transition

Columbia shuttle disaster of 2003, there was almost universal recognition that the space shuttle had to be replaced. In 2004, President George W. Bush directed NASA to build a shuttle successor as part of an overall “vision” to explore deep space. Then-NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe put the possibility of launching cargo and eventually crew to the ISS through private commercial means on the NASA agenda. In 2005, Michael Griffin, O’Keefe’s successor, established a program – Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) – to do just that.

Blog Co-Author:  Alan Howze, Fellow

When the transition is completed and the next President sworn in on January 20, 2017, the new administration will get to work. But what actions should be prioritized? How can the wheels of government be leveraged most effectively?  How can the new team avoid re-inventing the wheel?

The release of President Obama’s Executive Order (EO) “Facilitation of a Presidential Transition” on May 6, 2016, comes six months before the election and 259 days until the next President is sworn into office. The EO marks the start of the efforts that the outgoing administration and agencies will undertake to support the transition of power. As the beneficiary, in 2008, of what has been described as the smoothest transition in history, President Obama’s EO signals his intent to pay it forward with his own administration’s preparations.

Blog Co-Author:  Alan Howze, Fellow

John Kamensky

Playbooks Are the Latest Fad.  The Bush Administration was famous for scorecards.  The early Obama Administration created lots of “-Stat” dashboards.  Now it is generating a pile of playbooks as it nears the finish line:

In 2009, the IBM Center for The Business of Government released Getting It Done: A Guide for Government Executives as a guide for new leaders, especially new political appointees. This book helped new government executives acclimate quickly to the world of public service as practiced in Washington, D.C., and it contained a series of short strategic discussions about “dos and don’ts,” along with insights about working with key stakeholders from experienced political executives. Getting It Done was revised and reissued as a second edition in 2013.

Michael J. Keegan

Agencies should look to industry for scaling shared services. Adopting standards and building partnerships with industry will accelerate agencies' ability to take advantage of shared services, says a GSA executive.