Presidential Innovation Fellows Get Private And Public Sectors To Collaborate

When the Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program launched last summer, it elicited a great deal of interest from both the public and private sectors. The unique initiative represents the first time the federal government has asked for help from the private sector in such a specific way and provided a vehicle to accomplish it.

Created under the direction of President Barack Obama and his administration, the PIF program’s overarching goal is to improve how the federal government serves the public. It does so by pairing innovators from the private sector, nonprofits and academia with innovators in government to collaborate on key programs.

“The Presidential Innovation Fellows program presents a transformational opportunity to bring outside talent into the federal government,” said Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel.

But the projects launched under PIF won’t be the typical drawn out, multiyear government endeavors. Instead, PIF was designed to bring programs to a point where they can deliver significant results in just six months.