Policy-making in a crisis: preparing for the unexpected

Governments need to invest more in foresight capacity, scenario planning, advanced analytics and in early warning systems rather than relying on static forecasts. Consider black-swan events and how they might present, no matter how unlikely. Hope is not a plan, but preparedness can beget one.

Since 1968, we have seen an ever-increasing over-centralization of decision-making in the PMO, which has now become the bane of day-to-day government operations. It would be a disaster in a crisis. Alignment of objectives, delegation of responsibility, and speed are key in managing crises. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY KEVIN LYNCH, JIM MITCHELL, AND PAUL DEEGAN

February 22, 2023

What do 9/11, the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine have in common? They are all 21st century global crises, touching in some form much of humanity and altering, in different ways, the arc of history.

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