The Pew Charitable Trusts’s Safe Spaces Project offers programming for chiefs of staff in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at fostering relationships, sharing best practices, and strengthening the capacity of Congress.
WHY WE INVESTED
In an increasingly polarized political environment, congressional staff have fewer venues for cross-party discourse and collaboration. To combat hyperpartisanship and dysfunction, this project creates space for senior staff to engage with their colleagues across the aisle. Chiefs of staff are key leaders in their respective House offices and trusted advisors to Members, so they are an important target constituency for efforts to strengthen congressional capacity. This program, launched in 2015 with support from Democracy Fund and the Hewlett Foundation, complements Pew’s long-running Bipartisan Senate Chiefs of Staff Initiative.
