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Hundreds of thousands of boomers and others are poised to work on proven innovations and cost-effective interventions to help kids succeed, improve people’s health and protect the environment.

That's why is makes sense to make modest investments in advancing encore careers - investments that will be recouped in the added success of targeted, high-priority initiatives that deploy this windfall of experienced, talented people. Encore talent is early talent, “venture human capital” that can help take promising models to full-scale solutions.

• Mobilizing encore talent in health care, for example, can improve health and reduce costs through proven wellness, prevention and disease-management initiatives.
• Mobilizing encore talent in education can promote science and math mastery and support student success by filling schools with teams of qualified, experienced, caring adults.
• Mobilizing encore talent for energy efficiency and clean energy projects can reduce energy costs, protect the climate and create high-quality green jobs.

Legislative action in each of these major areas creates opportunities to mobilize encore talent. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 established a model, authorizing national service “encore fellowships” to help people make the transition to longer-term encore careers in high-priority fields.

This year’s passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides an opportunity to catalyze encore careers in health as part of an overall talent strategy for improving health and lowering costs. Encore talent could be key to implementing many of the work-force development goals (Title V) of the new law. That section includes provisions to support and recruit providers in underserved and rural areas, establish new models for promoting wellness, managing chronic disease and alleviating the shortage of nurses. The law includes student-loan forgiveness, training grants and other financing that could support encore career opportunities.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and proposed energy legislation provides additional opportunities to mobilize encore talent. Integrating encore career opportunities into the work-force development provisions in such legislation represents a cost-effective way to meet broader goals. An emphasis on encore talent should also be central to the efforts to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act, the Older Americans Act (which includes the Senior Community Service Employment Program) and other legislation.

In education, there is clear need for more qualified and caring adults to support children’s early literacy development, ensure more students finish high school and go on to college and increase attention to science, math and technology education.

In energy, a task force convened by Vice President Joe Biden last year found that “there are currently not enough skilled workers and green entrepreneurs” for a national-scale energy efficiency effort. The work-force provisions of the proposed Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act could mobilize experienced tradespeople and others as trainers and coaches, as well as encore talent in project management, finance and marketing to accelerate the ramp-up of energy efficiency and clean energy projects.

Across all fields, mobilizing encore talent means encouragement of vibrant innovation in structuring new career roles and models. That could include support for encore fellowships and other transitional pathways to longer-term encore careers, new tools for financing such transitions and new models of health coverage and compensation that increase job mobility and financial security.

Most of these encore career support structures require no new legislation. The White House, through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), could convene an inter-agency encore task force to document existing efforts, identify best practices and analyze costs and benefits in order to make government a model employer in tapping encore talent.

An executive order could direct agencies such as Health and Human Services, the Small Business Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commerce Department and others to create federal encore fellowships. The private sector is already pioneering such fellowships as short-term transition pathways to longer-term encore careers. The federal effort could start with full funding for the national service encore fellowships authorized in the Serve America Act.

The Serve America Act also targets at least 10 percent of all new AmeriCorps positions at people over 55. The target has spurred a surge of innovative ideas for tapping encore talent from new and existing nonprofits. The OMB could promote competitions for encore innovation, such as between “one-stop” job centers that receive Department of Labor funding, in line with its recent guidance to agencies to use prizes, contests and other incentives to spur innovation.

Encore transition financing and health coverage are two areas in particular need of such innovative approaches. Tax credits and deductions, such as expanded Lifelong Learning Accounts and Pell Grants, would encourage financial services providers to develop new encore career products and services. Modifications to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program could make it more accessible to those over 55.

Even after the passage of the health care legislation, many people are still limited by issues of health care affordability and access in choosing their encore careers. Many people forgo entrepreneurial encore careers because of the difficulties and expense in securing health coverage. Support for encore careers should inform the design of new health insurance exchanges and nonprofit, member-run health insurance companies that are authorized by the bill.