Policy Paper – April 2025
Bridging the Gap: Aligning Strategic and Operational Resilience in Critical Infrastructure
Ensuring the resilience of Europe’s Critical Infrastructure (CI) has become increasingly complex in the face of multifaceted threats such as pandemics, cyber disruptions, and hybrid crises. While strategic frameworks like the CER Directive and the EU Preparedness Strategy offer high-level guidance, recent challenges, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, have exposed a critical disconnect between long-term strategic planning and on-the-ground operational execution.
To address this challenge, the EU-funded Horizon Europe project SUNRISE has released a new policy paper:
“Operational Preparedness versus Strategic Planning: Insights from the SUNRISE Project”
Key Findings
The policy paper identifies a significant gap between strategic intentions and operational capabilities, outlining two core issue areas:
1. Top-Down Challenges in Strategy Implementation
Strategic pandemic plans often lacked operational clarity, leading to confusion and overload among CI operators. Tools and resources envisioned at the strategic level were often mismatched with what was feasible or usable on the ground.
2. Bottom-Up Operational Realities Overlooked
Key operational risks, such as absenteeism, remote work challenges, and real-time supply chain failures, were insufficiently addressed in strategic policies. This mismatch hindered swift and effective crisis response.
Policy Recommendations
To reconcile these gaps, the SUNRISE project proposes three evidence-based recommendations:
1. Integrate Real-Time Operational Data into Strategic Cycles
Embed real-time “observation and orientation” from operational environments into the classic PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle to enhance responsiveness and foresight.
2. Build Trust in Bottom-Up Data Sharing
Establish frameworks for assessing the quality, reliability, and timeliness of operational data—particularly under stress or misinformation-heavy environments.
3. Prepare for the Unexpected, Not Just the Planned
Move beyond scenario-based planning to include readiness for “chaotic” or compound crises. This involves stockpiling, flexible resource deployment, joint exercises, and operational autonomy in emergencies.
Why This Matters
Strategic resilience frameworks are only as strong as their weakest operational link. SUNRISE’s insights underscore the urgent need to harmonize high-level policy with ground-level realities, ensuring that Europe’s CI not only plans for resilience but practices it in real-world conditions.
By adopting these recommendations, stakeholders can close the gap between planning and execution, making Europe’s infrastructure more adaptive, responsive, and robust.
Download the full Policy Paper PDF here: Strategy2Operations – Policy Brief FINAL
Contributors:
The main author of this policy brief is Aljosa Pasic, Eviden (SUNRISE Project Coordinator). For more information on this brief, contact:
Aljosa Pasic, aljosa.pasic@eviden.com
Acknowledgments
The work presented in this policy paper has been done in the scope of the SUNRISE project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe framework programme under grant agreement No.101073821. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the REA can be held responsible for them.
