Last year was a memorable one for learning and development in the public sector. As all talent development organizations and departments continue to evolve into a new normal, the federal government has released two high-level documents that help bring talent development to the forefront:

The President’s Management Agenda (PMA)

The PMA provides a road map for management structures and goals across departments. In a subsequent publication, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released their Learning Agenda. The PMA Learning Agenda includes three key areas: refocusing on learning, bridging silos across departments, and encouraging research within, beyond, and in partnership with government. Learn more at performance.gov/pma/learning-agenda/.

US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Fiscal Years 2022–2026 Strategic Plan

OPM, the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the federal government, including talent development issues, released their strategic plan this year. It includes details about how the government will become a model employer, plans to transform OPM’s organization, ideas to create a human-centered experience, and innovative and data-driven solutions. Learn more at opm.gov/about-us/strategic-plan/.

Each of these documents will provide guidance to federal agencies and departments on how to prioritize learning and development plans, activities, and procurement. For industry and academic partners, they can serve as priority lists and best practices when providing services or products to federal agencies, but those are not the only focus areas.

2022 Insights

Several additional developments were uncovered in 2022 including:

• The future of work. What will hybrid work evolve into? How will hiring practices accommodate changing employee expectations?

• Early talent identification and hiring. How does the public sector need to transform its talent search structures? How can recruiting and retention plans be augmented to meet the needs of the next generation?

• ATD Government Workforce Conference. ATD’s premier conference of training, learning, and talent development professionals was held in person for the first time since 2019. The event kicked off with an opening keynote from OPM’s Associate Director Peter Bonner and closed with remarks from GSA’s Chief Human Capital Officer Traci DiMartini. Event themes included digital transformation; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and hybrid work. Stay tuned for details on the 2023 event coming soon at governmentworkforce.td.org/!

• Senior Executive Association’s Government Change Maker’s Summit. The five-day hybrid conference highlighted the benefits of in-person and virtual work for the government. It also addressed timely questions: How do we define leadership? Are the qualifications used across the entire federal government the right ones? Are they universal? How should they evolve to represent diverse skill sets that will be needed? Read more at seniorexecs.org/page/2022\_summit.

• Digital data highway. The public and private sectors are working to develop a set of standards for data collection, storage, and analysis that will lead to improved L&D solutions, tracking, and planning. How can industry help inform this structure?

• Diversity and inclusion. How do we find the right talent and better diversify the public sector enterprise? Diverse ideas and capabilities result in significantly better solutions and innovation.

What’s Next for 2023?

As we look to 2023, ATD will highlight and support work focused on these topics. To that end, there are many new activities being designed and planned to help facilitate connections between industry and the public sector including webinars and workshops, a two-day government hybrid workforce event, and increased public sector representation at ATD’s 2023 International Conference & Exposition in San Diego, California.

Look for new plans and more information as the year unfolds!