Government Works Weekly #17
Jobs, Events, and the International Day of Democracy
Welcome to your weekly roundup of opportunities, events, and information about how government works—and how government can work better—to improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
APPLY YOURSELF – jobs, internships, and other ways to get involved
Short on space this week with so many upcoming events (see next section), so in this section I will only feature brand new opportunities or those with pending deadlines. For many more jobs and opportunities still available, check out last week’s edition.
[NEW] Senior Director for Data Programs, Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence, Johns Hopkins University [Hybrid / Baltimore]
[NEW] Future Leaders in Public Service Internship Program – Summer 2025 [deadline 22 Nov.]
[NEW] Program Assistant, Democracy Program (and more), The Carter Center [Hybrid / Atlanta, GA]
[NEW] Director of Development, Accountability Counsel [Remote]
[NEW] Organisational Assistant, The Innovation in Politics Institute [Hybrid / Vienna / deadline 30 Sept.]
[NEW] Visiting Research Scholar, Center for the Study of Democratic Politics (CSDP), Princeton University [Princeton, NJ / deadline 15 Nov.]
[NEW] Manager, Applied Research, Freedom House [Hybrid / D.C.]
[NEW] Digital Manager, The Forge (and more), Center for Popular Democracy [Remote]
[NEW] Senior Director of Partnerships, iCivics [Washington, D.C. / Remote]
[NEW] Policy Analyst/Senior Policy Analyst: Affordable Housing (and more), DC Fiscal Policy Institute [Hybrid / D.C.]
Director of Civic Engagement, Project on Government Oversight [Remote U.S. / deadline 25 Sept.]
Senior Vice President, Programs, State Innovation Exchange [Remote U.S. / priority deadline 27 Sept.]
Chief Executive Officer, Open Government Partnership [Washington DC, London, Brussels, or Other / deadline 4 Oct.]
Rising Stars Mentorship (online mentorship program launch and improve participatory programs), People Powered [deadline 27 Sept.]
EGAP New Member Application 2024, Evidence in Governance and Politics [deadline 30 Sep.]
President / CEO, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement [Remote / U.S. / deadline 27 Sept.]
Practitioner Fellow in Democracy, University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy [Hybrid / Charlottesville, VA / application review 1 Oct.]
UPCOMING EVENTS – webinars, conferences, and other human things
20 SEP: The inaugural Tony Judt Lecture on Europe: Charles King on political ideas in the 21st century [Brookings]
21 SEP: The Power of the Commons: Digital Public Goods for a More Secure, Inclusive, and Resilient World [Wikimedia Foundation]
21-25 SEP: 2024 ICMA Annual Conference [ICMA]
22-23 SEP: Summit of the Future [United Nations]
23 SEP: "The Grounds of Political Legitimacy": Fabienne Peter in conversation with Alfred Moore [The Philosopher]
23-26 SEP: Modernization at the IRS [GovExec]
24 SEP: How states can raise taxes successfully [Brookings]
24 SEP: The Rise of the Far-Right: Challenges to Democracy in Brazil and Abroad [2024 Washington Brazil Conference]
24 SEP: Public Launch OECD Gov2Gov Innovation Incubator [OECD]
24 SEP: Election Overtime: Tools for Reporters Covering Close Elections [Election Reformers Network]
25 SEP: Towards a science base for digital governance [Centre for Digital Governance]
25 SEP: Jessica Pishko, The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy [New America]
25 SEP: Local Deep Dives: Anti-corruption [Open Government Partnership]
25 SEP: Lower Costs Through Better Competition [Center for American Progress]
25 SEP: Democracy Delivers at the UN General Assembly 2024 [USAID]
25 SEP: The Lie Detectives: In Search of a Playbook for Winning Elections in the Disinformation Age [Institute for Rebooting Social Media]
25-27 SEP: Government Relations & Policy Conference [Public Affairs Council]
26 SEP: Data & Society at 10: Foreseeable Futures [Data & Society]
26 SEP: Democracy Beyond Elections [New America]
26 SEP: Policy Lab: New Evidence for the Effects of U.S. Gun Policies [RAND]
26 SEP: A Guide to Government Partnership: Learn to Master Scaling [SSIR]
26 SEP: Online seminar: Teaching digital-era government [Teaching Public Service in the Digital Age]
26 SEP: The Future of American Rule of Law: The 2024 SCOTUS Term and the Need for Reforms [CAP]
26-27 SEP: 6th World Bank/IFS/ODI Public Finance Conference | Driving Progress: Public Finance and Structural Transformation [World Bank]
27 SEP: How Technology Can Reinvigorate Democracy: Conversation with Audrey Tang and Glen Weyl [New America]
27 SEP: Building A New Narrative for Kids [FrameWorks]
EYES & EARS – reading, podcasts, and other good stuff
[DEMOCRACY DIGEST] A couple shares to celebrate International Day of Democracy and the start of early voting in the U.S…
[READ / WATCH / PONDER] International IDEA hosted an event on 17 Sept. to launch the latest version of its flagship report “The Global State of Democracy 2024: Strengthening the Legitimacy of Elections in a Time of Radical Uncertainty”. The whole thing was interesting, and I suggest you give it a watch and/or a read if you like that sort of thing (hint: the subtitle includes “radical uncertainty” for a reason). But I was most intrigued by International IDEA’s conceptual framework for democracy (see below). I’ll be pondering that for a while…
[VOTE] Ballotpedia, the gift that keeps on giving, just launched the 2024 Voter Toolkit, which includes sample ballots, an election help desk, and state election info sheets.
[HEADPHONE PAIRINGS] A few new podcasts that pair nicely with recent news and events…
[LISTEN] Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (Episode 11): Decisions Nobody Made, policy edition, with Dave Guarino. This episode does an excellent job of joining a higher-level theoretical discussion of the tradeoffs between complexity and simplicity in government programs with concrete examples from the nitty-gritty of service delivery. Listen to the whole thing, but for now here is a favorite quote:
…when you look inside these agencies, so much of the day-to-day conversation is about compliance with procedures rather than What will help us accomplish the mission more effectively?
To the extent we can make it easier for internal teams to focus on that, it’s better. Other people have more fine-grained interventions, but mine would be this issue with improper payments methodology. You can’t fulfill the mission of delivering benefits if the structural incentive is to not make payments. That’s always going to hamper progress.
We should think about this for all government missions: What’s the best operationalization of the mission? And if you’re not meeting it, how can we remove constraints instead of adding more? How can we remove hiring and budget constraints? Shouldn’t we be flooding underperforming agencies with resources and removing compliance barriers, not to reward failure but to actually help them improve? Because more rules probably won’t make it easier for them to succeed.
[PAIR] Chase this with some reading about how Americans can now renew their passports online (NPR/Associated Press) and will soon be able to apply for Supplemental Security Income online too (Nextgov). And of course wash it all down by subscribing to the podcast guest’s excellent Substack Dave Guarino's Occasional Newsletter.
[LISTEN] Unlocking Abundance and How to Make Inclusive Public Policy with Derek Kaufman. The podcast host, NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan, speaks to Derek Kaufman (Inclusive Abundance Initiative) about “why streamlining government functions can restore faith in institutions and how the abundance framework can create better outcomes for all Americans.”
[PAIR] This podcast goes well with the recent event from the Center for America Progress on Building the Future: Innovative Solutions to the U.S. Housing Crisis. At the event, AOC, one of the best public communicators of our day, makes a strong case for the broad benefits of increased investment in social housing.
Source: Twitter/X
[BONUS PAIRING] Everybody Benefits from Public Schools: Jennifer Berkshire & Jack Schneider. Listen to the recent episode of the Future Hindsight podcast (hosted by Mila Atmos) for a full-throated defense of public schools from the authors of the recent book The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual: ”If our institutions are going to be truly public, they have to be places where all kinds of people feel at home.”