Three years ago, agency leaders, in partnership with committed public servants across the country, embarked on a journey to transform the Federal Government into a more equitable, effective, and accountable institution, one that works better and is more responsive to the people it serves. The Biden-Harris President’s Management Agenda, launched in November 2021, laid the groundwork for this transformation. It was a commitment to ensuring that the government’s efforts deliver results for everyday Americans by aligning the work of public servants across the government to make these changes happen. Over the course of three years, we have made remarkable progress across our three priorities. This blog highlights just a few stories of impact.
Helping the Federal Workforce Deliver Results
“People are our decisive advantage – they’re key to increasing the scale of innovation, producing and procuring new defense capabilities, and expanding the breadth of what’s possible.” – Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense
The strength of any organization rests in its people. Through shared goal setting and a focus on implementation and accountability, agencies made huge strides in the last three years to strengthen and empower the Federal workforce. We began this President’s Management Agenda (PMA) with a recognition that our complex hiring process hampers efforts to recruit and onboard critical talent, presenting a significant risk to our mission effectiveness — particularly given the growing need for new skills sets across agencies.
Today, we have made game changing improvements in our ability to recruit early career talent. OPM made significant updates to the Pathways Program, which provides onramps to Federal service, making it easier for agencies to hire early career talent. Additionally, we streamlined the recruitment and hiring processes for interns, recent graduates, and Presidential Management Fellows. New tools for hiring managers and applicants, such as the Career Explorer Tool, help job seekers explore occupations in the Federal Government that align with their career interests. The Early Career Page, a central hub of information and resources for job seekers with or without college degrees, includes tips to navigate the federal application process and resumé best practices. To support agencies, new features in the Agency Talent Portal, such as Talent Programs, enable agencies to review and hire Pathways Interns and recent graduates. OPM also made strides to significantly improve the internship experience for the 2,000 interns who worked for the government in the summer of 2023.
An OPM employee shared how these changes impacted them directly: “Today, I am proud to say that I am a GS-7 Strategic Workforce Planner at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), a role I secured through the Military Spouse Hiring Authority. The opportunity to secure this role was made possible due to its accessible job grade targeted at early career talent.”
Enhancing the Federal Customer Experience
“I’m proud of VA’s efforts to improve CX across more of the moments that matter in the journeys of veterans and the dedication of all our civil servants to deliver world-class experiences to our service members, veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.” – Barbara C. Morton, Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs
Too often, people have to navigate a tangled web of government websites, offices, and phone numbers to access the services they depend upon. At the outset of this PMA, we set out to fix the problem. We launched the Life Experience framework to generate a new model for how the government could seamlessly work together within and across agencies and all levels of government to serve people better in their times of need. In 2022, agency deputy secretaries chose five key life experiences for targeted improvements: Approaching retirement, Having a child and early childhood for low-income parents and children, Facing a financial shock and becoming newly eligible for critical supports, Navigating transition to civilian life, and Recovering from a disaster.
In three years, Customer Experience Teams across designated Life Experiences made significant progress by training over 300 FEMA frontline staff to help people experiencing a disaster, supporting new parents by distributing 10,000 Newborn Supply Kits in 10 states, and automatically renewing Medicaid coverage for over 5 million Americans. These collective efforts helped millions of Americans save time and money while reducing stress. In early November, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) results showed that citizen satisfaction with government services reached a 7 year high, the largest 4 year gain since measurement began in 1999.
The State Department’s Online Passport Renewal (OPR) service also demonstrated the impact of CX innovation. “The turnaround of my new passport was AMAZING. Got my new one in less than 2 weeks from when I mailed it out…” shared one user.
Ensuring Grants and Contracts Serve the Public
“From awarding contracts and financial assistance, to helping implement landmark legislation critical to supercharging the American economy and creating and sustaining good-paying jobs, the accomplishments of the PMA have delivered real results for the American people.” – Don Graves, Deputy Secretary of Commerce
The Federal Government spends over $1.5 trillion each year on contracts and financial assistance. Under PMA Priority 3, we focused on advancing sustainability, equity, and efficiency in federal acquisition and financial assistance. Major achievements in the federal acquisition strategy include launching the Better Contracting Initiative to secure better terms, prices, and data-driven purchasing strategies across agencies. The Federal Program Inventory debuted as a comprehensive, searchable tool to increase transparency and accessibility for federal assistance programs. New analytics tools, such as the Federal Supplier Base Dashboard and Procurement Equity Tool, help agencies diversify their contractor base and engage underserved businesses. Additionally, we established parity in certifications between civilian and defense contracting professionals, removing barriers and strengthening workforce mobility.
Within federal financial assistance, the newly created Council on Federal Financial Assistance eased the burden on organizations applying for government funding through simplifying Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs). For example, the Department of Transportation cut the word count of their Tribal Transit NOFO by nearly 50%. By improving design, using clearer language, and making applications more interactive, these efforts are opening doors for a wider range of applicants and community partners. This not only drives more innovative solutions to national challenges but also enhances the federal customer experience.
One small business owner shared their success story around the 8(a) Business Development Program: “Thanks to the exceptional support from the SBA Alaska District Office, we secured three contracts under tight deadlines…expanding our federal footprint…and positioning our company for continued growth.”
Celebrating Success with the PMA Community
This blog highlights just a few examples from the incredible results achieved across the PMA. On December 4, the PMA community came together to celebrate the accomplishments across the priorities and the people, persistence, and passion that made those accomplishments possible. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of countless individuals across every federal agency and our critical partners outside of government, this PMA delivered real results for the American people.
The Road Ahead
We celebrate while acknowledging that there is a long road ahead to improve how we function as a government to deliver services to citizens. Each administration’s management agenda is an opportunity for a new chapter in delivering results by aligning cross-government efforts to administration priorities, staying focused on the hard work of implementation, and being accountable to the people we serve across the country.
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