The Center for Presidential Transition’s comprehensive guide on the activities required during the transition. This guide for the 2020 presidential election cycle was produced in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group. It features detailed outlines of transition best practices, historical materials from past transitions, and recommendations for a successful presidential transition to a new or second-term administration.
Preparing for the enormous responsibility of running the federal government is the most important job for any presidential candidate.
In November 2024, the Partnership for Public Service published an updated version of this report with new data and improved methods for calculations that is available here.
Data from the Partnership for Public Service found that Senate confirmation of presidential appointees are taking longer than ever.
Why it Matters
A major presidential responsibility is to fill more than 1,200 political appointments requiring Senate confirmation. Few decisions have a greater impact on the success of an administration than the selection of its people. A president must not only select well-qualified appointees, but work with relevant federal agencies and the Senate to get appointees in place quickly. This is especially crucial for a president beginning their first term, or transitioning to a second term, as year five usually coincides with a turnover of more than 40% in senior leadership positions.
This guide and checklist outlines leading practices and key actions CHCOs can take to build effective relationships with new appointees during their first weeks and throughout the onboarding process to position them as a trusted advisor. It includes insights and advice from current and former CHCOs, appointees and other federal leaders.
Second-term presidents are faced with monumental challenges and need to be prepared for changes in critical leadership jobs. New data compiled by the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition shows that the last three presidents each experienced significant Cabinet-level turnover soon after their 2nd inauguration.
A framework developed by the Partnership for Public Service and PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC), which describes the entities and relationships that a president has available to implement policy and manage the government enterprise. The report depicts the White House offices, key personnel, policy and management councils and the role of the Office of Management and Budget as the key to the center of government design and operation.
The Office of Management and Budget is the one federal agency that can play a pivotal role in ensuring the effective implementation of programs and policies across the entire government. Besides its budget responsibilities, OMB can and should be doing more as a government-wide catalyst for evidence-based decision-making, innovation, management reform and interagency and intergovernmental coordination.
In this report, “From Decisions to Results: Building a More Effective Government Through a Transformed Office of Management and Budget” the Partnership for Public Service suggests six target areas for the next president to focus on in order to transform the Office of Management and Budget into a primary coordination hub for translating decisions made at the White House and Congress into results for citizens.
On the campaign trail, the presidential candidates promise swift action on policy promises. Come January, the next occupant of the Oval Office will need to transform these campaign promises into policies and programs that produce positive outcomes for the American people. During the past year, the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for The Business of Government held roundtable dialogues with a wide range of experts to inform the next president and the new administration’s team about critical management issues. Through these discussions and accompanying reports we have developed a management roadmap for the next administration.
Read the whitepapers
Managing the Government’s Executive Talent
Building an Enterprise Government
Enhancing the Government’s Decision-Making
Encouraging and Sustaining Innovation in Government
Learn more about the Ready to Govern® initiative.
The inspectors general serve as the canary in the coal mine, warning federal leaders of agency risks and vulnerabilities. They also have a unique, long-term perspective on their organizations since they typically remain in place through changes in leadership. In this report, “Walking the Line: Inspectors General Balancing Independence and Impact,” the Partnership for Public Service and Grant Thornton Public Sector set out to identify ways incoming agency leaders and Congress can form constructive relationships with the IG community.
This infographic describes the national security risks of a poorly executed transition and the need to get appointees with national security responsibilities in early in an administration