Power to the PMFs

OPM's John Berry wants to breathe new life into the Presidential Management Fellows program. To that end, today he announced he's creating "power packs" of current PMFs -- small teams that will work on special projects connected with the overhaul effort.

Specifically, Berry wrote, the teams will given the job of "1) increasing outreach to deepen and broaden the PMF applicant pool; 2) revamping future orientation sessions; 3) developing a job-matching process to connect finalists to jobs; 4) reenergizing the PMF Alumni Program; and 5) planning and executing the assessment center interview that we are restoring for the class of 2011."

The power packs will work mostly out of OPM headquarters, and their projects are expected to last about four months. Berry strongly urged agencies to let their PMFs serve on the teams, writing, "This is a great way to influence the PMF program and to help make government service cool again!"

At the PMFInfo blog, a current PMF weighs in on Berry's announcement:

Some of these activities are long overdue, but there is still no mention of one of the most visible signals of change: the horribly outdated PMF web site. Perhaps I am being too picky and should just take what I can get, but it seems to me that if you want to signal change badly enough, you ought to start with your most visible asset.