Presidential Innovation Fellows

The program focuses on generating measurable results, using innovation techniques from private industry such as Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Agile Development.

[5] In 2015, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order making the Presidential Innovation Fellows program a permanent part of the U.S. federal government.

"[1] On the White House blog, Farmer wrote, “The first five missions include creating common-sense tools for public participation, liberating government data to fuel job growth, giving everyone secure access to their own health information, streamlining the government contracting process for high-growth startups, and getting more bang for our foreign aid buck.”[10] Those interested in the program were invited to visit a webpage that explained the program in the following terms: The Presidential Innovation Fellows program pairs top innovators from the private sector, non-profits, and academia with top innovators in government to collaborate on solutions that aim to deliver significant results in six months.

Each team of innovators works together in-person in Washington, DC on focused sprints while being supported by a broader community of interested citizens throughout the country.

[11] Originally hiring in groups of "classes" or "rounds," in 2015 the Presidential Innovation Fellows program was updated to rolling recruitment to better fit the timing needs of agencies and administration priorities.

However, the White House Fellows program is focused on preparing future national leaders using special assistant roles to top-ranking government officials.

The White House Leadership Development Program is designed to provide senior level federal employees (GS-15 and equivalent) with exposure to cross-agency priority challenges.

[17] On August 20, 2015, President Barack Obama issued an executive order institutionalizing the Presidential Innovation Fellows program as an ongoing part of the U.S. Federal Government.

From now on, Presidential Innovation Fellows will be an integral part of our government.”[6] In 2017, the bipartisan TALENT Act[18] introduced by Kevin McCarthy was passed by Congress, making permanent the PIF program.