From The Executive
Director

Helping Government Navigate Through Times of Change

As has occurred every four or eight years since George Washington turned the presidency over to John Adams, new leaders have begun to arrive to support a new administration.

Major current activities include new leaders working to develop information and game plans for agencies, review a large and growing number of resumes to fill political appointee jobs, and Office of Management and Budget planning for the budget that will be proposed in the spring. At the same time, current leaders are finalizing existing policy and program actions.

Many members of the federal workforce sit at the fulcrum of these two collections of activity: supporting the work of outgoing leaders while developing information and preparing to help implement the ideas of the incoming team. A large network of outside groups—“good government” organizations, associations representing issues and industries, schools of public affairs, and more—help to provide context that can influence how this changing of the guard proceeds. In Congress and across many state and local governments, new leaders are engaging in similar actions.

Since our founding in 1998, the IBM Center for The Business of Government has provided perspective to support and inform the leaders who seek to drive effective presidential and other leadership transitions. Our book Getting It Done has been used by White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO), and third parties like the Partnership for Public Service, to help transition teams and new appointees understand how to succeed in the often unfamiliar world of Washington and governance. For several years, we have advanced a similar set of consideration for new state and local leaders, through our IBM report, Off to a Running State Capital Start: A Transition Guide for New Governors and Their Teams.

With this edition of The Business of Government magazine, we draw on recent research to share insights that can help today’s new leaders build on the successful delivery of current government programs, while also gaining knowledge of how to develop and implement their own policy priorities. As always, we profile people whose work has strengthened the foundation of government service.

We summarize key recommendations from recent Center reports, authored by academic experts and informed by government leaders and stakeholders. We also draw on a significant body of research over the last several years to highlight how the public sector can best move forward in light of two major trends impacting agencies and the people they serve:

• The advance of artificial intelligence and how best to leverage its benefits while mitigating risks

• The need to incorporate lessons learned on how best to prepare for and respond to “future shocks” like the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, climate events, cyber incidents, and other crises that have increased in both frequency and magnitude