Management internship program to see overhaul
The White House has ordered changes that will allow mid-career professionals, as well as recent advanced degree recipients, to participate in the 26-year-old Presidential Management Intern Program.
Under Executive Order 13318, published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the program's name will change to the "Presidential Management Fellows Program." The renamed program will remain open to recent graduates of advanced degree programs in various disciplines, but will also leave room for mid-career professionals with significant leadership potential to enter as "senior fellows."
The Office of Personnel Management is charged with implementing the executive order, which has no effective date. Though an OPM spokesman declined to offer a timeline or other details about the program's expansion, he did say that OPM and the White House would collaborate over the coming months to create a "greatly expanded, prestigious" program.
In theory at least, the upcoming changes will significantly enhance the program, said John Palguta, vice president for policy and research at the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization, and former director of policy and evaluation at the Merit Systems Protection Board. The expanded fellowship program could help agencies meet the important goal of recruiting more talented people at higher grade levels, he said.
Current management interns enter at the GS-9 level, and can work their way up to GS-12. "GS-9 is great for someone just out of a master's degree program," Palguta said. "But there are people out there with some very advanced experience."
The enhanced management program will likely allow more experienced candidates to come in at a higher pay level as senior fellows and try out government service for two years, Palguta said. While the senior fellows program would be open to those who already hold government jobs, one of the main advantages of the program would be the ability to lure accomplished private sector professionals to the government, he added.
Though the executive order did not include details about pay, information distributed by the Presidential Management Alumni Group indicates that senior fellows would enter at the GS-13 level and could work their way up to GS-15, with eligibility for non-competitive appointment to the Senior Executive Service upon completion of the program. Other fellows-the equivalent of current PMIs-would still enter at the GS-9 level in most cases, but would be able to advance to a GS-13 level based on performance and individual circumstances.
Palguta and Tod Companion, president of the alumni group, said the success or failure of the new approach would depend on OPM's implementation of the executive order.
OPM needs to ensure that the program has adequate oversight, so that no interns slip through the cracks, Companion said. Currently, the vast majority of interns have a great experience, he explained, but a few do not receive the appropriate training, or miss out on opportunities to rotate jobs during their two years-a key component of the PMI program.
Palguta said that while the PMI program attracts a wide pool of talented candidates, some agency leaders have used it merely to fill job vacancies, rather than to cultivate outstanding leaders.
A recent report from the Brookings Institution's Center for Public Service, recommended that OPM expand the PMI program to attract graduates and professionals from all disciplines, whether or not they are interested in government management or lifelong careers in the civil service.
President Jimmy Carter created the PMI program in 1977 to attract job seekers with "exceptional management potential who have received special training in planning and managing public programs and policies." A 1982 executive order from President Ronald Reagan expanded the program to draw applicants with a "clear interest in, and commitment to, a career in the analysis and management of public policies and programs," not just those with specific training in management.
The two-year program has groomed more than 6,000 graduates with management potential for federal jobs. Each year, deans and department chairs at graduate schools across the country have nominated students whom they believe would make good PMIs. In January and February, nominees who decide to apply take day-long tests to assess their writing and oral skills. OPM sends out acceptance letters in March, and agencies then have the opportunity to choose interns for specific job openings.
Current interns will likely not notice much of a change when the executive order takes effect, other than the fact that they will now be "fellows," Companion said. The qualifications for fellows appear roughly the same as those for PMIs. Candidates for senior fellow slots will need to demonstrate "exceptional leadership, analytical ability," and an interest in public policy and government management through their previous work experience.