Convergence

This grant will support the creation by the Convergence Center on Policy Resolution of an open-ended, multiyear initiative to convene and cultivate a roundtable to explore what it will take to transform the civil service to meet the needs of the 21st century. The roundtable will serve as an incubator for thought leaders, scholars, practitioners, nonprofit influencers, labor leaders, and congressional and agency stakeholders. Convergence will use virtual, hybrid, and in-person convenings not less than quarterly for informal discussions across diverse perspectives to germinate, investigate, develop — and occasionally circulate — ideas about the future federal career workforce, including proposals to transform the system and to attract, retain, and develop talented and diverse career public servants of the future.

The Convergence Center on Policy Resolution convenes people and groups with divergent views to build trust, identify solutions, and form alliances for action on critical issues. Currently, Convergence dialogues support America’s recovery from the country’s cascading crises. Convergence bolsters its dialogues’ impact and collaborative problem solving by strengthening the broader field of bridge-building and helping Congress increase its effectiveness and cross-partisan collaboration. In all of its activities, Convergence leverages its unique methodology to drive consensus solutions across political, ideological, sectoral, and other divides, as well as to push back against the tide of toxic polarization.

Convergence convenes people and groups with divergent views to build trust, identify solutions, and form alliances for action on critical national issues. Work in the last three years has expanded to include efforts to deepen relationships in and increase the effectiveness of Congress, to develop and promote proposals for budget process reform within Congress, and to research new projects on issues of public concern, such as the role of the media in polarization.