Supporting, Celebrating, and Inspiring Service: A look at the new National Commission report
After two and a half years of extensive research, public hearings, and conversations with Americans across the country, the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service has released its final report, Inspired to Serve.
What is today known as PACE was originally known as the Grantmakers Forum for Community and National Service and was organized around the core belief that service — giving of oneself for purposes greater than oneself — is a fundamental value of American democracy and a value that should be supported and celebrated. While PACE’s mission and focus has expanded over time, service and volunteerism remain a core part of our DNA. Our approach to democracy posits that strengthening and supporting voluntary associations in civil society is a co-equal priority to upholding and protecting the values, systems, norms, and institutions of representative government. Both of these tenants are enriched by Americans answering the call to service and working for the common good — whether it be conducted through military, civil, government, or community channels.
The Commission envisions an America where “every individual will be exposed to service opportunities throughout their lifetime, beginning with young people experiencing robust civic education and service learning during elementary, middle, and high school. With significant growth in the number and kinds of service opportunities, a service year will become a new rite of passage to adulthood, intensive service opportunities for young adults and mid-career professionals will abound, and new and innovative ways to engage older Americans in service to their communities and Nation will be available for all those who want to serve.”
To realize this vision, the Commission offers 164 recommendations addressing civic education, the federal workforce, national service programs, military service, and the selective service system. Most are directed at the White House, Congress, and other government leaders and agencies, though among them are several where there may be a unique role for public-private partnerships and philanthropic leadership to help advance, such as:
Create a Civic Education Fund and a Service-Learning Fund. While the report calls for Congress to do this, we’re already seeing philanthropic partnerships emerge to complement public funds with ones from the private and philanthropic sectors. One such effort is currently in development in Massachusetts, where private funders have already committed $250,000 (and growing) to complement a $1.5 million Trust established by the government.
Increase Private-Sector Investment in National Service. Many national service programs are structured as public-private partnerships and philanthropic institutions can create service year experiences at nonprofits to complement the government-allotted positions. Philanthropic institutions can also pledge to hire military, national, and public service alumni, as well as enhance and expand service opportunities for their employees, grantees, and partners.
Establish Education Pipelines to Public Service. Education and leadership development that instills the values of servant leadership and inspires a commitment to public service are and will remain critical — not only for those who pursue government and civil service careers, but to ensure servant leadership principles are present in all sectors throughout society. Foundations can cultivate this spirit of civic leadership, whether through education delivery or in-service programs, and model those qualities in their own institutional leadership and practice as well.
It’s worth noting that last year’s Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy also included civic education as core part of the recommendations, even though to some people, it might not seem like a direct through-line to the topic at hand. However, both Commissions have recognized and acknowledged that the interventions they call for could only be realized with access to quality civic education as a foundational underpinning. That is, building civic knowledge, skills, dispositions, and agency is what makes democratic participation possible, and is what civic learning is designed to do. Further, the Knight Commission included national service as one of its recommendations, which helps showcase the interconnectedness and importance of all different types of civic engagement in creating a democracy that is trusted, informed, and engaged, and communities that are strong and representative in the process.
Right now, the world is in the early throes of a public health emergency as we grapple with COVID-19 and its implications on our lives — both near-term and long-lasting. Calls to service have often been issued by leaders as a rallying cry in times of great crisis and uncertainty, and this will likely not be an exception. Further, at a time when people are being asked to observe physical distancing measures, it’s worth considering how we maintain a sense of social cohesion and emotional connection in the process. Perhaps service could be one tool to respond, recover, and rebuild — not only our communities, but our bonds to each other, and to further instill a sense of purpose and belief that individual action for common good is a big part of what our American experiment in democracy is all about.
