The 12th meeting of the OECD High Level Risk Forum convened senior government officials to advance the international policy agenda for building preparedness and resilience to critical risks in advanced economies. It facilitated cross country learning of good practices in preparing for future crises by drawing lessons from past disasters in accordance with the 2014 OECD Recommendation on Governance of Critical Risks.

The Russian aggression in Ukraine requires risk and crisis managers in OECD countries to adapt their preparedness for a wider range of risks than ever, and to develop adaptive capacities. Members shared experience with plans and tools to better manage disruptions in energy and food markets that are vital to society. These recent developments take place while OECD countries are enacting reforms following the COVID-19 pandemic. A key lesson from the pandemic for country risk managers has been that anticipation and understanding of critical risks are only a starting point to inform preparedness decisions. 

OECD presented its analysis on country implementation of the OECD Recommendation on Governance of Critical Risks, its multidisciplinary evaluation of crisis management in Luxembourg during the COVID-19 crisis, and the results of a cross country collaboration on mapping and assessing critical emerging risks. 

The meeting also invited practitioners from Member countries to facilitate expert exchanges on managing supply chains disruptions to energy infrastructure, and transparency in government decisions to ration gas supplies. Members presented tools for civil preparedness planning in a context of increasing hybrid threats and potential disruptions to critical infrastructure. Finally, participants took place in a table-top exercise on disruptions to supply chains for energy, food and semi-conductors.

Contact: For more information on the High Level Risk Forum, please contact Jack Radisch (jack.radisch@oecd.org).

M‌eeting documents

Agendas in English and French

 Presentations