The last bill President Obama signed into law sealed the future of his Presidential Innovation Fellowship program. On his last day in office, Obama signed the TALENT Act of 2017, enacting the PIF program permanently into law.
Created in 2012, the program is designed to bring some of the brightest minds in the tech world into public service. The PIFs pitch and complete innovative projects that would help the country while infusing new ways of thinking and doing things into an often slow-to-adapt federal government. Each fellowship lasts between six months and two years depending on project and agency. Though run by the White House and the General Services Administration, fellows are paid by the agency they work with on their projects.
The program did so well that Obama signed an executive order in 2015 to make the program permanent. But, executive orders can always be undone by future presidents. By getting the program into a congressional bill that is now law, the PIF program will continue regardless of who is in the White House.
"As a former telecommunications executive, I know how difficult and bureaucratic it can be for government to adapt to new changes in technology, productivity, and data management," Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), who co-sponsored the Senate version of the law, said in a statement. "I’m pleased that before leaving office President Obama was able to enshrine into law a program that has already helped us in the effort to create an efficient, innovative, and accessible government. I look forward to seeing the lasting impact that the Presidential Innovation Fellows will have in developing a culture of innovation, accountability, and trust in the public sector."
President Obama has built a reputation for being a very technology and innovation friendly president, which signing this bill into law confirms. And previous Fellows have already gone on to be involved in innovative work both in and outside the government.
