Interconnectivity between systems is one of the defining and determining features of our modern world, which is becoming ever more complex and dynamic. While this interconnectivity can increase system efficiency and service delivery, it can reduce resilience and expose the various layered systems to risk of shocks, stresses or even system failures and collapses. Shocks to interconnected systems may cause feedback and cascading effects and unwanted side effects. A better understanding of the dynamic of risks in complex systems is essential for decision makers in order to prepare their organisations for future challenges – but for many applications, traditional risk management practices are no longer adequate in the face of high uncertainty, system complexity, interpretative ambiguity and turbulence.
This paper will present on-going work of the IRGC on how organisations can better deal with risks in complex systems. This includes resilience strategies, focusing on adapting or transforming systems, which can help prepare for and address the consequences of such risks.