Government leaders increasingly agree that “rare unexpected events” are now neither rare nor unexpected. Indeed, they are shocks—more frequent and more destabilizing. One now follows closely on the heels of another, and multiple events occur at the same time. For example, the pandemic continued as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Various climate challenges arose such as severe flooding in France, drought and bushfires in Australia, water shortages in California, and extreme heat in China. Now the economic fallout from the pandemic and the war has the World Bank and others concerned about a period of stagflation.

While governments were exposed to a host of mostly unforeseen challenges from the global pandemic, they have captured valuable lessons. Leaders understand where they need to concentrate their readiness efforts for “future shocks,” carrying the momentum from rapid, pandemic- driven innovation into their preparation.

IBM, working through the IBM Center for The Business of Government and the IBM Institute for Business Value, and in partnership with the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) and a range of other partners, has launched an initiative to help government leaders further identify those core capabilities critical to building resilience.

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