A five-part report arguing for whole of society resilience has been produced by the business body Resilience First, with PA Consulting, a consultancy.
The 15-page report, freely downloadable, is based on these themes:
Establishing wider partnerships;
Providing incentives;
Involving communities;
Building future skills; and
Leveraging data and technology.
The report argues that we are living through unprecedented volatility, disruption, and change, as evidenced by the covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, climate change, frequent instances of industrial action, and the energy and cost of living crisis. So the time is right to rethink our approach to resilience. Initiatives like the UK Government Resilience Framework (UKGRF) sound a call to action for all sectors of society – from government and business to individuals – to take resilience seriously.
Martyn Link, Executive Director, Resilience First said: “If we can understand and prepare for shocks and stresses more intentionally, we can mitigate some of their impact, and ensure recovery is quicker and less costly.”
To achieve a truly whole of society approach we all need to play our part and work collectively, the report says. It’s a result of a forum by Resilience First with its champion member PA Consulting at the end of 2022, that brought together resilience people from government, communities, academia, and business. The event included a briefing from the Cabinet Office on the UK Government’s approach to resilience, a panel discussion, and workshop, with groups considering how to achieve a whole of society approach to resilience.
James Heath, CEO, National Infrastructure Commission said: “The government’s framework gives us the contours of a long-term resilience strategy, but the next step is to shade in all the colours, and to give us the action plans under each of these things. What I like about the report is that it sets out some of the concrete specific steps that different actors in this resilient system can take forward.”
And Caroline Field, national resilience expert at PA Consulting said: “A whole of society approach looks to create shared ownership for our national resilience, providing the governance, guidance and incentives from the top and community led needs and initiatives from the bottom; recognising that resilience is a positive strategic enabler underpinning the nation’s prosperity and levelling up agenda.”
Visit www.resiliencefirst.org.
Resilience First is running a breakfast briefing asking ‘How secure and resilient is your business?’ specifically about physical security, on February 28 in central London.
Photo by Mark Rowe; Cardiff city centre, summer morning.
