Igor Lys: “Governments are the bearers of the ultimate responsibility in a world full of unpredictable dangers”

In this interview, the founder of leading French government advisory Gambit and the initiator of the Government Tomorrow Forum Igor Lys explains the origins of the event and shares his thoughts about the roles of governments in the modern world

Q: Why did you create Government Tomorrow Forum, and what are its objectives and goals?

With my associates, I run Gambit, an outcome-oriented government consultancy. We have a limited number of ongoing projects, and we don't try to multiply the number of clients but instead focus on high-value-added actions that help improve societies. However, we talk to many leaders globally, and since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis and, more recently, with the illegal and terrible Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are seeing a sharp increase in what I would call governmental curiosity. A lot of new interest in innovative, out-of-the-box techniques and technologies for governments, public services, and governance in general. I think the reason for this is the realization by the leaders that the global context is unpredictable, challenging, and frankly speaking, concerning.

GTF is an attempt to answer this curiosity by bringing together very different people united by the desire to render our societies better and making them talk and think about what is this "government of tomorrow," what it looks like, what problems it tries to solve, and by which means. So the main objective of GTF for me is to create a global center that produces ideas and tools for governments worldwide, whatever the political system or local culture.

Q: You say that the leaders start to realize only now that the global context is unpredictable, but this sounds like an exaggeration.

I am not saying leaders were ignorant of the dangers of the world or the key megatrends. But it is empirically valid that many of these leaders have been seeing the world as a sort of a huge cruise ship that, even if rocking from time to time in rare storms, is basically unsinkable. The succession of crises that we have been living through for almost three years demonstrates that we must prepare for, and not just talk about, significant systemic disruptions. Questions like energy, water, public health, and even general security in the West are now becoming pressing tasks and not some hypothetical dangers. This realization, and the subsequent interest in original solutions and ideas, are more or less new.

Q: But isn't this a problem for the citizens to the same, or maybe even bigger, extent than a problem for governments? In the end, such global challenges require a general response from everyone concerned.

This is not, obviously, uniquely a government question. But it is governments, and nobody else, who are the bearers of the ultimate responsibility in this world full of dangers, and often unpredictable ones. Everyone must play a role, but at the end of the day, everybody turns to the governments for solutions because through power and reach, it is they who are responsible for maintaining stability and ensuring growth and development.

Q: What makes Government Tomorrow different from the existing conferences and forums?

We are very complimentary to the existing events and fora because GTF is about working on precise ideas and producing actionable tools and guides. So this focus on deliverables that we manufacture after a conference or a seminar is one key difference. The other crucial distinction is our attempt to think a bit out of the box regarding speakers. To world leaders and experienced government professionals, like acting and former heads of state, ministers, and people like this, we add not just scholars and business people, but for example, comic book writers, people from seemingly irrelevant fields of science, writers, etc. Good ideas can come from anywhere, and we must ensure we don't miss something because of our "tunnel vision."

Q: What are your expectations regarding the Government Tomorrow Forum's first edition in 2023?

I expect it to be a great event because all the people we have invited are not there by accident - they all are exceptional professionals and great thinkers. I am convinced that they will be able to come up with some great ideas for everybody who will follow the conference and its results: not just Gambit's existing and new clients, but every curious government in the world. My big hope is that we can connect other leading consultancies to the effort and create even in the very first edition this global thought leadership center on global trends I believe many governments and companies need.