Governor's Science and Technology Fellowship

The Governor's Science and Technology Fellowship is seeking talented, passionate individuals who have a drive to help make Pennsylvania a better place to live and want to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

This fellowship is open to recent college graduates with advanced degrees and gives you the opportunity to strengthen the Commonwealth's workforce, as the Shapiro Administration works to encourage more Pennsylvanians to pursue public service.

The Governor's Science and Technology Fellowship is a one-year program designed to attract master's or doctorate-level candidates into STEM careers in state agencies. Throughout the program, fellows will participate in leadership development training and have opportunities to attend events with the private and public sector leaders. After completing the fellowship, participants may be offered a permanent position with a state agency. The program allows aspiring professionals to serve with the state's top executive leaders.

Fellows will have the opportunity to improve the overall effectiveness of state government by serving as a key member of an agency and working on one of seven projects that align with Governor Shapiro's priorities.

Please review the projects in the Supplemental Questions Section and select the top three projects for which you are interested. (Please note that this is to survey your interest and does not guarantee final placement in your preferred agency or project.)

Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) - Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance Program

The Department of Community & Economic Development is seeking a Fellow to provide additional needed support for our small and small, diverse business program development efforts. Pennsylvania is home to more than a million small businesses with the potential for growth and expansion. This Fellow will have the opportunity to develop strategies and programming to meet the goals and objectives of PA's Ten-Year Economic Development Strategy with a particular focus on expanding support for small businesses as a means of investing in our economic growth to compete in the competitive economic landscape. PA is actively exploring ways to expand access to capital for small and small, diverse businesses, providing more opportunities for these businesses to access procurement opportunities with the state, and create an environment that encourages entrepreneurship. This Fellow will have the opportunity to be part of the pilot Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance (HDBA) program attempting to develop a coordinated statewide approach using regional and local capacity building to provide personalized support to small, diverse business owners in the full life cycle of starting and operating a business in PA. Utilizing the existing Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) model, new programming such as HDBA, and legacy programming like our Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority (PMBDA), and the Small Business First program through the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA), this Fellow will explore and develop opportunities to improve business development and support services, capital access, and more for small and small, diverse businesses.

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) - C2P2 Grant Program

DCNR's Bureau of Recreation and Conservation provides grants to communities across the Commonwealth for recreation and conservation. This program provides $50-60 million annually to help improve community recreation opportunities and conservation initiatives. The primary purpose of hiring a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Fellow for our grant program is to leverage advanced spatial analysis and mapping capabilities to enhance the management of the grant program, reporting, and visualization of grant-funded projects. The GIS Fellow will utilize ArcGIS Online to develop interactive web maps that provide dynamic and user-friendly representations of grant investments, project locations, progress, and program outcomes. This role is crucial in ensuring accurate data collection, analysis, and dissemination, ultimately supporting data-driven decision-making and transparent communication. By integrating GIS technology, we aim to improve efficiency, foster collaboration, and drive impactful results across all grant initiatives. This project is a tremendous opportunity to help build a new interactive GIS dataset that will be critical to program improvements and impactful for citizens across the Commonwealth. This experience will be a huge resume builder and provide invaluable experience working in state government, doing analysis, collecting input, and helping to synthesize everything into a coherent impactful program. This Fellow will be tackling real-world challenges related to GIS and finding innovative solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness. They will be given the opportunity to oversee a project from inception to implementation, including planning, coordination, and execution phases.

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) - Untold Stories Project

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is committed to enhancing the information and programming provided in state parks and forests to be more inclusive. Untold Stories are part of our public land's history that is unacknowledged - contributions that people of color, women, and other underrepresented groups have made to our society, economy, and culture that have been left out. The goal of DCNR's Untold Stories work is to provide the public with a better understanding of the rich cultural history and stories, impact, and experiences of underrepresented groups on public lands. To advance this project, DCNR created an Untold Stories Subcommittee to streamline the sharing, discussing, and brainstorming of stories and create a repository of work. However, the efforts of the subcommittee alone is not enough to fully realize the potential of this important project. A fellow will help DCNR to expand its efforts by working with staff and stakeholders to increase the scope, number of stories, and range of represented groups by co-leading our agency efforts to develop and implement a five-year project plan. The Untold Stories Project is a key focus area of DCNR's DEIB Strategic Priority. DCNR is committed to taking intentional action to ensure that DCNR lands are welcoming to all people. There is well-documented underrepresentation of women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), disabled, and LGBTQ people in outdoor spaces and in the history of public lands. DCNR is taking intentional action to overcome barriers to enjoying outdoor spaces, such as language, transportation, physical accessibility, and experiences (e.g. sensory trails). DCNR shares stories of Pennsylvania's lands to help visitors feel a connection. We are learning through our research and happenstance that there is rich, untold cultural history that can help diverse communities feel a special connection to the land. Expanding our Untold Stories Project will help us meet this commitment.

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) - Improve the Pennsylvania Environmental Justice Mapping and Screening Tool (PennEnviroScreen)

A Fellow in this position would serve as a resource for data analysis, user experience, and technology outreach for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). Specifically, we seek are seeking a Fellow to help improve the Pennsylvania Environmental Justice Mapping and Screening Tool (PennEnviroScreen). Depending on the expertise of the Fellow, other projects related to impactful data analysis could be developed. This Fellow would help with some or all of the following: analyzing data from throughout DEP through an EJ lens, creating story-based products to motivate change, and otherwise enhancing the accessibility and usability of DEP's PennEnviroScreen. In the wake of federal government funding cuts to GIS for Environmental Justice, this work is even more critical at the Commonwealth level. The current Interim Final Environmental Justice Policy (EJ Policy) was adopted on September 16, 2023, to update the Environmental Justice Enhanced Public Participation Policy which had been in effect since 2004 based on recommendations from the Environmental Justice Work Group Report from 2001. The interim final policy introduced the Pennsylvania Environmental Justice Mapping and Screening Tool (PennEnviroScreen) to help analyze and map EJ concerns throughout Pennsylvania and identify EJ Areas where the EJ Policy would apply. Throughout the public comment period and since, stakeholders within DEP, partner agencies, the legislature, industry, community-based organizations, and the general public have all expressed two ideas. One, PennEnviroScreen is a powerful tool. Two, it also needs more support to help people use it given its complexity and the nature of GIS frameworks. The Environmental Justice Advisory Board has begun to consider how it might create an advisory group specifically for data transparency and equity to make recommendations to DEP. This effort will build on the feedback already gathered to further improve the data used by the tool as well as its accessibility and utility.

Department of Health (DOH) - Bridging the Funding Gap Dashboard Design

The primary purpose of this project is to provide a full view of the current funding of the department and identify potential opportunities to address funding for the Department of Health - the state's public health agency. State public health agencies face significant challenges due to insufficient funding, which impacts the delivery of essential services and the ability to respond to public health emergencies. Currently, the agency lacks a comprehensive system that tracks and analyzes funding data, which leads to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for resource optimization. This project addresses these gaps by providing the agency with tools and insights to: evaluate current funding utilization; identify funding gaps, potential reallocations, and funding opportunities; as well as enhance fiscal decision-making to align with strategic priorities. This proposal outlines actionable steps that can be supervised by the Chief Financial Officer as part of a larger strategic, interdisciplinary approach, to mitigate the risks of insufficient funding and maximize opportunities for securing funding to support essential public health programs in the state associated with insufficient funding. The department will establish a Multidisciplinary Task Group to address and prioritize funding needs across the agency. This group will be responsible for assessing funding gaps, coordinating activities to align funding strategies with agency goals, and ensuring compliance with federal and state funding requirements. Additionally, this group will identify opportunities for collaboration and resource sharing while documenting, assessing, and prioritizing past and anticipated challenges, as well as funding needs spanning the past, present, and future. To remain responsive to emerging challenges and opportunities, this group will regularly evaluate data sources, metrics, and strategies, making necessary adjustments to align with the Department of Health's (DOH) strategic plan and health improvement objectives. Members of the Task Group will represent all programs and levels of the agency, as directed by executive leadership. The Fellow will play a key role in supporting the Task Group. This will involve researching, collecting, and aggregating data to inform the group's work. The Fellow will attend Task Group meetings and coordinate smaller, targeted meetings with staff across the agency to gather the information needed for decision-making. By assisting in documenting and analyzing data, the Fellow will help the Task Group achieve its objectives efficiently and effectively. The Fellow will contribute to the development of a comprehensive Multi-Year Spending Plan and Funding Dashboard to be leveraged by the Task Group. The spending plan will outline measurable goals, benchmarks, and contingency plans for addressing funding shortfalls. It will also establish processes and procedures for assessing funding data, such as analyzing current and historical funding availability, comparing budgets to actual spending, identifying funding gaps, and exploring opportunities for reallocating resources. The dashboard will document challenges and roadblocks while providing an overview of financial data that aligns with the agency's strategic priorities and public health objectives. Regular updates and evaluations will ensure the dashboard remains relevant and useful for decision-making. The Fellow's responsibilities in this process will include researching and compiling data for use in the spending plan and dashboard. The Fellow will propose methods for presenting current and historical funding data and recommend key metrics for tracking funding performance. They will draft sample versions of the plan and dashboard based on input from the Task Group, making edits and adjustments as needed throughout the process. Additionally, the Fellow will engage with staff at all levels of the department, attending workgroup meetings and conducting one-on-one sessions to refine and enhance the outputs. The outcomes of this initiative will include the diversification of funding sources and improved financial oversight within the agency. By implementing tools and processes to analyze, manage, and maximize resources, the agency will foster proactive, data-driven planning to address funding gaps and challenges. The initiative will promote a unified strategy for resource allocation that integrates cross-departmental input and collaboration. Ultimately, these efforts will align funding allocation with the agency's priorities, enhancing its ability to achieve its mission and public health objectives.

Department of Health (DOH) - Drugs, Devices, and Cosmetics Program

This project focuses on revitalizing the Drugs, Devices, and Cosmetics (DDC) program within the Quality Assurance Deputate, by evaluating and completing a process improvement plan. The initiative aligns with the Commonwealth's strategic goals for enhancing operational efficiency through technology integration and process modernization. DDC programs relies on outdated technology and manual processes, creating inefficiencies in regulatory oversight and stakeholder engagement. This fellowship offers a unique opportunity to modernize these systems, ensuring the program remains responsive to current and emerging needs, an effective use of staff time and regulatory standards for timeliness. The selected Fellows will conduct a comprehensive assessment of existing processes and systems; develop and validate a detailed process improvement roadmap and project plan for approval; oversee phased implementation of process improvements; provide comprehensive training to staff on new systems and processes; and finalize all changes and measure outcomes to ensure long-term sustainability. A successful outcome for this fellowship will be the implementation of user-friendly intuitive processes that result in a reduction in the timelines to process licenses and applications, and an increase in responsiveness to customers while reducing staff burden.

Department of Transportation (PennDOT) - Strategic Use of Data Analytics to Enhance Technology

The focus of this PennDOT fellowship is to advise leadership on how to make data driven decisions necessary for performance measurements, organizational reviews, re-engineering, and benchmarking in order to improve performance. Through the evaluation and implementation of program enhancements, the accuracy and quality of public facing data will improve, in a meaningful and understandable format. In addition, this position will work collaboratively with IT staff and all Deputates to create engagement tools for the public to offer information, ideas, and/or feedback. This position works closely with the Deputy for Administration to guide the development of the Department's business plan and strategic plan processes. Success factors will be related to increasing the public visibility of information related to programs such as SAP Project Office, the Office of Equitable Transportation, Grants, Planning, and Communications. This includes ease and accessibility of information. The project is collaborative and will occur in a team environment including staff from the Deputy for Administration's Office, OA-IT staff assigned to PennDOT, and the Bureau of Innovations. Analysis of data collected, presentation of findings, and suggestions to leadership based on analysis will be completed independently. The fellow will gain an in-depth understanding of data requirements for transportation needs, strategic use of data to plan the mission and direction of an organization, and how technology enhancements and/or technology transfer projects are critical to the infrastructure and planning of programs and projects.

Work Schedule and Additional Information:

• Full-time employment
• Work schedule is Monday - Friday. Work hours will be discussed at the time of the job offer.
• Telework: You may have the opportunity to work from home (telework) part-time, up to 2 days per week. In order to telework, you must have a securely configured high-speed internet connection and work from an approved location inside Pennsylvania. If you are unable to telework, you will have the option to report to the headquarters office in Harrisburg.
• Salary: In some cases, the starting salary may be non-negotiable.
• You will receive further communication regarding this position via email. Check your email, including spam/junk folders, for these notices.

QUALIFICATIONS

Fellowship Requirements:

• Possession of a master's degree or higher degree between December 2020 and August 2025.

Additional Requirements:

Preferred Qualifications (not required):

Essay Question:

• As part of the application process, please attach a response to the following question. Your response should not exceed two pages.
  • Select a current issue confronting Pennsylvania that relates to your experience or education and develop a brief summary of the issue and any innovative solutions that you would consider for addressing it.

Legal Requirements:

How to Apply:

• Your application must include a cover letter, resume, two professional or academic reference letters, unofficial college transcripts, and an essay submission.
• Upload your reference letters and include as attachments to this application. It is not permissible for the individuals submitting reference letters on your behalf to do so themselves.
• Your application must be submitted by the posting closing date. Late applications and other required materials will not be accepted.
• If you are claiming education in your answers to the supplemental application questions, you must attach a copy of your college transcripts for your claim to be accepted toward meeting the minimum requirements. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
• Failure to comply with the above application requirements may eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Veterans:

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS):

If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodations due to a disability, please discuss your request for accommodations with the interviewer in advance of your interview date.

The Commonwealth is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. The Commonwealth values inclusion as we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most qualified people to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, disability, or any other categories protected by applicable federal or state law. All diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.