The Education of the New Public Executive

In order to make the Government more responsive, to provide public services at lower costs, and to translate policy objectives into more effectively implemented programs, future public executives need to be developed. The Presidential Management Intern Career Development Program was created to help develop such future management personnel. Key skills which future public executives will need are: better capability to plan, analyze, and evaluate programs; understanding of the importance of these management tools and some skill in their application; and an appreciation of both the values and the limits of such tools. The management of large-scale Government organizations will require creative risk-taking leaders who possess a combination of the planning, analysis, and evaluation skills with public service values. The successful Government manager must understand the total context of the specific actions for which he or she is responsible. The 2-year intern program is designed to bridge the gap between academic and work experience and to help develop potential future Federal executives capable of functioning within the new Federal Senior Executive Service.