Passion Projects are employee-created initiatives that improve or innovate government. An employee is asked to propose something they are really excited about -- outside their normal job responsibilities -- that will enhance the office or organization's products or services. It is important the employee truly believes in the initiative, and it's not something being pushed on them by senior management.

Passion projects, by virtue of being outside of normal job duties, serve as an opportunity to build knowledge, skills, and abilities while becoming more in touch with the mission and goals of the office or organization.

The organization benefits by getting a fresh perspective on old problems, especially when a passion project involves cross-functional teams. Previously unseen opportunities for optimization and issues that might have hindered performance or results might be uncovered by a fresh set of eyes on the problem.

Passion projects encourage "micro" leadership in every person in your office or organization, even those who aren't in management positions and may not consider themselves "leaders." It is a great way to identify high potential employees who are able to manage a project to completion.

To get started, invite your team to a 60-minute "finds your passion" meeting. Explain the concept of passion projects, and set the ground rules for your passion project program. Allow the group time to brainstorm. In many cases, this first meeting will become a growing source of new enthusiasm for your team, and some employees might come up with several excellent ideas. Keep track of the extra ideas for teams that are struggling to come up with their own ideas to consider -- they might use these proposed projects as a starting point for their own ideas.

Source: http://www.govloop.com/community/blog/drive-employee-engagement-one-simple-idea/