Nearly $100 Million in Funding to Improve Federal Tech Hiring, Advance Public Interest Tech

Growing the federal government’s pool of tech talent is a priority of the Biden Administration.

Now the administration announced $96 million in commitments from government, academia, and civil society to improve tech hiring, and ultimately “grow and enable the public interest technology ecosystem.”

The commitments were announced by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).  

“We have a lot of tremendous talent within government that needs to figure out how to use AI, to wrangle it, to upscale and be able to really put it to work,” said OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar. “But we also need fresh perspectives, fresh technology expertise and fresh expertise on how these technologies get used and implemented so that we can both regulate and manage it intelligently and effectively and then also put it to use for public purposes.”

Funding Details

The funding will come from nearly 20 entities.

The largest amount is $48 million. It’s coming from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

·      $32 million will be used to expand the Experiential Learning in Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) program, which supports “inclusive experiential learning opportunities for diverse learners to succeed in emerging technology fields.”

·      At least $16 million will be provided to the Responsible Design, Development, and Deployment of Technologies (ReDDDoT) program. The program aims to “ensure ethical, legal, community, and societal considerations are embedded in the lifecycle of technology’s creation.”

Also on the agency side, the Department of Defense, with support from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and OSTP, will launch a Trusted Advisors Pilot program. The program will create a pool of AI and other tech experts that can be tapped by various agencies for hiring needs. The advisors will also be used to support implementation of President Biden’s executive order on AI.

Philanthropy, Foundations Step Up

Other major funders include the Ford Foundation, which is dedicating more than $20 million to advance public interest technology, and the Siegel Family Endowment, which is dedicating $20 million.

$1.5 million of the Ford donation will focus on academia and establishing a public interest technology institute at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), as well as supporting academics focusing on AI and civil rights.

The Siegel donation includes $10 million to develop a national infrastructure for technology talent and field coordination programs.

In addition, The Ford Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Pivotal, and Siegel Family Endowment are jointly contributing $7 million to programs that strengthen pathways into public service, such as Coding it Forward and the Center for Inclusive Computing at Northeastern University.

Other academic partners include Georgetown University, the University of Michigan, and New York University.