The U.S. political system rarely provides enough time for newly elected officials to plan for their new responsibilities – time to gather together the information and resources they need to make effective policy early in their tenure. And because many state departments are decentralized, senior public managers often can't consider overall strategic planning to coordinate activities and make government operate at its maximum effectiveness.

The Libra Foundation Inc. of Maine and the Kennedy School of Government will be working together to address these concerns by establishing the Fitzgerald Gubernatorial Endowment.

This new endowment will provide high-level cabinet officials and select senior state officials from the state of Maine with an intensive planning and assessment session. The session will be led by Kennedy School faculty and administrators every other year.

The endowment is named in honor of Duane D. "Buzz" Fitzgerald, chairman of Bath Iron Works and a longtime civic leader in Maine.

Designed to enhance the participants’ leadership skills, the session will give officials a look at the structure, practices, and procedures of state governmental systems as well as the process of state government reform.

The sessions will occur shortly after election season, so that newly elected or appointed officials can participate. Each session is targeted to 10—15 senior leaders. In each successive session, Kennedy School representatives will examine and evaluate the previous session outcomes to determine what modifications should be made so that the program has maximum value and benefit for Maine.