Heritage Foundation Begins "Mandate for Leadership" Preparation for Reagan Transition

Heritage Foundation trustees, at Edwin Feulner’s leadership, authorize preparation of a comprehensive conservative policy manual for the next presidential administration, initiating what will become “Mandate for Leadership.” Jack Eckerd, former head of the General Services Administration under Ford, proposes at a trustees’ meeting that Heritage develop a detailed conservative action plan for implementation in January 1981, while Robert Krieble suggests creating a manual to help policymakers “cut the size of government and manage it more effectively.” The decision demonstrates Heritage’s strategic positioning to shape the anticipated Reagan presidency, leveraging the infrastructure built over six years since the foundation’s 1973 establishment. This preparation begins two years before Reagan takes office, providing time to develop comprehensive recommendations across the entire federal government. The project represents the culmination of Powell Memo implementation - a privately-funded think tank producing a detailed blueprint for transforming federal policy in alignment with corporate interests. The timing aligns perfectly with Bork’s antitrust transformation (1978-1979), Cato’s establishment (1977), and the broader conservative infrastructure that emerged from the Powell blueprint. Heritage’s preparation of governing recommendations before an election demonstrates the institutional confidence and political coordination achieved by the conservative movement just eight years after the Powell Memo’s public exposure.