OES Evaluation Fellowship

OES Evaluation Fellowships begin in the fall of each year. Selected applicants will serve their one-year fellowship term as Evaluators, joining a team of interdisciplinary experts at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) that works across government to help agencies build and use evidence.

Our team members work alongside agency collaborators to apply evidence-based insights, make concrete recommendations on how to improve government, and evaluate impact using administrative data. We’re uniquely situated at the center of government to share leading practices, develop resources, and build skills related to evidence and evaluation in the federal workforce. To date, we’ve completed over 130 collaborations, including over 100 impact evaluations, with dozens of agency partners. We follow the best practices in social science research to build evidence in order to be a leader in transparency and accountability. We form innovative partnerships to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and abroad, such as decreasing abandonment of calls to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, increasing access to grants for child care providers, and improving government efficiency.

Fellows join the OES team on-loan from academic, nonprofit, or government offices on either a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis, and have come from a variety of universities, non-profits, and federal departments. There is additional flexibility for federal employees applying for a rotational detail.

Submit an application

The application deadline for the Fall 2025 Evaluation Fellowship has passed. Applications for the Fall 2026 Evaluation Fellowship will be accepted on an ongoing basis and will remain on file until selection begins in January 2026. Eligible applicants may be considered for additional opportunities on an as-needed basis.

Apply now

If you are not able to access the Google Forms application, please email oes@gsa.gov for a PDF document to fill out.

The work and role of OES is unique and includes directly designing, implementing, and analyzing evidence-based interventions through impact evaluations in a large-scale federal policy environment. OES Evaluators apply promising interventions at a national scale, reach millions of people, and work closely with key decision makers in government. Evaluators design and direct high-impact evaluations, author academic publications, work on portfolios shaped by agency priorities, and benefit from a dynamic team and flexible federal work environment. Learn about former OES Evaluators’ experiences on our blog and view the 2025 solicitation (PDF) for more details on the position and the typical applicant profile.

Eligibility

Employees of state, local, or Tribal governments, academic institutions, or non-profit organizations are eligible to join the team via the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Mobility Program. Fellows joining OES through the IPA are not federal employees. OES fellows have come from a variety of universities, non-profits, and government agencies.

Current federal employees can join the team on a temporary, reimbursable detail assignment via an Interagency Agreement (IAA), with negotiable start dates and lengths of assignments (minimum of six months). We’ve had federal employees join the team as detailees from agencies including Treasury, HUD, USDA, DOL, and ED, and have hosted Presidential Management Fellows for rotations as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Applications received after the most recent Evaluation Fellowship (Fall 2025) application window will be considered for the following year's Evaluation Fellowship (Fall 2026). OES will begin selecting candidates for the next Evaluation Fellowship in January 2026. Eligible applicants may also be contacted regarding additional opportunities on an as-needed basis.

OES recruits individuals for this position at different levels of education and experience:

  • Associate Evaluators typically have a master's degree and 2-4 years of relevant experience in a social or behavioral science field (e.g., economics, psychology, political science, statistics, sociology, public policy, business, etc.).
  • Evaluators typically have a master’s degree and 5-7 years of relevant experience.
  • Senior Evaluators typically have a master’s degree and 8 or more years of experience.

When determining which role they are applying for, candidates who are currently enrolled in a doctoral program may substitute education for 1 year of relevant experience. Those with a doctoral degree may substitute education for 2 years of relevant experience.

This is a detail opportunity through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Mobility Program for employees of eligible organizations. The IPA requires a state, local, or Tribal government; academic institution; or non-profit organization to finance the employee and administer their salary/stipend, benefits, and (if applicable) visa. OES then reimburses the home institution for any allowable costs. Those joining OES via the IPA remain employees of their organization and are not federal employees. You can find more information about the IPA in the OES IPA toolkit or on the OPM website. If you have not yet verified what organization you will be affiliated with next year, we encourage you to still apply to the fellowship. We plan to discuss candidates' intended IPA institutions during the final interview. Note that current federal employees can join OES on detail from their agency via an Interagency Agreement (IAA).

Through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Mobility Program, those selected for the position will continue to be paid by their host institution, and OES will reimburse the institution for the direct costs associated with your rotation. OES will reimburse institutions up to the following limits:

  • Associate Evaluators: Up to $125,000 for the employee’s salary and benefits, with additional reimbursement for travel and remote work expenses, per year of full-time work.
  • Evaluators: Up to $155,000 for the employee’s salary and benefits per year of full-time work.
  • Senior Evaluators: Up to $180,000 for the employee’s salary and benefits per year of full-time work.

For amounts that exceed these reimbursement caps, cost-sharing arrangements will be determined with individual institutions. Current federal employees will continue to be paid by their agency, with reimbursement to the agency determined under an Interagency Agreement (IAA). Please note that this is not a temporary promotion opportunity.

As needed, OES will post vacancies for other IPA-eligible positions on this page. We will also link to any federal vacancies, which must be applied to through USAJOBS.

No, we encourage candidates that have authorization for employment or course-of-study-related work in the United States to apply. You can find more information on the OPM website. The Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement (IPA), requires a state, local, or Tribal government; academic institution; or non-profit organization to finance the employee and administer their salary/stipend, benefits, and visa, and allows for the onboarding of non-residents and non-citizens.

To see our past work, please visit our evaluations page and portfolios page.

An ideal writing sample would demonstrate three things:

  • the ability to conduct rigorous research
  • knowledge of the relevant subject matter area
  • precision, conciseness, and clarity in writing.

An academic paper (working or published) that you personally wrote is most helpful, as are any shorter pieces you might have written for a broader audience (such as a memo or blog).

Those selected for the position will undergo a briefing with the GSA Office of General Counsel to identify and mitigate any conflicts of interest arising from active grants or other obligations. From a time commitment perspective, while schedules at OES are flexible, please let us know during the selection process whether your ongoing work prevents you from serving at OES in a full-time capacity.