Recent crises like explosions in Tianjin, Ebola outbreaks, refugee crises, Paris attacks, and forest fires have highlighted the need for improved crisis management. Traditional scenario-based planning is insufficient for addressing novel, complex, uncertain crises. Instead, crisis management requires strategic leadership, partnerships with private sectors, international cooperation, unbundling complexity through multi-disciplinary expertise, trusted knowledge systems, and rapid response forces. It also requires managing multi-stakeholder response networks with different values and logics, building coordination, and ensuring interoperability. Crisis communication must respond to high citizen expectations through multiple channels while maintaining government leadership and trust. Exercising and training leaders at local, national, and international levels

1. Recent major crises
Tianjin’s blastEBOLA
Refugee crisis Paris attacksForest fires in SE Asia
Cyber attacks

2. http://www.oecd.org/gov/risk

3. Recent major crises
Tianjin’s blastEBOLA
Refugee crisis Paris attacksForest fires in SE Asia
Cyber attacks

4. Crisis management: Preparing for the
unthinkable
CLASSIC APPROACH
Scenario-based planning
NOVEL CRISIS
Facing the unexpected
Standard Operating Procedures Agile partnership / network
Early-warning Sense-making
Crisis Communication Meaning-making
NOVELTY COMPLEXITY UNCERTAINTY
TENSION POLITISATIONVALUES
 A key role for strategic leadership
 Partnership with the private sector
 International cooperation

5. • Progress in science, technology, information systems
– Monitoring, detecting, forecasting hazards and threats
– Warning thresholds # false alarms
• What about unforeseen/complex events ?
– Unbundling complexity
– Mobilising multi-disciplinary expertise
– Trusted knowledge management systems
– Rapid reflexion force
Early-warning and sense-making
Fukushima Deepwater HorizonAsh cloud

6. Managing multi-stakeholders response networks
Different logics and values
 Building a response network
 Coordination and leadership
 Up-scaling mechanisms
 Ensuring inter-operability

7. Crisis communication, meaning-making
and social media
 Responding to high citizens 'expectations
Multiple channels of communication
Leadership as the ultimate authoritative voice
Trust in government

8. Exercising and training leaders is
fundamental – local, national, international
2014 the Hague Nuclear Security Summit

9. So what is the recipe ?
Fundamentals for crisis management leadership
OECD Recommendation on the
governance of critical risks
Leaders need a plan
Leaders need vision and foresight
Leaders need to be transparent
Leaders need to be responsive
Leaders need to be accountable