Call it what you want: state capacity, government effectiveness, service and mission delivery, etc. We like getting “stuff” done, and want our government to do so, too.
Earlier this month, IAI held a workshop on federal capacity that doubled as our first programmatic event. At D.C.’s American Geophysical Union building, more than 60 people from over 35 organizations met to discuss how to help government work better. We took critical first steps towards our goals of building community, understanding current initiatives, identifying gaps and opportunities for collaboration, mapping the path forward, and beginning to foster an action-oriented movement.
We couldn’t have done this alone. We worked closely with government capacity experts Cristin Dorgelo (our indefatigable MC) and Jen Pahlka. We benefited greatly from the partnership with the Federation of American Scientists and Niskanen Center. And we are grateful for the thought leadership of The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson, who after introductory remarks from IAI, came by to kickstart the discussion in a fireside chat with Jen.
After Derek and Jen’s discussion, we got to work. We heard from experts in a series of short-form talks, like University of Michigan law professor Nicolas Bagley summarizing his landmark piece, "The Procedure Fetish," and Biden White House alum Clarence Wardell on infusing our initiatives with equity and data.
Next, we divided up into sub-groups, from federal hiring to AI, and then into free-flowing sessions. We saw that there were real strengths in the ongoing work, including active coordination, committed donors, and refined, impactful programs. But the broader picture was clear: to meet this do-or-die moment on government capacity, we urgently need more of all three. We documented key takeaways across the groups, and we’re looking forward to standing up efforts to continue the conversation and putting ideas into practice.
We hope this event can serve as a template for future IAI convenings. Of course, we also need to keep learning and iterating. If you have ideas on how we can be better, reach out to us at [email protected] and let us know.
It’s intentional and symbolic that this was our first programmatic event. For us, abundance isn’t simply about building more stuff; it’s about making sure society’s institutions can function at the excellent level that the richest country on the planet should expect — should demand. Government capacity has not always been a part of the abundance conversation. But we at IAI believe achieving abundant outcomes requires a high level of government capacity, spanning talent, systems, tools, and processes. To us, effective institutions are at the foundation of prosperity.
We are eager to do whatever we can to make this effort a success, including identifying and mobilizing funders who care about the mission, coordinating and staffing ongoing working groups, sponsoring policy papers that recommend specific solutions, and amplifying these suggestions to those in positions of power. We hope you all will be our partners, and together we can drive towards impact. Let’s go get more stuff done.
We’ll keep you posted on our progress through this newsletter.
And to take a deep dive into government capacity, we highly recommend Jen’s amazing book and Substack.
