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Managing Disruption: A New Resource from GPS NC

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Increasingly, it feels like the world is changing before our very eyes. From once-in-a-lifetime events like the COVID-19 pandemic to evolving but major trends like the aging of the population, a changing workplace, artificial intelligence, or climate, North Carolina communities today are encountering disruptive change with greater frequency. New combinations of social, technological, economic, and environmental forces are arriving in our communities and shaping our future.

These forces of change bring uncertainty, with each driver approaching communities at different speeds and with different potential impacts. The challenge is that we don’t know which drivers will end up having minimal impact and which will transform our communities entirely—nor do we know whether those transformations will harm communities or create new conditions to prosper.

GPS NC

So, what can decision-makers in the state do to better prepare their communities to manage the forces of disruption in a way that mitigates negative impacts and maximizes opportunities? To help communities each develop a customized pathway forward, the UNC School of Government has developed a new program called Growing Practical Solutions for North Carolina (GPS NC). Funded by the Civic Credit Union and coordinated by the ncIMPACT Initiative, this program is designed to foster a culture of innovation that increases the capacity of local communities to respond to disruptive change.

GPS NC’s first product is a new report titled Managing Disruption in a Rapidly Changing World: A Briefing Book for Decision-Makers in North Carolina. This report describes a framework for understanding drivers of change, presents short write-ups on 16 common drivers, and lays out a six-step process for how local and state governments can draft a Community Readiness Plan to increase their resilience.

With this resource in hand, decision-makers can identify the drivers of change that are most relevant to their community, assess the implementation measures that will help them best respond, and work systematically to better prepare for the future. They can inject more of a future focus in their daily operations and make strategic investments to help them better manage the next disruption.

The future is filled with change. How we respond is up to us. With resources like the Managing Disruption report, communities can increase their ability to weather the challenges of a rapidly changing world and seize the opportunities that it presents. And as GPS NC builds more tools and opportunities to support local innovation, we will all rest a little bit easier in the face of disruptive change.

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Benjamin Hitchings, FAICP, CZO and David Rouse, FAICP, ASLA
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