President Obama

This event, the first of its kind under the current Administration, brought together several thousand Federal leaders (primarily SES, but also other senior executive designations – this post will refer to the group as SES henceforth), joined by a cadre of supporters of good government. The grand ballroom at the Hilton was full, and the mood was positive as the attendees listened to remarks from a variety of perspectives.

Cross –agency collaboration is a critical element to solving many of the hardest challenges that government faces in providing effective services to citizens.  In his report, “The Next Government of the United States,” noted public administration scholar Don Kettl writes that “effective 21^st century government requires new mechanisms for coordinating government agencies to ensure they can connect organically as they seek to solve the manifest problems they confront.”

On his first full day in office, January 21, 2009, President Obama issued a call for increased openness in government.

On Tuesday, Congressional Democrats sent President Obama a list of four candidates to nominated as the next Comptroller General. The four are Rep. Todd Platts, Linda Bilmes at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, and former Assistant Comptroller Ira Goldstein. Today Congressional Republicans sent their own letter to the President recommending Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

On Wednesday, January 13, approaching the first year anniversary of the Obama administration, the Partnership for Public Service will release a report titled, Ready to Govern: Improving the Presidential Transition, on improving the presidential transition. Based on exclusive interviews with key transition officials from both the Obama and McCain campaigns, and the Bush White House, this report examines the transition beginning early 2008 through the President’s first year in office.