Government transitions—from one administration, or one term, to the next—are immense and complex undertakings. Newly elected leaders have only 75 days to shift abruptly from campaigning to governing. For first-term presidents, their team must also master the intricacies of the federal agencies as they prepare to assume responsibility for the executive branch. In a change of administration, hundreds of federal leaders—who oversee critical missions protecting the nation, delivering citizen services, and managing essential resources—must turn over simultaneously, with no break in delivery. Incumbents also must manage significant changes if reelected; over the last two decades, on average over 40 percent of a president’s Cabinet secretaries, deputy secretaries, and undersecretaries change in the first six months of a second term.
For nearly 70 years, we have helped support presidential transitions. As part of our commitment to good governance, we have provided non-partisan support for federal leaders of all parties as they ensure continuity of operations during the critical transition period. In this time we have developed insights into what works, and we continue to conduct independent research to help new leaders and their teams with best practices, lessons learned, and off-the-shelf approaches that can be tailored to the unique circumstance of each transition.
