About Us Click here to view a video about the Project. About US Campaigns and elections are both central and frequent elements in the American political system. But they are means to ends the end being leaders who can effectively make policy and govern. Increasingly, however, the means and the ends have been blurred, and the ability to move from an election, through a transition, to governing, has been impeded.
Contemporary leaders are often ill prepared to hit the ground running.
Candidates are often so focused on campaigning and articulating their issue positions that they are unaware of the complexity of the policy-making process for the office they seek. At the same time, campaigns have become year-round, continuous efforts, not confined to discrete periods close to elections. This permanent campaign competes with policy making for politicians time and attention. The Pew Charitable Trusts has issued a challenge to the policy world to improve the transition from campaigning to governing. Through its generous grant to the American Enterprise Institute to lead a coalition of think tanks to address this issue, Pew is funding serious study of the problem and implementation of solutions.