Hear from the nine government executives profiled in our recent magazine. Join as we discuss with our authors such diverse topics as leadership, transparency, open government, and the rise of social media, performance reporting, and a first hand account of the Obama transition.

From the federal government’s response to the financial crisis, the H1N1 flu, or its movement towards greater transparency and accountability, our latest magazine gathers thoughtful perspectives from some of the leading practitioners and academics in the field. Hear from the nine government executives profiled in the recent magazine and interviews with several of our magazine contributors on such diverse topics as leadership, transparency, open government and the rise of social media, and a first hand account of the Obama transition.

One of the aspects that makes the 2008-2009 transition sucha well thought out one is the groundwork laid by governmentactions taken to enhance national security. The Congress andthe president viewed a smooth transition a national securitynecessity and both branches took action on issues relatedto getting a new administration up and running as soon aspossible. The impetus for much of their preparatory workwas the events of September 11, 2001. The attacks on theUnited States that day had a substantial impact on the shape

I had lunch yesterday with Martha Kumar, who helps run the White House Transition Project,  and she encouraged a visit to their website to see their "Six Month Review" of the Obama Administration's transition.  You should visit also!

President-Elect Obama will be meeting with President Bush and living past-presidents on January 7th in the White House to learn first-hand about their experiences.  President Bush has no agenda, but one topic might be:  how to engage civil servants in carrying out large-scale changes.  

Last week I visited with a friend at lunch and had a strange experience!  I’d brought a copy of the IBM Center’s latest magazine to share and left on the table during lunch.  A complete stranger came up and said “Oh, can I get a copy of that magazine?  I really need it!” Then someone a table over said, “Can I get a copy too!?”  This issue has a special section on the transition, which was what was attracting interest.

On Wednesday, October 15th, there will be three different events focused on the upcoming presidential transition: The 1105 Government Information Group:  “Today’s Strategy for Tomorrow’s Administration” Four Points Sheraton, Washington, DC. 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (open registration; fees:  $295 government; $595 industry)

The July-August 2008 issue of Public Administration Review contains a trio of articles offering advice to the presidential candidates’ transition teams.  Each of the articles offers advice based on experience and history.  As might be expected, there are many parallels.  

Scholars have studied presidential transitions over the past 40 years, which I’ve reflected in several earlier blog posts. While it might seem to be an obscure niche of scholarship, their efforts have been vitally important every 4 to 8 years. What have they learned that could be helpful to the upcoming transition? Dr. Martha Kumar and several of her colleagues collaborated in 2001 on an interesting paper summarizing their years of work up to that point.