The Cost of acting alone…..

Governments worldwide are grappling with increasingly complex challenges: climate change, energy crises, infrastructure constraints, migration surges, and economic disruptions.

Despite the commonality of these issues, many governments approach them in isolation, investing vast sums of money, time, and resources into localized studies and solutions. This practice persists even when proven strategies and models exist elsewhere.

Take the Dutch government as a prime example: recurring problems such as net congestion, energy policy misalignment, and resistance to nuclear power reveal systemic failures in international collaboration. Instead of asking, “Who has already solved this problem?”, governments tend to default to reinventing the wheel.

This isolationist approach comes at a steep cost:

???? Billions of taxpayer euros are wasted on redundant research and failed experiments.

???? Decades are lost due to indecisive action and bureaucratic delays.

???? Global challenges remain unresolved, perpetuating societal and economic instability.

These challenges, however, are not new. The Draghi Report, released this year, echoes these concerns at a pan-European level, emphasizing that effective solutions require cross-border collaboration and a unified response to shared challenges. The report underscores the importance of leveraging collective knowledge, scaling proven strategies, and modernizing governance systems to meet today’s global disruptions head-on. In light of its findings, this article explores how governments can embrace a collaborative mindset, learn from peers, and avoid the pitfalls of isolated decision-making.

In contrast, the private sector has embraced a new mindset. When companies face disruptions, their immediate instinct is collaboration: “We can’t be the only ones dealing with this. Let’s learn from others, adapt their solutions, and scale quickly.” Governments must adopt this same approach to solve pressing issues more efficiently and effectively.

?The case of Net Congestion: a Dutch crisis made worse

Net congestion; the inability of electrical grids to handle the growing demand for renewable energy;? has become a major bottleneck in the Netherlands. Policies encouraging mass adoption of solar panels, electric vehicles, and wind energywere implemented without corresponding investments in infrastructure. While these initiatives were well-intentioned, the result has been a grid system that is overloaded, inefficient, and unfit for modern energy needs.

The root of the problem

The Dutch government prioritized demand-side policies:

???? Billions of euros were spent subsidizing solar panel installations on residential rooftops.

???? Electric car purchases were incentivized with generous rebates.

???? Large-scale offshore wind farms were fast-tracked, creating a massive influx of intermittent renewable energy.

However, these efforts ignored a critical supply-side constraint: grid capacity. The existing infrastructure was not upgraded to accommodate the new load, creating systemic congestion.

A missed opportunity for Collaboration

Countries such as Germany and Denmark have faced similar challenges but took proactive steps to expand and modernize their grid infrastructure:

Germany invested heavily in grid-balancing technologies, including battery storage and demand-response systems.

Denmark adopted a smart grid approach, integrating real-time monitoring and predictive analytics to optimize energy flows.

Sweden: a model for Net Congestion Mitigation

Sweden presents a compelling example of how to address net congestion through proactive infrastructure planning and risk management. Unlike many nations, Sweden has long prioritized electricity as the primary energy source for households and industries, which led to a robust grid infrastructure capable of handling increasing loads.

Recently, Sweden renewed a comprehensive Net Congestion Risk Study, assessing vulnerabilities and proposing strategies to mitigate grid congestion. The study identified key measures:

Targeted grid investments: expanding capacity in high-demand regions and reinforcing existing infrastructure to prevent bottlenecks.

Smart grid technologies: implementing real-time data analytics and load-balancing tools to optimize energy distribution across the network.

Regional collaboration: aligning efforts with neighboring Nordic countries to share resources and stabilize supply during peak loads.

This report, which highlights proven strategies, offers valuable insights for other nations. Instead of conducting costly and time-consuming local studies, governments like the Netherlands could leverage Sweden’s findings to implement effective, scalable solutions. By doing so, they can save both time and taxpayer money while addressing net congestion challenges.

Why didn’t the Netherlands adopt these proven strategies earlier? The failure to collaborate internationally has left the Dutch grid in a reactive state, exacerbating congestion issues and delaying the energy transition.

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Nuclear Power: lessons from France & the cost of Political Hesitation

The nuclear power debate serves as another example of governments acting in isolation and delaying critical decisions. France, often heralded as the global leader in nuclear energy, made strategic investments decades ago to ensure a reliable, clean energy supply. Today, France derives over 70% of its electricity from nuclear power, positioning itself as a frontrunner in energy independence and decarbonization.

The Dutch Context

In contrast, the Netherlands and many other European countries have been hesitant to embrace nuclear energy due to political resistance, particularly from left-wing green parties. Despite mounting evidence that nuclear power is one of the cleanest and most reliable energy sources, opposition has stalled progress. The result?

Energy dependency: The Netherlands remains reliant on imported fossil fuels and renewable energy sources that strain the grid.

Transition delays: New nuclear power plants face years of permitting and regulatory hurdles, setting back decarbonization goals by a decade or more.

Public skepticism: A lack of political consensus has fueled misinformation and public distrust in nuclear energy.

France: a blueprint for Success

France’s success with nuclear power offers valuable lessons:

Long-term vision: Investments in nuclear energy were made with a 50-year horizon, prioritizing energy security and sustainability.

Public engagement: Transparent communication and education campaigns helped build public support for nuclear power.

Operational excellence: France’s expertise in maintaining and scaling nuclear infrastructure has set the global standard.

The Netherlands and other nations should collaborate with France to adopt best practices, streamline regulatory processes, and accelerate nuclear energy deployment.

A Shift in Mindset is needed: Lessons from the Private Sector

While governments struggle with inertia and siloed decision-making, the private sector has evolved to address challenges with speed, agility, and collaboration. When faced with disruptions such as supply chain bottlenecks or technology adoption gaps, companies follow three key principles:

Collaboration over Isolation: companies leverage global networks to share knowledge, adopt proven solutions, and avoid duplication of effort.

Example: Automotive manufacturers collaborate on shared platforms for electric vehicle development to reduce costs and accelerate innovation.

Speed and Agility: businesses prioritize rapid decision-making and implementation, using data-driven insights to adapt in real time.

Example: Tech companies deploy low-code platforms to build and scale applications in days, not months.

Learning and Scaling: successful organizations replicate proven models, customizing them to local contexts and scaling solutions efficiently.

Example: Supply chain leaders use digital twins to simulate disruptions and optimize operations based on real-world scenarios.

Governments must adopt this mindset to solve shared challenges and deliver results faster.

?The Resilience Mindset: examples governments can learn from

The IBM report Resilience in Action highlights case studies where collaboration, innovation, and technology enabled governments to address shared challenges effectively. These examples offer valuable lessons also for the Dutch government and others facing similar disruptions.

Example 1: Norway’s pandemic response through collaboration

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agder Health Community in Norway faced two major challenges: coordinating healthcare services across municipalities and managing evolving threats from virus variants. To overcome these challenges, the community adopted a collaborative risk management approach using the Strategyfinder platform

Key Success Factors:

• Multi-stakeholder collaboration: experts from hospitals, local governments, and crisis management teams worked together to identify systemic risks.
• Analytical tools: the use of advanced risk mapping tools enabled the identification of “vicious cycles” where risks reinforced each other, allowing targeted mitigation efforts.
• Scalable solutions: The approach has since been expanded to address other crises, including power outages and natural disasters.

Other countries could adopt similar tools and frameworks to manage energy grid risks and coordinate cross-border solutions.

Example 2: Moldova’s digital refugee platform: Technology-enabled Crisis Management

In response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, Moldova rapidly developed dopomoga.gov.md, a digital platform that provided refugees with essential services and information

Key Success Factors:

• Rapid deployment: The platform was built within weeks, leveraging existing digital infrastructure and agile development methods.
• Human-centered design: Developers engaged directly with refugees to understand their needs and priorities.
• Cross-sector coordination: The platform integrated efforts from government agencies, NGOs, and international partners.

This model demonstrates the power of technology and collaboration in addressing humanitarian challenges. Other countries could apply similar principles to streamline permitting processes for energy projects and reduce bureaucratic delays.

Example 3: Nashville’s Grid Resilience: simulating solutions with Digital Twins

Faced with increasing power blackouts caused by extreme weather, Nashville deployed a Synthetic Environment Twin to model and visualize grid vulnerabilities.

Key Success Factors:

• Predictive analytics: The digital twin simulated grid failures and identified critical pressure points.
• Targeted investments: Insights from the model informed strategic investments in distributed energy resources (DER) and resilience hubs.
• Community engagement: The approach prioritized human-centric data, ensuring equitable resource distribution during crises.

Countries could leverage digital twin technology to model grid congestion scenarios, optimize energy flows, and inform infrastructure investments.

The Action Plan for Governments

To prevent wasteful isolationism and address shared challenges effectively, governments must adopt the following principles:

• Collaborate with Peers: establish cross-border partnerships to share best practices, align policies, and scale proven solutions.
• Invest in Technology: leverage tools such as digital twins, low-code platforms, and risk mapping software to enhance decision-making and resilience.
• Adopt a systemic view: address interconnected challenges holistically, focusing on long-term outcomes rather than short-term fixes.
• Streamline Bureaucracy: Simplify regulatory processes and prioritize agility to accelerate critical projects.
• Learn and Scale: identify successful case studies globally and adapt them to local contexts, ensuring efficient use of resources.

Conclusion: from reinventing the wheel to Building Collective Resilience

The challenges we face today; energy transitions, climate change, and infrastructure constraints;? are global in nature. Yet, governments continue to operate in silos, repeating the same mistakes and wasting valuable time and resources.

The Draghi Report reminds us that collective resilience requires shared responsibility, collaboration, and decisive action. It emphasizes that nations cannot afford to act alone in addressing systemic disruptions. The report urges governments to adopt frameworks for cross-border partnerships, pool expertise, and implement proven solutions without delay.

The Dutch government, and governments worldwide, must adopt this mindset: stop reinventing the wheel. By learning from peers, leveraging technology, and prioritizing collaboration, governments can solve shared challenges efficiently, build resilience, and deliver lasting results for their citizens.

The future demands action, not isolation. The cost of inaction is simply too high….for today and for generations to come.

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