It’s a bold tech program pushed by the president himself, and it has successfully cycled some 100 early- to mid-career tech innovators into government. A few have stayed on, taking leadership roles throughout government, and the program was recently made permanent by executive order.
But are agencies paying too much for the help they’re getting?
The Presidential Innovation Fellows program, managed by the General Services Administration, bills the agencies to which it sends fellows (known around D.C. as “PIFs”). The rate has changed periodically, and on Oct. 1 increased to $205 per hour. PIFs themselves pocket a healthy GS-15 step 1 salary, which is just over $100,000 annually. But that works out to roughly $50 per hour. Add in health insurance (PIFs are eligible for federal employee health benefits) and you’re still looking at more than half of the hourly rate going to program overhead, not the PIFs.The disconnect between what PIFs are making and what the program is charging has sparked concerns — and possibly an official investigation.
