About GAI

The Government Affairs Institute (GAI) has been conducting courses on Capitol Hill since 1965. For thirty years GAI was part of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. In 1995 GAI was privatized by the federal government, and in 1997 we became affiliated with Georgetown University and the McCourt School of Public Policy, where we proudly reside today.

GAI’s mission is to provide education and training about congressional processes, organization, culture and practices, and about select legislative policy issues. By better understanding the functions and organization of Congress, executive branch personnel and others with a direct interest in federal programs can more effectively plan, manage, and budget for those programs, and better represent those programs before Congress.

GAI conducts most courses on Capitol Hill so that participants receive practical, on-site experience and analysis of the workings of Congress, including the opportunity to meet and interact with key players in the policy-making process. All GAI courses are planned, designed, and conducted by the Institute’s senior fellows, who also lead dozens of on-site classes each year in the Washington, DC, area and around the country.

The Senior Staff of the Government Affairs Institute consists of individuals strongly committed to teaching, with academic backgrounds in political science, public administration, history, and economics. Most have taught at the university level, and all are experienced practitioners and observers of Congress who spend much of their time on Capitol Hill.