If you have been impacted by the recent federal layoffs, we’re here to help. Losing a job involuntarily is shocking and disturbing. That’s why Power at Work and our partners at InnovateUS have curated a set of free training resources designed to help you build new skills and knowledge to prepare for re-entering the job market, whether in the public sector or elsewhere.
InnovateUS is created by and for public service professionals. We believe those in the public sector are always doing more with less - not just in government but in our own careers and communities. Making government more efficient isn't just about cutting costs or slashing jobs—it's about making government work better and more efficiently for the American people.
Your public service experience, skills, and knowledge are valuable - we'll help you add in-demand skills that may open new opportunities.
InnovateUS offers free, high-quality training and resources to help you sharpen your skills in artificial intelligence (AI), data, and digital innovation. Whether you're looking to pivot into public service at the state or local level, or simply want to build on your professional expertise, we are here to support you.
Courses
Our at-your-own-paced courses are deep dives into topics such as AI and Human-Centered Design.
With our Innovation Skills Accelerator, you can learn to deliver more effective and equitable services – skills valued across employment sectors. If you take our Human-Centered Design course, you’ll learn concepts like empathy interviewing, journey maps, and personas to master a framework that is increasingly essential in both public and private organizations.
With recent advancements in AI changing how public institutions work, it’s crucial for public servants to have an understanding of these technologies, their abilities and limitations. We have three courses tailored to public-sector professionals about how these emerging technologies will impact your work in government. Responsible AI for Public Professionals: Using Generative AI at Work will help you gain practical GenAI experience that organizations are urgently seeking. With Responsible AI for Public Professionals: Scaling AI in Your Organization, you will learn how to design and build an AI project responsibly. Finally, What Works: Fast Field Scanning with AI teaches learners how to identify and implement evidence-based solutions faster using AI.
Workshops
InnovateUS hosts weekly workshops on a range of innovation, data, digital, and AI skills taught by leading public service experts and designed to promote using new skills. We have a library of over 100 recorded workshops on these topics. Our workshops provide clear learning objectives that participants can immediately apply to their work, use real-world examples from government settings, and provide interactive discussion opportunities. Our presenters are leading practitioners and thought leaders in their fields, bringing both theoretical knowledge and practical experience to each session.
Check out some of our past workshop recordings below:
Artificial Intelligence
What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference
Instructors: Arvind Narayanan, Professor at Princeton University & Director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, and Beth Simone Noveck, Founder of InnovateUS and Chief AI Strategist, New Jersey
Accessing AI Safely: Setting up an AI “Sandbox”
Instructors: Santiago Garces, Chief Innovation Officer, City of Boston, and Dave Cole, Chief Innovation Officer, The State of New Jersey
Implementation and Public Service Delivery
Adopting the Product Model in the Public Sector: Introduction to the Product Model (Part 1)
Instructors: Ann Lewis, Former Director of Technology Transformation Services (TTS), U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and Lynn Overmann, Executive Director, the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University
Executing Change Part 1: Introduction to the Results Framework
Instructor: Steve Kadish, Former Chief of Staff, Governor Charlie Baker
Solution Identification
Crisis Engineering for Public Officials
Instructors: Mikey Dickerson, Founder, U.S. Digital Service, Matthew Weaver, Former US Digital Service, Rogue Leader
Make Bureaucracy Work for You
Instructor: Marina Nitze, New Practice Lab Fellow, New America
Power at Work
Power At Work has proudly published commentary and analysis critically examining the impact of the federal-sector layoffs on workers and worker power in the federal government:
In the sixth blogcast of Power At Work’s series “What Could Happen Under Trump?” Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by President Doreen Greenwald of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) to discuss the attack on the rights of federal workers by the Trump administration.
How Tech Oligarchs Are Using AI Hype to Push Mass Layoffs
Recent job cuts in the federal government show how AI hype is being used to justify mass layoffs. Through collective action, workers are showing that AI's impact isn't predetermined by technology – it can be shaped through worker power.
But we will realize it is not enough to analyze and critique. So, we want to help. This partnership between Power At Work and InnovateUS, under the broad umbrella of the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University, is one way we can help a group of workers we believe will benefit from the services we are able to provide.
This piece is cross-posted with Power at Work.
