Studies

The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) has the statutory responsibility to conduct objective, non-partisan studies that evaluate Federal merit system policies, operations, and practices. See 5 U.S.C. § 1204(a)(3). MSPB’s Office of Policy and Evaluation (OPE) conducts these data-driven studies that are typically Governmentwide in scope and take a long-term perspective on merit and effective management of the Federal workforce. Our published reports communicate the findings and recommendations from these studies to the President, Congress, and other stakeholders and have influenced changes to workforce laws, regulations, policies, and practices.

In addition to reports, we publish shorter, online research briefs that build on prior MSPB research or address trending topics that may be of immediate interest to our stakeholders. We also publish the Issues of Merit newsletter that offers analyses on human capital topics, particularly findings and recommendations from our independent research.

Some of the common topics covered by our research include the following:

• Adherence to the Merit System Principles (MSPs) and Avoidance of Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPPs)
• Recruitment and Hiring
• Engagement and Retention
• Performance Management and Conduct
• Supervision and Leadership
• Significant Actions of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management

All of our publications are available through the adjacent links and search function, so feel free to explore. If you would like more information about MSPB’s studies function, read the OPE Fact Sheet.

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