Volcker Alliance G2U Initiative

G2U Overview

The Government-to-University Initiative (G2U) is a partnership with The Volcker Alliance to build sustainable connections between government and universities to respond to high-need areas of government. G2U was built on the premise that the performance of our government institutions depends significantly on the training and education of talented public servants.

G2U has three primary objectives: (1) to cultivate a vital talent pipeline into the public sector workforce; (2) to ensure that the workforce has the skills to meet public sector challenges; and (3) to provide answers to government’s top priority research questions.

Pittsburgh Regional Coalition

In fall 2019, Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Metro21 and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy were chosen to lead the Volcker Alliance’s newest G2U Regional Coalition in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh region has many universities, with a potential to provide highly trained and sought-after students, and the goal of the Pittsburgh G2U Regional Coalition will be to match those students with the government's demand on the state, federal, local and county levels.

Pittsburgh G2U Regional Coalition is pursuing opportunities to better prepare and strengthen the pipeline of talent from local universities into government and explore approaches to systematizing research exchanges focused on solving pressing government operational and management issues.

Working Groups

In March 2020, the PGH G2U Steering Committee had its inaugural meeting, with robust discussions around interests, needs, and pain points regarding the challenges of building the talent pipeline into the public sector and for strengthening research collaboration. After prioritizing and reviewing six potential projects that could help the regional coalition quickly build traction and deliver value, the committee decided to initially focus on these projects:

1. Launch a Public Service Messaging Campaign
   • Goal:  Increase awareness of the value and full spectrum of job opportunities in government among college and university students and recent graduates in the Pittsburgh Region.
   • In February 2021, the G2UPGH Instagram account was launched, highlighting individuals who work and career opportunities available in the public sector.
   • In June 2021, The Volcker Alliance spotlighted the G2UPGH Instagram project.

1. Hold “Intel Sharing” convenings between career services and government hiring managers
   • Goal: Provide university career services leaders and government hiring managers with the information needed to guide students through successfully finding and applying for government jobs.
   • View our first webinar, "Matching High-Need Government Jobs with Highly Skilled Students." 
   • View our second webinar, "Matching Students to Careers in Public Health and Social Services."
   • View our third webinar, "Pursuing Public Service: A Conversation with G2U PGH Instagram Stars."

For the press release on the Pittsburgh G2U Regional Coalition, click here.

To see what other G2U Regional Coalitions are working on, click here.