How We Work

Mission, Vision & Core Values

There have been a variety of takes on what the DEF mission is over the last five years. The most recent iteration, which added a vision and set of core values, was put together by the DEF leadership team in November 2017 in order to more clearly communicate what DEF hopes to accomplish and who we both serve and seek to involve.

As with other DEF efforts, this is iterative and represents the most coherent and discrete instantiation to date… but it’s not perfect. The intent is to remain open to those who want to participate and contribute while still serving intrapreneurs in government looking to innovate in ways not currently supported.

Some key questions this brings up:

• How do we implement our core values? Who plays watchdog?

• What do words like “inspire, connect and empower” actually translate to in action?

• Is “promote and enable” a measurable vision? Are we on the right path?

These questions, and others, are continually in mind, and we probably will need new ones soon. What are we missing?

Leadership Team & Decision-Making

Since its start in the fall of 2013, DEF has maintained a leadership team who volunteered to help shape and support the broader organization at a national level. DEF has maintained a board of directors and this leadership team in a variety of ways over the years, and to various ends.

The current instantiation of this model is displayed in the following graphic:

The graphic is purposefully not a hierarchy - although there is certainly tension between broader impact and efficiency and complete flexibility (e.g. “How starfish are we?”), the intent is for DEF to be providing members and Agoras with services, not controlling or dictating things all the time. It is definitely a work in progress.

The DEF leadership team meets weekly to discuss ongoing tasks and projects from each of the key team elements. Since it is a team of teams approach (legitimately), many members serve on multiple teams in a variety of roles. DEF is always looking for people to help in these teams, so if you know someone or are interested yourself (even if you just want to call-in and participate or listen-in), please let us know!

A key issue that we are continuing to iterate on is how these teams support members and local Agoras, particularly when it comes to decision-making. This is the current break-down of where decision-making / ownership lies between national and local groups or leaders:

The intent of this breakdown is to give autonomy while maintaining support. Examples include marketing (which is shared) and engagement (also shared), as well as branding (a national item) and Agora event delivery (determined by local leaders).

We meet each Monday at 8 PM Eastern