Toward a 21st Century Public Service: Reports from Four Forums

The IBM Endowment for The Business of Government supported a series of forums to examine the future of the civil service: (1) Two Federal Summit Conferences; (2) Thought Leaders Forum on -A New American Diplomacy: Requirements for the 21st Century, hosted by the National Policy Association; and (3) Thought Leaders Forum on -People and Performance: Challenges from the Future of Public Service- hosted by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. The message from the four forums is clear: Dramatic change is needed in the way the federal government recruits, retains, develops, and rewards its public servants. Toward a 21st Century Public Service includes recommendations for change in both the civil service and the Foreign Service personnel systems. A common theme from all four forums is the importance of moving toward a human capital approach to human resources in government. Human Capital Management