Our 2025 Autumn Reception, kindly supported by Serco, centred on the rapidly evolving national resilience agenda, examining how the UK must adapt to a more disruptive global environment. We were joined by General Sir Richard Barrons KCB CBE, Doug Umbers (Managing Director, Defence, Serco), Rosehanna Chowdhury (CEO of UK Resilience Academy) and Deborah Higgins (Head of Resilience, Serco and Chair of BSI Technical Committee for Continuity and Resilience), who shared their perspectives on the challenges ahead.
Our world is changing – we must be ready to deal with more severe and potentially existential risks.
The post–Cold War era of relative stability has ended. The UK faces an increasingly complex landscape shaped by climate change, geopolitical instability, technological disruption and risk of war.
Deterrence requires resilience at home. We must move from ‘event management’ to enduring resilience, strengthening physical, human, digital and cognitive resilience.
This is a whole-of-society issue, but our greatest strength is the private sector. The private sector must step up and strengthen resilience, in its self-interest and as a public good.
Resilience is no longer the sole domain of government or defense. Building resilience requires integrating efforts across government, business and communities.
The private sector is essential to national resilience. Businesses must not wait for government direction but take proactive responsibility for their assets, supply chains and people. A stronger, more concrete partnership between sectors is needed to turn strategy into delivery.
Accountability matters – boards must take responsibility for the endurance and success of their business – resilience is fundamental to this.
Resilience starts with leadership. Despite strong policy frameworks, progress is often limited by skills shortages, underinvestment and unclear accountability. Developing capable professionals and properly resourced systems is vital to move from policy intent to operational resilience.
Innovation often originates in the private sector and can help build future resilience.
Digital transformation offers both risk and opportunity. The private sector’s capacity for innovation can drive new solutions to national resilience challenges.
Leveraging data and technology will be central to future preparedness and to building a more resilient UK.
We must address the competence gap in resilience too, including developing ‘big crisis’ leadership capability across the business community.
Progress depends on developing skilled professionals, enhancing training and establishing clear competency frameworks and standards for resilience. Resilience First, in partnership with Cranfield University, is working with several of its members to create a new curriculum for strategic resilience leaders of the future, and has published a data-led, measurement-based Model for Organisational Resilience, learn more here.
Developing a professional resilience community will raise expectations of leadership and governance. Building ‘big crisis’ leadership capability across the business community, another initiative Resilience First is engaged in, will ensure organisations are ready to respond to high-impact challenges.
The private sector has the power, capability, and a vital role to play. Resilience is a shared responsibility that requires leadership, collaboration and consistent investment.
A huge thank you to Serco for supporting our Autumn Reception and an even bigger thank you to the speakers for sharing their honest and thought-provoking thoughts.
