Codifying Strong Transitions

Setting high standards for transition planning in law and practice

Recognizing that well-executed presidential transitions are critical for effective governance, the Partnership has worked for years to increase attention and resources to help presidents transfer knowledge from one administration to the next. Prior to these efforts, the only support provided to presidents-elect before Inauguration Day was funding through the Presidential Transition Act of 1963.

The Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition® works to identify optimal practices in transition planning and use them to inform bipartisan updates to strengthen this important law. The Partnership has worked with Congress over the years to help enact significant amendments to the transition law. These amendments provide additional support to major candidates before the presidential election; require the White House and federal agencies to convene regular planning meetings during election years; and have institutionalized the role of the General Services Administration in coordinating transition planning.

The Center is a repository of knowledge that informs the implementation of the transition law, and we continue to work to identify ways to strengthen the law and its framework.