A 21st Century administration requires strong, modern technical leaders
A Hiring Guide: Tech Talent for 21st Century Government
There has never been a more important time to bring digital, technology and innovation expertise into federal agencies. “Tech Talent for 21st Century Government” explores three areas where government leadership requires modern technical expertise: policy, digital delivery, and innovation.
This Guide Highlights:
Leadership Positions
Eight critical agency leadership positions requiring an understanding of modern technology
Cross Agency Positions
Fourteen key cross agency leadership positions requiring an understanding of modern technology
Competencies
Ten competencies of a 21st century agency
Agency Competencies
Hire for the 21st Century
Technology
- Modern stack software development
- DevOps and site reliability engineering
- Security
- Emerging Technologies
- Data use
People & Organization
- Product management
- Human centered design
- Institutional change
Policy
- Data governance
- Technology procurement
- Tech-informed decision making
Agency Competencies
Hire for the 21st Century
Building Leadership Teams
We support thought leaders, government executives and public servants in improving the lives of people in America by using science, innovation and technology, building evidence-based policies and programs, and understanding how to vet and hire technically qualified candidates

Technology
Security, modern stack, SRE/devops, data use, emerging technologies

People and Organization
Institutional change, product management, Human-Centered Design

Policies
Acquisition, tech-informed decision making, data governance
Mobilizing
Tech Talent:
Hiring Technologists to Power Better Government

The U.S. government already runs on technology.
From delivering health care to veterans to processing millions of tax returns, federal agencies depend on technology to operate efficiently and deliver effective services to the American people. Read the report, “Mobilizing Tech Talent,” where the Partnership for Public Service and two former leaders of the United States Digital Service (USDS) share lessons learned from recruiting and hiring technical experts at USDS.
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Partnership for Public Service
Civic Corporate Responsibility
We recently partnered with the Ford Foundation and Clarice Chan to publish a paper about the importance of unlocking private sector technical talent to help address some of America’s largest problems in the 21st Century.
Team Insights
Our team and our interns have been researching ways to bridge the gap between government and modern tech talent. From Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO) recommendations to pathways into the federal government, learn more about what we’ve been up to below!
Tech Transition Memos
Any presidential agenda in the 21st century must prioritize modern technology expertise to accomplish its goals.
Seizing the opportunities of technology — and ensuring its proper governance — requires leaders who deeply understand
how technology can affect the American people, our national security, the economy and our competitiveness in the global landscape.
TECHNOLOGY
MODERNIZATION
FUND:
Learning from Tech
Investment Funds
This white paper:
•Details TMF’s history and its current state of operations;
• Identifies lessons from conventional tech investment funds that could help the
TMF reach its potential;
• Recommends improvements to the TMF management and execution that would
align with accepted best practices, achieve the administration’s IT modernization
priorities, and empower agencies to drive digital transformation across technology