NASPAA's PMF Initiative

The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) has recently undertaken an initiative aimed at “Reimaging the PMF” (Presidential Management Fellowship). As students from graduate schools of public affairs, policy, and administration represent a large proportion of Presidential Management Fellowship applicants, NASPAA has had a long-standing and supportive interest in the healthy development and advancement of the PMF program.

The PMF was established in 1977 to “attract to the federal service outstanding men and women from a variety of academic disciplines and career paths who have a clear interest in, and commitment to, excellence in leadership and management of public policies and programs. By drawing graduate students from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, the PMF program provides a continuing source of trained men and women to meet the future challenges of public service.”[1] Over its 31 year lifespan, the Public Management Fellowship program has been instrumental in the development of many current government leaders. Through the collaborative thought of public policy thinkers and professionals, we seek to ensure that the PMF maintains this record of achievement. 

The purpose of this initiative is to bring together the perspectives of professionals who share an interest in the future of the PMF program: academics and career directors from public affairs schools and other institutions contributing PMF applicants,  PMF alumni,  Federal agency representatives with experience hiring PMFs,  nonprofits and associations concerned with government human resources, and Congressional committee staff. 

It is our hope that by inviting individuals from major universities, many branches of the federal government, and interested civic nonprofits we can create a dialogue about the PMF that will look forward to the future while constructively facing challenges to federal workforce recruitment. Toward this goal, we will be addressing the initiative on several fronts;

• We held a small mini-conference in Washington D.C. with representatives of each of the aforementioned groups on July 1 of 2008

• We are bringing together the thoughts of involved parties from across the U.S. through collaborative online efforts

• We will be collecting academic papers into a symposium to submit for publication in the Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE)

About Us

NASPAA is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to accrediting and supporting graduate education for public service. We are joined in this initiative by a number of cosponsors, who comprise a working group responsible for planning and implementing this conference. This working group is chaired by Kenneth Apfel (Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, former  Social Security Administration Commissioner, and former PMF) and includes representation by; The Partnership for Public Service, The Council for Excellence in Government, The National Academy of Public Administration, and representatives of government administration and career service professionals.  As of this time, the initiative has received funding support from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and The University of Maryland—College Park. This group of individuals and organizations share a common dedication to the maintenance of a strong and talented civil service.

[1]  “Presidential Management Fellows Program.” USAJOBS Federal Employment Information Fact Sheets EI-18