In a world impacted by COVID-19, making a single plan, on the assumption that the future will look like the past, is no longer sufficient. Instead, being able to use scenario planning to anticipate the different ways the future may play out to make a plan that is robust across different scenarios is emerging as one of the new key competencies of the decision-makers.
This session reflected on the experience of using scenario planning to help the Romanian Government get better prepared for reopening and operating schools in the COVID-19 context. The rapid 1.5-month long support that mobilized experts and disruptive thinkers across healthcare, education, ICT, school managers, teachers, parents and students to imagine the possible futures and how best to get prepared for them was a result of a successful Governance and Education cross-GP collaboration. The support is part of the RAS supporting the General Secretariat of the Government of Romania in setting up a Policy Lab, with scenario planning as one of its methods.
Participants learned how to use scenario planning to help governments to develop robust strategies for immediate responses or mid-term recovery in times of deep uncertainty, and how Ministries of Education can effectively co-create solutions with stakeholders across the delivery chain, including frontline staff, students and parents to safely reopen and operate schools.