What are policymakers’ and academics’ priorities for collaborative research on the Federal workforce?
Project Summary
In December 2021 and January 2022, The People Lab hosted four roundtable discussions to take stock of the most pressing challenges that the Federal government is facing related to its workforce and to identify key areas where research can play a role in helping to address those challenges. Coming out of these discussions, we developed a guiding research agenda that is structured around the priorities outlined in the President’s Management Agenda Learning Agenda (PMA LA).
Why is this issue important?
Strengthening and empowering the Federal workforce is one of the key priorities outlined in the PMA LA. The Federal government employs over 2.5 million people across the country, many of whom have direct interactions with residents. Understanding and developing effective strategies for hiring, retaining, engaging, and growing diverse talent within the Federal workforce is key to ensuring that the government can serve residents.
What are we doing?
The People Lab hosted four roundtable discussions centered around the priority Learning Agenda workforce questions, with the goal of identifying opportunities for collaborative research. The discussions included 44 participants from 25 organizations across government, think tanks, non-profits, and academia.
What have we learned?
Coming out of the roundtable series, we released a proposed research agenda aligned with the priority questions outlined in the PMA LA. This research agenda aims to identify the most feasible and impactful demonstration projects for collaborative research on the federal workforce and workplace that could be implemented in 2022-2024, and to support the creation of the necessary infrastructure for ongoing practitioner-researcher collaborations on the federal workforce.
What comes next?
The People Lab is committed to not only expanding and deepening its own research agenda on strengthening the Federal workforce, but also to supporting the creation of the necessary infrastructure for ongoing practitioner-researcher collaborations.