A new campaign to strengthen national resilience
Yesterday Resilience First joined the launch of the Resilience Imperative: a non-partisan campaign of leaders from business, private capital, intelligence, and the military to raise public consciousness of the hybrid threats facing the country and build national resilience.
Businesses are on the receiving end of the persistent hybrid warfare tactics the UK is subjected to: cyber attacks, attacks on critical infrastructure, arson, and disinformation. It is all designed to disrupt daily life and undermine national stability.
The Resilience Imperative is founded by Lady Olga Maitland and the Defence and Security Forum, with a mission to build a collective, informed national effort for resilience to go alongside a government-led response. Combined, they can form the best deterrent to hybrid threats.
Resilience First will be supporting efforts to raise awareness among the private sector of the changed nature of threats and the actions they can take to build their resilience. The increased costs of disruption mean the economic case for resilience has changed too.
During the event, Resilience First Executive Director Rick Cudworth highlighted the role of business in building national resilience. His remarks focused on five key areas.
Why a new approach to resilience is needed:
- The threat environment has fundamentally changed.
- Hybrid warfare is not abstract – it is already affecting UK businesses.
- Growing disruption to supply chains, public services, and critical national infrastructure.
- Geostrategic shifts are amplifying these risks and costs.
- “Business as usual” is not an option.
The central role of the private sector:
- Tens of millions rely on businesses every day.
- Businesses sit at the heart of civic and economic life.
- Private sector resilience = national resilience.
The challenge to the private sector: Are we thinking about resilience in the right way?:
- Risks are no longer marginal but existential.
- The economics of resilience have changed: the cost of disruption is rising, and old trade-offs no longer hold true.
- This reactive model is no longer sufficient.
Reframing resilience:
- Resilience must be a strategic imperative.
- With a focus on building capacity, creating reserves, diversifying supply, and strengthening operational sovereignty.
Leadership moment:
- This requires real private-sector leadership.
- The right strategic choices, made now, will strengthen business resilience and the UK.
A whole-of-society approach to resilience
- Resilience is a shared responsibility, particularly between government and the private sector: there is a mutual interest in creating a safe, stable, and investable UK.
- The private sector must own its resilience and support local and national government with expertise and innovation.
- Businesses support community resilience by providing education and resources so their workforce can be better prepared at home and in the workplace.
To learn more about the campaign and how to get involved, click here.
