Our history

Since 2012, an international team of academics has developed research on local government financial resilience, focusing on how they anticipate, absorb, respond to and learn from financial shocks. This work examines the role of anticipatory capacities, coping capacities, perceived vulnerabilities and external shocks in shaping the financial resilience of local governments and their ability to continue delivering services under pressure.

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The research shows that financial resilience is not determined by financial indicators alone. It is also shaped by the organisational capacities, behaviours and perceptions that influence how councils identify risks, make decisions, mobilise resources and adapt during periods of stress. These capacities play a key role in determining whether responses to financial shocks are mainly reactive and short-term, or whether they help the organisation adapt, learn and become better prepared for future uncertainty.

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Over the years our research was funded by CIMA, CIPFA, and the University of Essex Impact Acceleration Account. In partnership with CIMA and CIPFA, we have co-produced the Governmental Financial Resilience Toolkit with practitioners in the UK to assist governments in measuring their financial resilience and building their capabilities to withstand shocks from (un)expected disruptive events/crises.