Toward a new-generation risk governance: Comprehensive framework and roadmap to strengthen anticipatory, inclusive, and sustainable systems

This white paper proposes a New-Generation Risk Governance Framework to help States shift from reactive, sector-based approaches to anticipatory, inclusive, and sustainable systems. Contemporary risks are evolving faster than institutions can manage them. Disasters are now interconnected, cumulative, and systemic—spreading across infrastructure, essential services, ecosystems, economies, and governance itself. These cascading failures amplify impacts and deepen inequality, overwhelming systems that were not designed for the speed, scale, and complexity of today’s risk landscape.

Despite advances in legislation, national systems, and global commitments, countries continue to face a persistent implementation gap. Risks are generated by everyday decisions on land use, budgeting, infrastructure, regulation, and service delivery. When these decisions are fragmented, reactive, or detached from evidence and equity, vulnerabilities accumulate and become crisis multipliers. The framework is built around four strategic blocks:

1. Coordinated, Reliable, and Learning-Oriented Institutions with clear mandates, risk appetite defined at State level, and the capacity to learn, adapt, and experiment safely.
2. Decisions, Policies, and Finance Aligned with Risk, integrating risk into planning, budgeting, regulation, and investment—supported by sustainable fiscal strategies.
3. Safe, Functional, and Resilient Cities, Territories, and Infrastructure, including life-cycle infrastructure management, equitable urban planning, and strategies for informal expansion.
4. Knowledge Systems, Justice, and Coalitions that ensure evidence-based decisions, inclusive participation, and transparent communication.