Voyagers Program

Voyagers Program

Overview:

The ACT/ IAC Voyagers Program is a mid-level cooperative program between the Information Technology (IT) industry and Federal Government executives. The program will begin in April of 2008 and will feature monthly activities through December. Each Voyager participant will be paired with another Voyager participant, their “co-pilot” for the program, and each pair will be expected to participate in both the structured group activities and the self-study portions of the program. Each pair will consist of one industry and one government participant.

Goals:

The Voyagers Program is a professional development program targeted for GS11 to GS13 (or equivalent) government IT and acquisition professionals and their industry counterparts. The objective of the program is to prepare mid-level managers for their future roles in industry and government. Using the same building blocks which make the ACT/IAC IT Partners Program so successful, the Voyagers Program will help participants

· Examine the changing needs and roles of today’s IT workforce,

· Reinforce proper roles of government and industry,

· Develop leadership and management skills, and

· Provide career development guidance and training on how to network in the changing IT and business environment.

As government and industry employees move more freely between the private and public sector, there is an even greater need to break down barriers between government and industry in a safe, mutually-beneficial environment so that both sides can work within the ethical boundaries of government contracting and achieve the level of communication necessary for mutual success. The Voyagers Program will help participants understand what success looks like through the sharing of best practices and the discussion of how those practices can be integrated and applied to their own jobs.

Selection:

Selection of program participants will be done through a highly selective nomination process. Interested candidates must be nominated by their respective company or agency. Once nominated, each prospective participant must submit an application which will then be screened by a panel of senior executives from government and industry.

Program:

The Voyagers’ course curriculum will be designed to explore a number of developmental activities with guidance and assistance from the program leaders. Activities will cover leadership skill development with topics such as the challenges of program management, contracting options, executive interviews, mentor-protégé assignments, and roundtable discussions with congressional staffs, media representatives, and industry and government officials. Participants will work together with their “co-pilot” and as part of a small group with other participants, but monthly breakfast meetings are scheduled in order to bring the group together to share experiences and focus on specific topics of interest. There are also two offsite meetings, which will take place at the beginning and end of the training sessions. The cost of these offsite meetings is included in the participation fee.

The Voyagers Program will also leverage the cadre of ACT/IAC IT Partners Program alumni – senior leaders in both industry and government who have been through a similar program of learning to partner and work together. The Past Partner Program (P3) will work with the Voyagers Program to provide mentors for the Voyager teams. The Voyagers’ aim is to build a bridge to the next generation workforce of both government and industry, giving them the tools needed to take over the reins of leadership.