Exploring the uncharted waters of complexity: Novelpolycrisis Analysis Resource for Policy-Makers' Decision-Making

*A Hands-On Workshop for Navigating the Modern Crisis Maze*

Struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing global crises? Fret no more! A cutting-edge workshop model, devised by JRC scientists, promises to equip policymakers with the tools they need to tackle today's tangled web of simultaneous crises known as polycrisis.

In today's world, crises ranging from geopolitical shifts, climate-induced disasters, and supply chain disruptions are galore. The Polycrisis Exploration Tool, designed for a time like this, comes into play, offering a structured framework to enhance risk awareness, map potential future crises, and identify effective policy responses.

🌪️ Is the Era of Polycrisis upon us?

Polycrisis is the term that describes a labyrinthine network of overlapping crises that escalate and feed into each other. For example, the escalating climate crisis not only destroys natural habitats and heats up the planet but also increases the likelihood of extreme weather events and unstoppable sea-level rise.

In a system already under strain, new crises can magnify the existing problems, erode resilience, endanger public health, cascade through economies, widen social disparities, and stoke political tensions.

💭 But how can we decide today that our decisions will still be valid tomorrow?

Meet the complexity head-on with strategic foresight, a crucial player in boosting EU policymakers' and disaster risk managers' preparedness and resilience. The polycrisis exploration tool complements traditional risk assessment methods by providing a holistic understanding of interconnected risks. It steers policymakers clear from the pitfalls of focusing on isolated events.

Prepare for tomorrow's disasters by understanding today's risks. The polycrisis exploration tool draws insights from the foresight report "Risks on the Horizon," identifying 40 future risks clustered into 10 categories. From topics like critical raw materials dependencies, social inequality, terrorism, and even the loss of human power, this tool covers a vast landscape of potential crises.

🛠️ How does it work?

The workshop employs a polycrisis exploration approach, divided into three main activities:

Risk Awareness: Participants delve into diverse risks, questioning assumptions, and exploring various perspectives. This activity fosters a broad understanding of potential future risks and their implications for specific policy areas, allowing participants to select the three most impactful yet lesser-known risks.
Crisis Forecasting: Participants envision and map the impacts of selected risks as they transition into crises. This activity highlights the intricate connections between risks and their potential cascading effects, illuminating complex relationships and identifying "hotspots" for further analysis.
Policy Innovation: By examining the underlying drivers of crises, participants brainstorm potential policy responses and devise new solutions. This activity aims to spark novel ideas for powerful interventions and forge partnerships to curb the adverse effects of future crises.

Feel free to throw in some "wildcard" risks during the workshop, as these may not be included in the initial set of risks.

This highly adaptable workshop draws on the collective intelligence of participants, fostering creative thinking and collaborative problem-solving. This not only enhances risk awareness but also yields innovative solutions that cater to a wide range of perspectives.

Start your polycrisis exploration journey today! This half-day workshop serves as a stepping stone, leading to deeper analysis and long-term planning. The insights you gather from the workshop can fuel subsequent foresight projects, empowering strategic decision-making and comprehensive preparedness planning.

The polycrisis exploration tool marries perfectly with the mission of the EU Preparedness Union, which champions foresight as an essential preparedness instrument. Though foresight doesn’t predict the future, it strengthens anticipatory governance by examining possible futures to boost awareness and shape a more desirable tomorrow.

In the realm of policy-and-legislation and politics, the polycrisis exploration tool provides a holistic understanding of interconnected risks, such as critical raw materials dependencies, social inequality, and even the loss of human power, within environmental-science, medical-conditions, and health.
The workshop's approach, encompassing risk awareness, crisis forecasting, and policy innovation, is geared towards addressing lesser-known risks and fostering novel ideas for tackling future crises that could endanger public health and widen social disparities.
By integrating the polycrisis exploration tool into the mission of the EU Preparedness Union, which emphasizes the importance of foresight as a means of anticipatory governance, decision-makers can strive for a more desirable future, improving governance and preparedness planning in the face of modern crises.
Delving into the intricate connections between various crises and their cascading effects, this tool contributes to a broader understanding of the labyrinthine polycrisis network and its impact on general-news and society at large.