public to easily see the current administration’s progress.
We are also advocating for reforms to the presidential transition process, including reducing the number of Senate-confirmed positions and the overall number of political appointees; streamlining the appointments process; and reforming the ascertainment process, so the kind of delay we saw in the 2020-2021 presidential transition never happens again.
Leadership and Stewardship
PROBLEM
The federal government is facing a leadership crisis.
Insufficient investment is made in the leadership capabilities of the career workforce. Political appointees are often unprepared for the unique responsibilities of public sector leadership and how to work with stakeholders across government, including Congress.
Federal employees are less satisfied with the training they receive for their present job than private sector employees.
Federal employees have less trust and confidence in their supervisors than private sector employees.
Across government, about one in three federal employees are eligible to retire in the next three years.
SOLUTIONS
- Provide training, support and leadership development to career leaders at all levels.
- Require government agencies to invest in and measure leadership capabilities, including by adopting consistent standards based on modern competencies and the core values of stewardship and public trust.
- Equip new political appointees to lead effectively by deepening their understanding of the unique aspects of managing in the federal government.
Our Leadership and Stewardship Work
We provided training for federal leaders on a wide array of topics.
By developing the skills and abilities of federal leaders at all levels and providing forums for them to discuss shared challenges and solutions, the Partnership helps leaders become agents of change within their own agencies and across government. Participants tell us our programs have transformed their professional lives, including positioning them to take on larger roles in their agencies.
2020 Leadership and Stewardship Accomplishments by the Numbers
4,000+
The number of federal leaders we trained or onboarded
50+
The number of government offices our program participants represent
Public Service Leadership Model
Our approach to developing leaders is grounded in our Public Service Leadership Model, which outlines core values federal leaders embody—stewardship of public trust and commitment to the public good—and outlines the competencies they need at each stage of their leadership journey. As a companion to the model, our proprietary 360 assessment measures leaders’ strengths and highlights areas for growth against the model as a tool for their professional development.
FEATURED REPORT
We helped agencies with significant, department-wide transformation.
“State of Renewal: The Department of State Today, Tomorrow and Beyond”
Presents recommendations for addressing management challenges and revitalizing the Department of State’s workforce
We helped prepare people interested in serving as political appointees.
Serving America through a presidential appointment is a great honor and responsibility. But, preparing to serve can be a complicated process and getting started early is important. We launched Ready to Serve, a centralized resource that guides candidates through every step of the process. The site has been viewed more than 185,000 times.
We onboarded new federal leaders.
Our Ready to Govern® courses, delivered by former high-ranking federal officials, help prepare new appointees to lead. They cover topics including understanding the federal budget process and leadership for chiefs of staff. We have begun delivering these sessions to new appointees in the Biden administration and will continue to offer them in the coming months, as the administration appoints its senior leaders.
Getting “ready to govern” at the EPA: How the Partnership prepared one political appointee for a new professional challenge
New presidents are responsible for making roughly 4,000 political appointments across government. To work effectively, these appointees need to learn how to navigate a complex federal organization. Ready to Govern prepares them to tackle this challenge from the moment they enter office. Since 2013, the program has helped more than 1,500 political appointees better manage their agencies, understand federal rules and regulations and build networks that enable collaboration and creative problem-solving.
In 2013, Gwen Keyes Fleming came to Washington, D.C., to serve as the EPA’s chief of staff—a position that required her to oversee 15,000 employees working across the country and the world, several large teams and subcomponents, and an international office. Ready to Govern helped Fleming manage these dizzying responsibilities, providing her with the skills, tools and professional networks to manage EPA staff and projects and respond adeptly to unexpected crises such as the 2013 government shutdown.
“Ready to Govern is the place—and the Partnership for Public Service is the place—where you learn how to manage competing priorities and also build the network of support that will help you.”
Ready to Govern participant
Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic
When many federal workers and our own staff began working remotely in mid-March of 2020, we pivoted quickly to deliver our programs virtually through interactive webinars or video conferences. The virtual format allows us to easily engage high-caliber speakers and spend more time on personalized activities with participants, such as one-on-one coaching.
In the absence of clear and consistent guidance from central government agencies during the pandemic, the forums we hosted for federal leaders became more important than ever, and we responded to a steep increase in demand for our convenings. Because we could reach federal employees anywhere, regardless of geographic location, attendance in many of our programs increased. Going forward, we plan to offer both in-person and virtual options for many of our programs.
Our outreach and resources—especially during the pandemic and a presidential election and transfer of power—helped public servants better understand and carry out their roles during a time of uncertainty, while helping them stay resilient and mission-focused. Among the many other pandemic-related resources we created in 2020 is a catalogue of the many successful innovations federal agencies adopted in response to the pandemic. We promoted their potential as best practices across government in “Bright Spots: Federal Success Stories from the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Our government has demonstrated great agility in dealing with the pandemic, and the lesson we should learn is that it is possible for government to transform the way it works. We see tremendous opportunity to continue the advances and build a more modern and effective government.
Looking Ahead
Our objective is to provide our Ready to Govern curriculum to 1,000 new appointees in 2021, as early in their terms as possible, to help them understand the agencies they lead and prepare them to serve as responsible stewards of our federal institutions.
Our Workforce Work
We sharpened our focus on helping federal agencies recruit, hire and retain young talent.
By recruiting, hiring and retaining young and diverse talent, government not only replaces federal employees nearing the end of their careers, but also brings new skills and perspectives that will help the country rise to the significant challenges of the day and prepare for what lies ahead.
How one college student answered the Partnership’s call to serve
In 2002, the Partnership collaborated with the Office of Personnel Management to launch Call to Serve, the only nationwide network of colleges and universities dedicated exclusively to promoting federal service. Today, Call to Serve works with more than 700 colleges and universities to recruit the next generation of public servants. The program educates students and recent graduates about government work, promotes new recruiting strategies and trains campus professionals to connect with agencies and advise jobseekers on the federal hiring process.
Lyndsey Gallagher was a senior at George Washington University pursuing a bachelor’s and master’s in public health when she applied to the Partnership’s Call to Serve Innovation Internship program, which places GW undergraduates as summer interns in federal agencies and helps inspire young people to public service. In the summer of 2020, she interned with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center, getting real-world experience, an opportunity to develop her technical skills and a better understanding of how government works. Today, she is thriving in graduate school and considering a career in the federal government.
“I think what the Partnership is doing is so important because there is a barrier to be able to get an internship in government. Going directly to college campuses and providing that entryway is great.”
Call to Serve Innovation Internship program participant
FEATURED REPORTS
We provided models, tools and data to help government address its recruiting, hiring and retention issues.
“Rapid Reinforcements: Strategies for Federal Surge Hiring”
Highlights how agencies can quickly rebuild after losing a significant number of employees
We launched a unique program for young cybersecurity talent
In partnership with Mastercard, Microsoft and Workday and 10 federal agencies, we piloted a new program—the Cybersecurity Talent Initiative—that recruits and places undergraduates and graduates from across the country into federal government cyber positions for two years. After their government service, participants are eligible to apply and be considered for positions with our corporate partners and qualify for student loan debt assistance. The program could serve as a model for public-private partnerships to help our nation fill talent gaps in areas of critical need, such as cybersecurity.
“I have worked with human resources, development and web operations, and IT, and I am excited to bring these experiences to bear as I learn about penetration testing and system log analysis. I hope to learn more about interdepartmental cybersecurity cooperation to ensure secure internal and external networks.”
Cybersecurity Talent Initiative participant
We spotlighted employee engagement, a critical component of agency health, performance and talent retention.
Top-performing organizations have highly engaged employees who are connected to their missions and customers. Senior leaders must be held accountable for improving employee satisfaction and for creating a culture of recognition that includes awards and public acknowledgement of employees who excel. The Partnership’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings, based on an annual federal survey, are a valuable tool to gauge employee engagement, serve as an early warning sign of trouble and pinpoint areas in need of improvement.
Best Places to Work
In June 2021, we released the 15th annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings, which capture employees’ views and attitudes about their respective agencies. The rankings showed a federal employee engagement score of 69 out of 100, a 7.3-point increase compared with 2019.
Learn more about the impact of the Best Places to Work rankings.
Cabinet secretaries pay tribute to federal employees.
We celebrated the achievements of our nation’s exceptional public servants.
Media Impact of the 2020 Sammies Winners Program
151,853
views of the virtual, one-hour presentation
2.1 million
#Sammies2020 impressions
1.2 million
social media accounts reached
175
media articles resulting in 3.4 million media impressions
Over the past 20 years, the Partnership has celebrated the achievements of more than 660 exceptional public servants through the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals (the Sammies).
In 2020, the restrictions on in-person gatherings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted us to adapt our traditional in-person Sammies events to a virtual setting for the first time. We reached a larger audience and engaged more high-profile media figures than would have been possible with in-person events.
Our announcement of the Sammies finalists in May 2020, which would typically be an in-person event to recognize the honorees, turned into a virtual program we co-hosted with Axios, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Michael Lewis and two of our Sammies finalists to discuss the importance and value of public service. For the celebration of the Sammies winners in October 2020, we produced a high-quality, one-hour program to recognize six outstanding award winners from among 27 finalists and more than 300 nominees. The program featured two former presidents—Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush—and a star-studded lineup that included Samantha Bee, Adam Conover, Kumail Nanjiani and the Washington Nationals’ “racing presidents,” among others, to explain and honor the winners’ achievements in an engaging and entertaining way. The program ran on the Partnership’s social media platforms, YouTube, Axios, Bloomberg.com and Bloomberg TV.
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Federal Employee of the Year
CEO of Microsoft
Spirit of Service Award
The 2020 Sammies Program
The 2020 Sammies winners, from left to right: Safety, Security and International Affairs winner Donna F. Dodson; Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement winner Dr. Ira Pastan; Federal Employee of the Year winner Dr. Anthony S. Fauci; Management Excellence winners Drs. Kevin Galpin, Neil C. Evans and Kathleen L. Frisbee; Science and Environment winner Dr. Beth Ripley; Emerging Leaders winner Dr. Vikram Krishnasamy; and Spirit of Service Award winner Satya Nadella.
Looking Ahead
On October 28, 2021, we will honor this year’s winners from among 29 outstanding individuals or teams at the 20th annual Sammies. The 29 finalists are outstanding federal employees who serve the public good and are addressing many of our country’s greatest challenges. This year, we also added a new award category to recognize accomplishments in response to the pandemic.
Our Innovation and Tech Modernization Work
We trained career federal leaders in managing technological transformation and how to integrate AI capabilities into their workforces
In 2019, we launched the AI Federal Leadership Cohort in partnership with a consortium of private sector stakeholders. The program has since trained 95 high-performing members of the Senior Executive Service to better understand the application and implications of AI and other emerging technologies on their work and workforce. Providing training for this group of government’s most senior career leaders has a compounding effect, because the cohort collectively supervises tens of thousands of federal employees and oversees millions of dollars in federal spending. The program could help create a community of senior leaders who can deploy new technologies to transform agency operations.
We convened and collaborated with communities of federal experts in innovation and customer experience to identify actions needed to create a more innovative and customer-oriented federal government.
By being more innovative and customer-focused in how it operates and solves problems, government can function more efficiently and deliver services more effectively to the people of our nation.
FEATURED REPORTS
We provided data and insights to help government address its technology issues.
“Tech Talent for 21st Century Government”
Identifies the top technology and innovation leadership positions in government, the competencies these leaders and their teams need to be successful, advice for recruiting and hiring technical experts, and opportunities and challenges for technology transformation in federal agencies
“Cracking the Code: Harnessing the Exponential Power of Technology”
Outlines how agencies can move quickly to adopt emerging technologies
“Into the Storm: Using Artificial Intelligence to Improve California’s Disaster Resilience”
Describes using artificial intelligence to improve California’s response to natural disasters
FEATURED REPORT
We issued recommendations and designed dashboards that help agencies assess and improve their customer experience practices.
Since 2019, we have released this annual report that provides the most comprehensive collection of customer experience data and insights on federal services, and helps agencies benchmark their progress on customer experience improvements.
Looking Ahead
In 2021, we will continue to provide training, data, insights and forums to help federal leaders adopt innovative practices and emerging technologies that can improve their agencies’ operations and delivery of services to the people of our nation.
Our Collaboration Work
We convened federal leaders from across government to learn from one another and collaborate on shared problems.
Government finds greater operational efficiency by sharing resources and knowledge among agencies and by improving coordination across sectors in setting goals, delivering services to customers, and managing the performance of federal programs.
The Partnership has created more than a dozen forums for leaders from across government and hosts roundtable discussions on a variety of topics for assistant secretaries for administration and management, deputy secretaries, chief human capital executives, general counsels and other executives who have significant management responsibilities for their agencies.
Creating Critical Connections
Government works best when strong relationships exist across agencies and ideas, resources and best practices are shared. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the power of our convening ability and how we are viewed as a trusted, nonpartisan partner.
Nowhere has this been more evident than in the explosive growth of our newest network, the General Counsel Exchange. Before the coronavirus hit, 26 agency general counsels met every two months to share information and learn from one another. On March 13, 2020, when the president declared a Coronavirus Pandemic National Emergency, the number of participants and the rhythm changed dramatically when we joined forces with both departmental and small agency counsel. In 2020, the group grew to more than 200 general, chief and senior counsels from 89 agencies, who asked us to convene them twice a week, and spun off three subgroups to share best practices in grants, contracts and employment law. In addition to convening people regularly, we were a hub of information sharing on resources published by the White House, OMB, EEOC, OSHA and CDC as well as model practices by Cabinet departments and independent agencies.
“We appreciate the Partnership’s facilitating this community of practice and supporting our teams in navigating through an unprecedented moment together.”
General counsel, Institute of Museum and Library Services
FEATURED REPORT
We issued recommendations for improving intergovernmental and cross-sector collaboration in California that can serve as a national model
Describes successful cross-sector collaboration efforts and assesses barriers to cross-sector learning and engagement
We launched new initiatives to build a stronger democracy.
The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 illustrated the intense polarization in our politics and among the people of our nation. It also highlighted the need to strengthen Congress as an institution and support members of Congress and their staffs. On January 15, 2021, we launched a microsite, CapitolStrong.org, on behalf of the diverse group of organizations working to fix Congress. The site serves as a central hub for information-sharing and a forum for amplifying one another’s resources.
In July 2021, we launched the Alliance for Congress—our new initiative to promote public service and effective government by helping Congress become a healthier institution and a more capable steward of the executive branch.
We are also undertaking a research project to assess the lack of trust in the federal government among many people in our nation and design a public awareness campaign to address it.
Looking Ahead
In 2021, we will continue to convene federal leaders and provide training and resources to help federal leaders work across agencies, branches and sectors to solve big problems and help restore the public’s trust in government.
To achieve our objectives, we need a clear and compelling message and call to action.
In 2020, we completed a year-long study of the Partnership’s brand and reputation. The new branding, messaging language and design has modernized our look, clarified our purpose and impact, and will help us reach a more national audience.
Our Mission: Building a better government and a stronger democracy.
In 2020, we continued to carry out programs and activities to help realize our diversity, equity and inclusion vision, measure our progress and hold ourselves accountable, both in words and in action.
Over the past year, events in our nation again exposed the systemic racism and inequality that pervades our country and institutions. There is no place for hate, violence or inequality in our economic, social and civil systems or in our workplaces, whether overt or covert, and the Partnership for Public Service emphatically disavows all forms of racism, bigotry and discrimination.
Our commitment to DEI will help us respond better to the needs of our federal partners, who are increasingly asking for our help with diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2021, we will offer new data and insights, training and forums to help federal leaders improve DEI within their institutions.
Our DEI Commitment Statement
The Partnership for Public Service is committed to building a culture of inclusion in which a diverse workforce has equitable opportunities to contribute, succeed and grow.
Ensuring employees’ psychological safety and inviting a wider range of viewpoints enables new and creative ways of thinking. This foundation expands our perspective, empowers better decisions and ultimately leads to higher organizational performance.
We define diversity expansively: We seek to bring together people with different backgrounds and qualities, both visible and invisible. We value all experiences and also acknowledge the injustices suffered by specific communities. We recognize that racism, sexism, religious bigotry, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia, ableism, classism and other forms of discrimination make the need for equity critical. Advantages are not universal and so we must dismantle barriers to ensure that everyone can succeed at the Partnership. We are also deeply committed to inclusion—creating an environment of belonging in which people with different personal histories, political ideologies, personality types and other attributes are valued and feel like they matter.
We understand that the work of diversity, equity and inclusion is a challenging, continuous journey that demands humility, empathy and growth. We commit to realizing our vision, measuring our progress, and holding ourselves accountable, both in words and in action.
