Key Feds and Outsiders Gather in DC for Hiring Reform Conference

All eyes may be on President Obama as he signs the fiscal 2010 Defense Authorization Act into law this morning, finalizing the repeal of the National Security Personnel System (oh, and a few other items of importance to the federal government as well). But the event taking place today that I'm most interested in is taking place down the road at 13th and Pennsylvania. Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government is convening a group of very high-ranking federal management officials, representatives from key Congressional offices, union and federal employee group leaders, and representatives from the private, non-profit, and academic sectors for a high-level discussion of hiring reform in the federal government.

I obtained the list of participants, Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood's message to them, and the agenda for the day. The session is off the record, and Ellwood said that any reports out of the session would not identify who was associated with what ideas. The sessions include "Innovative Hiring Outside the Government," summarized as "Relying heavily on those from the private and non-profit sectors, we will discuss what seem to be the most successful elements of effective recruiting and hiring practices. We will also take a hard look at which of the lessons are generalizable to government and which are not," and "Innovative Hiring Inside Government," described as "Relying heavily on those who have been leaders in government practice and those who have learned from experiences across government, we will discuss what seem to have been the most successful elements of effective recruiting and hiring practices within government. We will also take a hard look at which of the lessons are generalizable to government and which are not." There are also some sessions on general federal demographics, and on solidifying some of the ideas from the day.

Ellwood wrote to the participants: "This feels like a once in a generation moment for all of us who are committed to bringing superb people into government and supporting them in that service to work collectively." I'll be very curious to hear what comes out of this session, which seems to be a scaled-down version of the vision for an extremely large, ambitious personnel reform conference described by Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry early in his tenure. And I'll be curious to see if it's the first of many, or a one-shot event.

(See a list of notable participants after the jump.)