Navigating Uncertainty: Why Adaptive Strategy Matters in Global Development

• How SRI helps organisations reinforce their organisational strategies 

• Adaptability as a key pillar upon which long-term objectives can be sustainably achieved 

• Why it matters now, more than ever 

“You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive, or else a strategy is useless.” 

Charles de Gaulle 

Introduction 

The term strategy is often seen as ambiguous in its meaning, and even quite vague. It’s ironic then that, in fact, precision provides the firmest foundation on which to set strategies. Yet in our search for precision, an equally important factor is sometimes lost. Today, adaptability provides the best opportunity at achieving long-term strategic objectives, while bolstering resilience and reflecting evolving operational contexts. 

Overly rigid strategies built on inflexible pillars make it difficult to correct course, sometimes leading to path dependence or dead ends. Often, these strategies overemphasise short-term, quantifiable targets over meaningful impact, and lack sustainable buy-in from key stakeholders. If and when things start to go wrong, they lack the flexibility to response.  

The development sector, in particular, regularly and vigilantly contends with challenges that are difficult to foresee, and almost impossible to mitigate against entirely. In 2025, we have already seen the importance of adaptability in changing circumstances, as extreme policy and budget changes bring systemic threats to the sector. An adaptive approach to strategy can enable responses to even the most extreme external shocks. 

Note: Strategies can vary enormously in everything from design, structure, success factors or terminology. The design and implementation of strategic approaches also varies depending on the sector or organisation in question. Here, we use the term ‘strategy’ to refer to choices underpinned with a plan of action designed to achieve long-term goals and objectives.  

In this article, we share the illustrative lessons from insufficiently adaptive strategies, aiming to help you avoid common pitfalls. 

Lessons in Adaptability 

In the last few years alone, there have been global incidents and challenges of an unparalleled scale. These issues have forced responses that highlight the crucial lessons on the necessity of adaptability in strategy. Some of the most pressing challenges of recent times can serve as high-level examples:  namely, the Climate Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the respective strategic responses by governments. These examples highlight the consequences of insufficient adaptability in rapidly evolving external conditions.  

In both respective cases, and despite the ostensibly plentiful resources available, maladaptive features of each of the overarching strategies highlight the vital importance of establishing any long-term strategy as a live, responsive instrument that reflects the complexity of challenges as clearly as possible. Whether through transparency and policy detail, delayed or limited stakeholder engagements, or the lack of tangible mitigation measures in response to potential political instabilities, each of the examples listed highlights the existential threat posed to long-term strategic goals by insufficient approaches at the critical planning, design and initial implementation stages, even when the strategies in question have been composed by teams, departments and individuals on behalf of some of the world’s wealthiest countries and governments. 

Overcoming Barriers to Net Zero 

Many governments have struggled to design and execute their Net Zero strategies. The United Kingdom, for instance, laid out ambitions to be a world leader in the fields of greenhouse gas emission reductions, green-energy manufacturing and adoption, and a managed transition from energy systems and industries reliant on fossil fuels to renewable energy. Its comprehensive and multi-faceted Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener, published in October 2021, included a range of policies and proposals designed to help the country achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, ensure sustainable achievement of its carbon budget and meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement, amongst other linked goals and objectives. 

The ambitious and firm strategy, under a robust legal framework, represented conventional best practice in the planning, designing and implementation of strategies. But it hasn’t been able to adapt to changing circumstances, and  evolving external factors have raised questions on the fundamental pillars of the UK’s approach. The UK's stagnant growth, slow EV adoption, and political shifts on climate policy pose a growing challenge to the Net Zero Strategy. The strategy was developed using a top-down approach and long-term targets with limited flexibility, relied on unproven technologies, and included little contingency planning or real-time monitoring.  

Given the interlinked, multi-sectoral nature of the strategy, any lack of coherence among its diverse aspects could render it futile, resulting in a disastrous loss of political capital, taxpayers' money, and momentum that took decades to build. Without sufficient adaptability, there is a plausible risk that the strategy will be superficially altered to respond to external circumstances, diverting focus from the core objectives. This jeopardises the success of an ambitious, costly strategy that was years in the making.  

The UK is now facing the consequences of a strategy that was not designed to fit a fast-moving, unpredictable environment: politicisation, taxpayer and industry frustration, and a failure to meet targets. Unable to adapt to its evolving context, the strategy has become a tool for political point-scoring and media sensationalism. 

A Rigid COVID-19 Response 

Whilst the Climate Crisis has been monitored as an emerging threat for decades, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 was a shock of unprecedented scale on global health systems, international supply chains, domestic economies, and individual livelihoods. There were some attempts at multilateralism in best-practice responses, led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other key global health organisations, and adherence to the best available scientific guidance. But, most countries had substantially differentiated strategies that were tailored to their domestic circumstances. Countries including China, Australia and Singapore, for instance, adopted a more rigid and strict approach.  

China's initial zero-COVID response, for example, was based on a public health strategy aimed at completely eradicating the virus within its borders. This strategy was stringent when compared with the staggered, phased response which was adopted in general by most countries. The rigorously implemented Chinese response involved strict lockdowns, mass testing, extensive contact tracing, and quarantine measures to prevent the domestic spread of the virus. Initially, this approach successfully contained the virus, particularly during the early stages of the pandemic, and allowed China to maintain relatively low case numbers compared to other countries. However, the policy also created significant challenges. The strategy’s singular focus on total virus elimination left little room for responsiveness and flexibility, while the top-down, centralised approach hindered the ability to react swiftly to fast-changing conditions – including new variants. The measures led to widespread economic disruptions, prolonged lockdowns, and restrictions on movement. The strategy did eventually adapt, though this occurred slowly, only after rising public discontent and escalating costs necessitated change. These issues highlighted the need for a balanced and flexible strategy which could adapt to changing circumstances and maintain stakeholder support.  

Learning from Maladaptive Strategies 

The examples above highlight strategic approaches that encountered substantial, in some ways, existential challenges due to insufficient levels of adaptability across the respective key pillars. They reflect responses to extreme, unforeseen events. The most difficult challenges they encountered were in large part due to an inability to evolve in real-time, due to one-dimensional targets, limited flexibility and contingency planning, and a top-down approach with insufficient stakeholder engagement.  

Organisational strategies in the development sector are distinct in many ways from strategic approaches designed by and/or with a government-led focus and broad domestic agenda. Yet, both require a focused approach, careful balancing of interests and obligations, and the establishment of a clear, defined pathway.  

Organisational strategies in the global development space must embody flexibility and adaptability, due to their direct engagement with unpredictable and dynamic environments where economic, political, and environmental conditions can change rapidly. A rigid strategy may become obsolete if unexpected crises—such as pandemics, conflicts, or natural disasters—arise. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many NGOs had to shift from education and economic development programs to emergency health and food aid. Others had to move from direct service delivery and supervision models to ones of remote support. An adaptive approach ensures that interventions remain impactful, the effectiveness of resources is maximised alongside a consistent focus on efficiency, and alignment can be maintained between both long-term goals and immediate realities. 

Learn More About Adaptive Strategies 

The complexity of the various, most pressing issues facing individuals, communities and countries worldwide shows no signs of abating. Therefore, it is incumbent on those organisations seeking to affect genuine change to ensure that their strategies adequately reflect the complexity of the challenges they face. Only then can long-term objectives focused on far-reaching, systemic issues be feasible and eminently realisable.  

SRI Executive’s Consulting Practice recently convened an Adaptive Strategy Workshop, which synthesised key insights from SRI expert consultants and leading industry thought-leaders in an exploration of; central focus areas, emerging challenges and the future state of adaptive strategies, how they can be optimised and their place in the arena of organisational effectiveness across the multi-sectoral global development space.   

How SRI Executive Can Help 

Rigid strategies cannot deliver lasting impact or meaningful change in the complex context across the current global development space. At SRI, we harness true expertise encompassing strategy analysis, review, planning, design and implementation, to offer our clients and partners a bespoke service tailored to their unique needs. Our deep internal network and substantial external reach provide us with peerless insights into strategic success. We are proud of our ability to offer truly holistic advice and hands-on support with actionable recommendations, which can vary from practical guidance for eventual implementation and monitoring, to consultations that can provide vital insights on key, emerging topics, such as the necessity to prioritise local context and community engagement or balancing financial sustainability with climate resilience and environmental considerations. 

Our Consulting practice has partnered with many organisations, helping them to reliably and consistently deliver lasting impact and the ultimate achievement of long-term goals. Our experienced consultants and analysts imbue each phase of a strategy-focused project - which can range from existing strategy evaluation and reviews, partnering in strategy development, to complete strategy design and implementation - with unrivalled sectoral knowledge and technical expertise. Our participatory and co-creative approaches reflect the flexibility that is such an important aspect of a suitably adaptive strategy, delivering similarly powerful results conducive to long-term success. 

We are also in the unique position of being able to leverage the expert insights gained through our Executive Search practice. Our Executive Search consultants and personnel regularly engage with and recruit exceptional strategic leaders who balance a multitude of interests and obligations. Understanding the nuances of how leaders in global development approach the design of a strategy puts our consultants in a truly unique position to bolster and reinforce strategic approaches.  

With collaboration being a core ethos underlining all the work we support and deliver, we work in partnership with our clients through the provision of mixed-use methodologies, the application of best-practice approaches and evidence, innovative frameworks and diagnostic tools, as well as ensuring alignment with broader project governance frameworks that enable seamless and timely delivery.  

If you’d like to discuss your strategy or learn more about an adaptive approach, contact us here.