Research Methods

From January through April 2025, we interviewed 17 individuals involved in P3’s design and implementation. Interviewees included current and former officials at the ED, DOL, and OMB. We also spoke with site leaders and evaluators from five pilots in the first round of P3, as well as an external technical assistance provider. These 60-minute conversations had either one or, in the case of some discussions with pilot sites, two interviewees. They were conducted by two New America staff members via Zoom.

We also reviewed over a dozen publications on P3, including national and site evaluations, notices inviting P3 applications published in the Federal Register, and technical assistance materials provided to prospective P3 applicants. The materials we relied on for our analysis were Mathematica’s national evaluation of P3,¹ GAO’s 2017 evaluation of performance partnership initiatives,² and notices inviting P3 applications published in the Federal Register. We also drew on New America’s previous research on P3³ and federal systems alignment efforts in support of youth career pathways.⁴

We tracked common themes from interviews and background reading to identify four major findings and to develop recommendations for federal policymakers.