Government Works Weekly #71
Jobs, Events, and Widespread Reports
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.
If you find this newsletter useful, please consider sharing with friends or colleagues who might also benefit.
Scroll down all the way for 26 upcoming events and 130 jobs and opportunities to help government work…
EYES & EARS – readings, podcasts, and other good stuff
Drowning in Sorrow
When I was an analyst in the U.S. Government Accountability Office, I once worked on a report about a report about reports.
It was one of those recursive bureaucratic ouroboros that either leads one to laugh or to cry. Or perhaps to drink. It would be fair to say that at that time the Irish Channel Restaurant & Pub opposite 5th St. NW from the GAO headquarters was seldom devoid of auditors come 5 o’clock. (I am not sure if that is still true, but now it would be even more deservedly so.)
So the sinking feeling I got when I opened new reports from Freedom House, V-Dem, CIVICUS, and Transparency International in recent days was not unfamiliar. Therefore, in the same week when I tipped back an Irish Red Ale on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate my late apostrophized mother’s birthday, I am also pouring one out for my democracies. Here are the reports:
Freedom in the World 2026: The Growing Shadow of Autocracy, Freedom House, March 2026.
Global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025. A total of 54 countries experienced deterioration in their political rights and civil liberties during the year, while only 35 countries registered improvements… Among countries rated Free, the United States, Bulgaria, and Italy have experienced the year’s largest declines. In the United States, an escalation in both legislative dysfunction and executive dominance, growing pressure on people’s ability to engage in free expression, and the new administration’s moves to undermine anticorruption safeguards all contributed to the negative score change.
Democracy Report 2026: “Unraveling The Democratic Era?”, V-Dem Institute, March 2026.
Democratic backsliding is now happening in well-established democracies. Democracy in the USA is deteriorating at unprecedented speed, and media and journalists are increasingly targeted across the world… Nearly a quarter of the world’s nations are going through democratic backsliding, or autocratization, in 2025, and six out of the ten new autocratizing countries identified in the 2026 Democracy Report are in Europe and North America.
2026 State of Civil Society Report, CIVICUS, March 2026.
Our report documents a world where unaccountable power is on the offensive: powerful states are dismantling the international rules-based order, impunity is becoming normalised in conflicts from Gaza to Sudan and an axis of tech oligarchs and authoritarian leaders is using its online reach to spread disinformation and tighten surveillance. The withdrawal of funding from multilateral institutions, the weaponisation of AI and the deliberate obstruction of climate action aren’t isolated crises but interconnected aspects of a political epoch in which elites are consolidating power at the expense of human rights. Those being hardest hit are the people who already have the least access to rights.
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025: Findings and Insights, Transparency International, February 2026.
The global order is under strain from rivalry between major powers, and dangerous disregard for international norms. Armed conflicts and the climate crisis are having a deadly impact. Societies are also becoming more polarised. To meet these challenges, the world needs principled leaders and strong, independent institutions that act with integrity to protect the public interest. Yet, too often, we are seeing a failure of good governance and accountable leadership.
Since last week’s newsletter featured podcast pairings, this week I will pair the reports above with some news reporting. It’s reports all the way down.
Trump is dismantling democracy at ‘unprecedented’ speed, global report finds, Frank Langfitt, NPR, 20 March 2026.
‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog, Martin Gelin, The Guardian, 17 March 2026.
And please take a moment to savor CNN’s reporting on these issues, we don’t know how long it will last…
US downgraded in democracy index as press freedom concerns grow, Brian Stelter, CNN, 18 March 2026.
The US slips to its lowest-ever rank in a global corruption index, Hanna Ziady, CNN, 10 February 2026.
Glass Half Full
It is not my style to go out on a bitter note, though, so here is a nice, smooth chaser. I really enjoyed the recent NYT interview of Rebecca Solnit by the masterful David Marchese. A collegial reminder from Solnit:
One of the great weaknesses of our era is that we get lone superhero movies that suggest that our big problems are solved by muscly guys in spandex, when actually the world mostly gets changed through collective effort. Thich Nhat Hanh said before he died a few years ago that the next Buddha will be the Sangha. The Sangha, in Buddhist terminology, is the community of practitioners. It’s this idea that we don’t have to look for an individual, for a savior, for an Übermensch. I think the counter to Trump always has been and always will be civil society. A lot of the left wants social change to look like the French Revolution or Che Guevara. Maybe changing the world is more like caregiving than it is like war. Too many people still expect it to look like war.
[READ / WATCH / LISTEN] The Interview: Rebecca Solnit Says the Left’s Next Hero Is Already Here, New York Times, 7 March 2026.
Or, if you prefer Yglesias thought: “Worry less, do more: Paralyzing anguish isn’t how you help people or solve problems.”
Successful political movements of the past met great challenges, solved problems, and made the world a better place, but they didn’t achieve this by being constantly overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and anger. Paralyzing despair is not a correct or sane response to the world. It’s pathological. And in the most sincere and non-snarky way possible, I urge people who feel this way to get help and then go do something politically constructive… there’s no particular point in spending much time debating with yourself whether the glass is half-full or half-empty.
EVENT HORIZON – webinars, conferences, and other human things
WEEK OF 21-28 MARCH 2026
20-24 MAR: ASPA’s 2026 Annual Conference [American Society for Public Administration]
23-27 MAR: 2026 Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum [OECD]
23 MAR: What to expect this tax season [Brookings]
24 MAR: Democracy Narratives: What works—and what doesn’t [Democracy Narrative Alliance]
24 MAR: Corruption 2.0, 3.0, 4.0... How corruption adapts – and how to stay ahead of it [Basel Institute on Governance]
24 MAR: 2025 Federal CDO Survey: Key Findings & Insights [Data Foundation]
24 MAR: Turning Words into Action: Media Support Within the European Democracy Shield [European Partnership for Democracy]
24 MAR: Facilitating Change: Tools, Stories, and Strategies from the Network [Governance Action Hub]
24 MAR: FedSupport Webinar – Let Your Public Service Values Lead You into Your Next Career [Partnership for Public Service]
24 MAR: Redirecting advertising towards the media [Forum on Information and Democracy]
24 MAR: The Evolving Relationship Between Nonprofits and Government: Past, Present, and Future [Urban Institute]
24 MAR: IDS Annual Lecture 2026 with Jason Hickel [Institute of Development Studies]
24-25 MAR: Innovation [Global Government Forum]
25 MAR: The 2026 Theodore H. White Lecture on Press and Politics: Free Speech, Media and the Democratic Idea ft. Ken Burns [Harvard Institute of Politics]
25 MAR: Equitable AI for Outcomes: Moving from Principles to Practice [Project Evident]
25 MAR: State and Local Pathways to Building and Buying Public AI [InnovateUS]
25 MAR: What’s Next for the Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map? [National Civic League]
25-26 MAR: 6th Annual National Conference: Data Beyond Borders [Coleridge Initiative]
26 MAR: GDC Africa Forum 2026 [Global Democracy Coalition]
26 MAR: The Flip Side of Affordability: Raising Wages Across the Country [CAP]
26 MAR: Vendor Lock-in: How to Spot It & Mitigate It [Procurement Excellence Network]
26 MAR: Creative Power, Civic Purpose: How Artists Strengthen Democracy: Knowledge Is Power: Demystifying Civic Systems Through Creative Practice [Forecast Public Art]
26 MAR: The Future of Local Justice Innovation [Urban Institute]
26 MAR: Strategy, Messaging, and Power: A Conversation with Anita Dunn [Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School]
26-27 MAR: BPEA Spring 2026 Conference [Brookings Papers on Economic Activity]
28 MAR: No Kings Day
APPLY YOURSELF – jobs, internships, and other ways to get involved
POLICY + PROGRAM
Government Affairs Lead, Project On Government Oversight [D.C.]
Senior Policy Analyst, Elections Project and Senior Project Manager, Elections Project, Bipartisan Policy Center [D.C.]
Program Assistant, We The Action (WTA), Civic Nation [Remote]
Legal Strategist and More, Public Citizen [D.C.]
Senior Advisor, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, UnidosUS [Hybrid / D.C.]
Multiple Legal Positions, Democracy Forward [D.C.]
General Counsel, Democracy Fund [D.C.]
Multiple Positions, Lawyers for Good Government
Legal Manager, Pro Bono Partnerships, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press [Hybrid D.C.]
Chief Advocacy Officer, Vera Institute of Justice [Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC]
Senior Program Associate, Advancing Universal Representation, Vera Institute of Justice [Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC, or Los Angeles, CA]
Senior Program Associate, Redefining Public Safety, Vera Institute of Justice [Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC]
Senior Policy Analyst, Immigration and Immigrant Families, The Center for Law and Social Policy [D.C.]
Senior Policy Counsel/Analyst, National Immigrant Justice Center [D.C.]
Government Affairs Associate, Judiciary & Democracy, League of Conservation Voters [D.C.]
Senior Policy Advisor, Innovation and More, Third Way [D.C.]
Policy Advisor, Majority Democrats [D.C.]
Research Assistant, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee [deadline 17 Apr.]
Scholar in Residence, Center on Health Policy and Research Assistant, Retirement Security Project, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution
Manager, Public Policy Support, Safer Chemicals Project and Senior Officer, Public Sector, Enduring Earth, Pew Charitable Trusts [D.C.]
Research Associate (Polling & Public Opinion), States United Democracy Center [Remote]
STATE + LOCAL
Special Advisor, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice, New York City Mayor’s Office
Community Relations Coordinators (NC, WI, PA and GA), Protect Democracy
North Carolina State Director, America Votes
Nevada State Director, America Votes
Political Campaign Associate - Colorado, Indivisible
Political Campaign Associate - Minnesota, Indivisible
Minnesota Local Legal Initiative (LLI) Attorney, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Policy and Program Assistant, Maryland Commission for Women
Director, Washington State Institute for Public Policy [Olympia]
Program Analyst, Greater Justice New York [Brooklyn]
Associate Vice President - Florida State Director, Trust for Public Land [Tallahassee]
Legislative Research Commission Director, Kentucky General Assembly
Senior Policy Analyst, Energy and Agriculture, Council of State Governments [Decatur, GA]
California Watersheds Program Officer, Resources Legacy Fund [Sacramento]
Multiple Policy Positions, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability [Inland California]
Vice President, California Calls
Executive Director, State Democracy Project
Senior Officer, State Policy, Safer Chemicals Project (Technical Policy & Regulatory Expert), Pew Charitable Trusts [D.C.]
Midwest Regional Advocate and More, Evergreen Action
Governor’s Science and Technology Fellowship, Pennsylvania Governor [deadline 7 Apr.]
Colorado Future Systems Policy Sprint, Federation of American Scientists [deadline 3 Apr.]
COMMS + OPS + MEDIA
Associate Director, Digital Strategy, Civic Nation [Remote]
Communications Associate, Digital & Content Strategy, Partners for Public Good [deadline 25 Mar.]
Director of Digital & Communications, Citizens Union & Citizens Union Foundation [NYC Hybrid]
Director of Advocacy Communications, Internet Society [Remote]
Director, Strategic Communications Network, Global Fund for a New Economy [Remote]
Associate Director, Editorial, Pew Charitable Trusts [D.C.]
Director, Public Affairs, Energy Foundation [deadline 30 Mar.]
Senior Manager, Political Programming & Strategy, Crooked Media [D.C.]
Executive Director, Center for Progressive Reform [D.C. preferred]
Chief Administrative Officer, Protect Democracy [Remote]
Chief Program Officer, Voting Rights Lab
Chief of Staff, Citizens Union & Citizens Union Foundation [NYC Hybrid]
Executive Director, Be Just [Part-time / D.C.]
Funding Programs Senior Associate and More, Indivisible
Advisor, Political & Civic Engagement Compliance, Climate Power
Senior Director, Development, Vote Mama [NYC of SF preferred]
Director of Development, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Washington Reporter, Defense, ProPublica [D.C.]
Managing Editor, The War Horse [Remote]
White House Economic Policy Reporter, Washington Post [D.C.]
Director of Government Affairs & Partnerships, Rebuild Local News [Remote]
ACADEMIA
Associate Director - Camden, Rutgers Democracy Lab [Eagleton Institute of Politics]
Civic Science Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study [Princeton]
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Education Policy Research [Harvard / priority deadline 3 Apr.]
Content Creator, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Digital & Multimedia Communications Officer, Columbia Global
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Cross-National Survey Methodology in Political Science, Governance and Local Development Institute and the V-Dem Institute [University of Gothenburg / deadline 1 Apr.]
Vice President, Global Engagement & Programs, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue [D.C.]
Senior Policy Analyst, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association [Remote / Boulder / D.C.]
Higher Education Manager, Arnold Ventures [D.C.]
Political Director, American Association of University Professors [D.C.]
Postdoctoral Researcher (quantitative), ‘RESTATE: Refugees’ Political Participation and State-(Re)Making in Displacement’, University for Continuing Education Krems
TECH + DATA + DESIGN
Chief of Digital Services, Family and Medical Leave Insurance, State of Maryland [deadline 2 Apr.]
Principal AI Architect, Governor’s Office of Information Technology [Colorado / Remote]
Data Strategy & Insights Team (Two Positions), Covered California [deadline 26 Mar.]
Assistive Technology (AT) Program Supervisor, Department of Rehabilitation, State of California [deadline 10 Apr.]
Senior Data Scientist and More, Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Vice President of Marketing and More, Civitech [Austin / Remote]
Senior Manager, Climate Tech and Innovation, Federation of American Scientists [D.C.]
Information Management Officer, Innovation & Analytics Hub, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [Geneva / deadline 27 Mar.]
Website Engineer Consultant, Amnesty International International Secretariat [deadline 12 Apr.]
Program Assistant, Technology and International Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace [D.C. / deadline 27 Mar.]
Director of Technology, Innovations for Poverty Action [Colombia / Ghana / Kenya / Nigeria / Peru / Philippines / Rwanda / Tanzania / Uganda / Zambia]
Deputy Director, AI Delivery & Government Partnerships-Africa, Gates Foundation [Nairobi]
INTERNATIONAL
Senior Manager, Global Security & Risk, National Endowment for Democracy [D.C.]
Multiple Positions, Open Society Foundations [London / Amman / Mexico City / Rio / Bogota / Nairobi]
Senior Advocacy Officer, Asia, Digital Public Infrastructure & Inclusive Financial Systems, Gates Foundation [Singapore]
Associate Director, Global and Emerging Risks Research Division, RAND [deadline 31 Mar.]
Climate change jobs: Communications, campaigns, monitoring and evaluation, and project management, Global Witness [London / deadline 14 Apr.]
Country Representative: Uruguay, IDB [deadline 23 Mar.]
IIAS Director General, The International Institute of Administrative Sciences [deadline 30 Apr.]
Recruitment for the Election Observation Mission to Armenia, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights [deadline 6 Apr.]
Political advisor, EZA - European Centre for Workers’ Questions [Brussels]
(Senior) Specialist, Corruption Prevention – Indonesia, Basel Institute on Governance [Jakarta]
Policy Advisor Conflict & Humanitarian (temporary, 6 months), Oxfam Novib [deadline 29 Mar.]
Principal Officer, Global Conservation Initiatives, Pew Charitable Trusts [D.C.]
Specialist, Practitioners Forum Coordination, Basel Institute on Governance [Indonesia, Peru or South Africa]
Team Lead, Demos Helsinki
Senior Policy and Campaigns Office (West Bank), Oxfam Novib [deadline 1 Apr.]
Programme Assistant – Local Leaderships Lab Project Close Out, CIVICUS [deadline 25 Mar.]
Qualitative Research Advisor, The Behavioural Insights Team [Hybrid London / deadline 8 Apr.]
Entrepreneur in Residence, OCCRP
INTERNSHIPS + FELLOWSHIPS
Policy & Public Affairs Summer Intern, Democracy Forward [D.C. / deadline 31 Mar.]
Civil Service Strong Summer Intern, Democracy Forward [D.C. / deadline 31 Mar.]
Democracy 2025 Summer Legal Intern, Democracy Forward [D.C. / deadline 31 Mar.]
Summer 2026 - Intern, Finance, Vera Institute of Justice [Brooklyn / deadline 3 Apr.]
Internship, Anti-Corruption and Integrity in Government, OECD’s Public Governance Directorate [deadline 10 Apr.]
Public Investment and Industry Fellow, Good Food Institute [Remote U.S. / deadline 13 Apr.]
Research, Communications, and Data Internship, Maritime Anti-Corruption Network [deadline 10 Apr.]
Legal Fellow, Free Expression Program, Center for Democracy & Technology [deadline 4 Apr.]
Summer 2026 Internship: Digital Content Creator, Center for Youth Political Participation [Rutgers Democracy Lab / deadline 2 Apr.]
Summer Intern, Federal Relations, Trust for Public Land [D.C.]
Research Assistant, American Academy of Arts & Sciences [Hybrid / Cambridge, MA]
Summer 2026 Development Internship, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press [deadline 15 Apr.]
Applied Data Fellowship, Harris School of Public Policy
CONSULTANCIES + OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Terms of Reference: Support to Political Finance Research, Transparency International [deadline 1 Apr.]
Terms Of Reference: Design And Delivery Of An E-Learning Programme For Policy Makers And Government Stakeholders On Government-Philanthropy Partnership, WINGS [deadline 29 Mar.]
Terms of Reference: Social Listening & Digital Manipulation, Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) at CIVICUS [deadline 30 Mar.]
Consultancies: Palestine Expert Mission, Carter Center
Applications Open for 2026 ProPublica Investigative Editor Training Program, ProPublica [deadline 30 Mar.]
Applications Open for Innovator in Residence Program, Library of Congress [deadline 10 Apr.]
Request for Proposal: On the Rise Consultant, Future Caucus [deadline 3 Apr.]
Terms of Reference: Connect, Defend, Act! Outcome Harvesting Exercise, Hivos [deadline 10 Apr.]
Project Evaluation Consultant: Global South Voices for International Tax Reform, Global Alliance for Tax Justice [deadline 23 Mar.]
Register your interest: Countering Deregulation Narrative Power Lab, Future Narratives Lab
And lots more in the last newsletter: Government Works Weekly #70.