Beyond the Usual Suspects: Putting Together a Truly Diverse Administration

By Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson

The two presumptive presidential candidates are now vetting vice presidential candidates. Putting together an entire administration is not too far off.   Based on our experience over the last seven years in interviewing 65 top level political executives in the Obama Administration, we gained insights about the prior professional experiences of those we interviewed.   We discussed how their prior positions prepared them for their current position. In particular, we looked for management experience that would prepare a them to be an effective political executive managing large government organizations.

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Managing the Real Bears of the Presidential Transition

By Diane M. Disney

To smooth the change from this president to the next, Congress has passed a transition planning bill and President Obama has issued an executive order creating a White House Transition Coordinating Council and an Agency Transition Directors Council.  These admirable actions should go far toward sharing knowledge, understanding how to vet candidates, and preparing the newcomers about the scope and strictures of Federal service.  However, as currently structured, none of these really addresses two important fundamentals, one philosophical and the other practical.

Getting Ready for 2017: Joining a New Administration

By Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson

The start of a new Administration is still months away, but planning for 2017 is already underway. The New York Times recently presented an in-depth article on the forthcoming transition, highlighting a recent transition planning meeting held in New York.   Vetting for the the first personnel decision is already underway as both the Washington Post and the New York Times report that the presidential candidates have begun reviewing potential vice presidents.

On Food Safety, Collaboration Can Be Hard to Swallow

By Barbara Romzek, Jocelyn Johnston, and Rebecca Yurman

Recently, Chipotle Mexican Grill temporarily closed its doors nationwide after hundreds of people became ill from the food at several of its 2,000 restaurants over a period of months. Stories like Chipotle’s – food-borne illness outbreaks in quick-service restaurant chains – have become very common. Though Chipotle is ultimately responsible for serving tainted food, public health officials from a number of federal, state, and private agencies work together to investigate and prevent further illness. So, how do these agencies find common ground and overcome challenges under the pressures of rapid response?

Getting Ready for 2017: An Introduction to the Plum Book

By G. Edward DeSeve and Mark A. Abramson

Get ready for the most popular new website in Washington coming in December 2016. In December, the Government Publishing Office (GPO) will release two versions of the quadrennial United States Policy and Supporting Positions, more popularly known as the “Plum Book.” GPO will release a digital version of the book on their website, and hard copy.

United States Policy and Supporting Positions was first published in 1952 when incoming President Dwight Eisenhower sought information on how many political appointments he could fill after twenty years of Democratic administrations. With the exception of 1956, the book has been published every four years since then. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Committee on Government Affairs alternate in compiling the book.  In 2017, it will be compiled by the Senate Committee on Government Affairs. The most recent edition was published by GPO in December of 2012. Always looking to sell books, GPO used a brilliant shade of plum to color the cover. 

Can We Finally Link Foresight To Policy?

By Leon Fuerth

We are entering a season when many groups are thinking about how to advise the next Administration on matters of policy, organization, or both.  NAPA is now working on this, specifically addressing the challenge of how to incorporate strategic foresight and policy.

Addressing this challenge is a significant intellectual effort, but even more formidable in terms of political psychology. Successful politicians will, in the course of their campaigns, have already projected a narrative about what they intend to do if elected.

Complex Situations Demand Preparation for Collaboration

By Diane M. Disney

Historically, higher education in this country required mastery of a core curriculum (English, history, math, foreign language, science, and so on) as well as a major field of study, which had limited choices within a set structure.  Some notion of the core remains, but the “major” has been transformed.  In the 1970s students began to fashion their own majors, often with some exotic results.  But as time passed, institutions began offering multidisciplinary majors, which ensured that a graduate would know a lot about one area but also something about others with which there might be interaction.

Cross-Sector Collaboration Can Simplify Funding and Administration

By Diane M. Disney

In today’s toxic political climate, notions of collaboration sometimes carry the suggestion of World War II traitors who worked to support the enemy forces.  In reality, however, the “other” is not an invading force but rather another governmental agency, a nonprofit, or a business that shares the need and desire to make progress in a given area.  Collaboration is something that requires one to look beyond short-term boundaries to see a greater good or a goal that cannot be reached when stakeholders work on their own.

A few weeks ago Don Kettl and Robert O’Neill presented a clear case for collaboration in the Federal government with four very straightforward recommendations for the next president, ranging from the transformation and elevation of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to the creation of a special track within the Senior Executive Service to focus on “cross-sector, intergovernmental, and multi-program skills.”  Expanding that list requires looking to the past and to non-Federal sources for ideas.

Seeing Over the Horizon

By John Kamensky

How can we bring Strategic Foresight into conversations on management priorities in the next presidential administration?  Why is this even worth discussing, especially given the urgent pressures of dealing with today’s challenges?

The interstate highway system was declared complete on October 14, 1992, after 35 years of construction.  Authorized in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower as a necessary component of national defense, the highway system transformed America’s culture, economy, and environment.  Could these radical changes have been foreseen?  Where they all for the better?  Could better foresight have precluded the population shift from cities to suburbs, the decline of urban tax bases to fund schools, and the impact of an automobile culture on the environment?

Reflections on the Nixon National Goals Research Staff

By Ken Hunter

Has a previous White House sponsored a major foresight initiative? Yes, the Nixon White House starting in 1969.

The core of the global futures controversy in the late 1960s was the “limits to growth debate.” The Nixon Administration started immediately to address growth policy. On July 13, 1969, President Nixon announced the establishment of the National Goals Research Staff within the White House to operate under the direction of Leonard Garment, Daniel P. Moynihan, and Arthur Burns, all senior Presidential advisors.