The Biden Administration, in a collaboration between the General Services Administration, the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, announced the U.S. Digital Corps, a new two-year fellowship that will recruit early-career technologists to contribute to high-impact efforts across the federal government. This program will work to advance the Administration priorities of coronavirus response, economic recovery, cybersecurity, and streamlining government services.
The U.S. Digital Corps will recruit Americans with skill sets in software engineering, data science, design, cybersecurity, and other critical technology fields to kickstart their careers in federal service. The Digital Corps will launch this fall with 30 fellows expected to begin work in FY22 at more than five agencies across the federal government. Initial host agencies include GSA, Veterans Affairs, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“Technology enables mission delivery across government. To provide best-in-class service delivery, agencies must have the right combination of workforce talent in place as their existing personnel accelerate towards retirement. The U.S. Digital Corps is a forward-looking solution that will build a deep bench for technology modernization and digital transformation across the federal government and meet the Biden Administration’s goals of advancing federal IT and cybersecurity,” said Clare Martorana, Federal Chief Information Officer, White House Office of Management and Budget.
“One of my priorities is building a pipeline of diverse talent to GSA and recruiting the next generation of public servants,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan. “The Digital Corps fellowship offers technologists just starting out in their career the opportunity to work on some of the most pressing challenges that we face and develop innovative solutions that make government work better for the American people.”
“OPM is excited to support the U.S. Digital Corps as one facet of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to rebuilding, reenergizing, and diversifying the federal workforce. Investing in our workforce is key to assisting agencies in delivering on priorities like COVID-19 response, climate, racial equity, and economic recovery,” said Kiran Ahuja, OPM Director.
“The federal government has so many important and exciting problems to solve — in science, in technology, in digital innovation — that affect the daily lives of millions of people across America. I’m thrilled to see the creation of the U.S. Digital Corps as a way to give early-career people from all backgrounds the opportunity to serve the country, make a difference, and be a part of something bigger than themselves,” said Dr. Eric Lander, the President’s Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The U.S. Digital Corps will be located within GSA’s Technology Transformation Services. The program seeks to complement existing fellowships and term-limited roles, including the Presidential Innovation Fellows, Presidential Management Fellows, and the U.S. Digital Service. It will recruit passionate, mission-driven technologists from leading undergraduate programs as well as alternative training pathways such as apprenticeships, bootcamps, and certificate programs, to build a highly skilled U.S. Digital Corps that represents the diversity of the United States, including along the lines of gender, race, and ethnicity.
Applications for the first cohort of U.S. Digital Corps fellows will open this fall. More information is available at digitalcorps.gsa.gov.
