Why can a weak government be a problem

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Governments must now urgently identify the combination of regulations, policies, organisational structures and skills required to create transparency and restore trust.

Three accelerators 

Although the challenges are daunting, they also represent opportunities. A famous world leader once proclaimed that one should never waste a good crisis—a philosophy many governments have embraced in 2021. Three key accelerators, when leveraged in addressing the six challenges, can help governments achieve a stronger, more resilient and more inclusive society for their citizens.  

1. Digital. Governments are driving a digital agenda to increase access to citizen services, education, healthcare and social safety nets. Digital platforms, if employed strategically, can serve as a great equaliser. In education, for example, Estonia, which has the top-ranked school system in Europe, had a mature digital component prior to COVID-19 and was able to move seamlessly to a remote-learning environment. Other countries are looking at how to replicate the universal access and success of this model. Similar case studies exist across almost all citizen services. 

2. Partnerships. Public–private partnerships have become a standard financing mechanism in the large-scale infrastructure sector but are often transactional in nature. A new form of partnership is emerging across the public, private and multilateral community, however, involving deep collaboration on design, development and financing of groundbreaking programmes. These types of long-term partnerships can significantly accelerate recovery, innovation and growth. The Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) partnership, for example, established in April 2020 by the National Institutes for Health, includes more than a dozen leading biopharmaceutical companies and national health authorities, and has contributed to vaccine development in record time.  

3. Green programmes. Many governments are incorporating infrastructure into their economic stimulus packages. There is a good reason for this: a report by the Economic Policy Institute estimates that such investments are an economic multiplier, with each US$100bn put into infrastructure yielding as many as 1m full-time jobs, in addition to the benefit of the infrastructure itself. Forward-thinking countries are targeting such sustainable programmes that will help achieve the Paris Agreement’s net-zero targets while providing growth and future jobs. 

The path ahead

No matter which unique dimensions of the six challenges are present in different countries or what each government’s distinct approach is likely to be in seeking solutions, it is critical that all governments consider five key actions for sustainable success:

1. Listen to, and collaborate with, key stakeholders. Governments must take time to assess the sentiment of all stakeholders, including all citizens, businesses, partner countries and the global community. Each will bring a unique and important perspective when considering options.

2. Perform a clear analysis. Holistic and data-driven analyses will enable governments to make informed and defensible decisions for all constituents. A situational analysis must include country-specific qualitative and quantitative data, as well as global data. It must also consider historical and projected information under various scenarios.  

3. Explicitly manage priorities. With the crisis continuing alongside recovery, priorities will shift, often quickly. Government planning must be agile to accommodate those shifts in a structured and intentional manner.  

4. Prioritise solutions that promote equality. Inequality is both a cause and an effect of the six challenges described above. Governments must seek to repair societies and communities in an inclusive manner, reducing inequality and the underlying vulnerabilities.

5. Balance immediate and long-term needs. In challenging times, some governments will be tempted to address citizen challenges immediately, at the expense of long-term objectives and goals. When possible, decisions should be made for today and for the generations to come. 

Every government is searching for potential solutions to the challenges described above. Several factors—including the strength of the social systems and economy going into the crisis, economic diversity, culture, political system, and citizens’ opinion of and trust in the current government—will affect the options and decisions for each country.  

Over the next several weeks, PwC will share detailed perspectives on the spectrum of potential solutions to each of the six key challenges and will analyse the trade-offs and implications. We will also share a perspective on how the accelerators can help to build a more sustainable, inclusive future. Together, we’ll embark on the journey towards a better tomorrow.

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