Policy career resources

Notes

1. Short chapters with lots of examples and applied tips on how to get things done in government. Most of the tips and tricks and notes on ‘mindset’ apply to policy change. Both authors previously worked on the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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2. Focused on presidential transitions, but a lot of the content is more broadly applicable to policy/government work writ large, with many high-profile former/current government officials telling personal stories (no longer active but has a good archive)

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3. Stories from CNAS staff who previously worked in government (mainly foreign policy/national security) about what their jobs involved (unclear if still active but good archive)

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4. A pedagogical book on how Congress works that is also a good narrative on financial reform (Dodd-Frank) after the Great Recession. Go-to book recommendation on Congress for someone not already familiar with its inner workings.

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5. A more in-depth ‘handbook’-type resource on how Congressional offices work, written primarily for Congressional staffers (though it’s also a useful read for someone interacting with Congress from the outside)

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6. Pedagogical interviews about various aspects of Congressional work, hosted by a former Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyst

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7. Short interviews by Rep. Derek Kilmer with other House members about what their day-to-day is like, typically light/fun conversations (~15 mins) and good for humanizing members of Congress (no longer active but has a decent archive)

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8. Especially useful for a perspective on interagency coordination and mobilizing stakeholders without big financial resources

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9. An overview of executive agency players (both White House and agencies) and some of the main “tools of the trade” (both legal and political), along with case studies of policy change examples (two security and two economic policy examples). Both authors are academics but also have government experience.

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10. Edited volume with chapters on many national security-related departments/agencies (DOW, State, IC, NSC, etc.), almost entirely written by people who actually worked in those places. Not only focused on formal authorities/activities but also on institutional history and culture.

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11. Go-to introduction on regulatory policy, covering the relevant steps in the regulatory process, key players, legal issues (when does a policy change require action by Congress and when can the executive branch act unilaterally?), etc.

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12. Good deep dive into OMB, one of the most powerful and less-known parts of the White House/executive branch (coordinates nearly all executive branch regulations and budgeting).

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13. A good overview of the think tank world, though it also has some non-US content that is not particularly relevant to DC (most countries’ think tank ecosystems are pretty different from the US).

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14. Focused on advocacy in Congress—the author is/was a Congressional staffer—but also covers some executive branch territory.

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15. A good overview of the roles of states in the US federal system, useful for any policy issue where states are key players (as originators that can inspire federal policy, as implementers of federal policy, as potential blockers to federal policy, etc.).

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