Earlier this spring, ShockBox — Pantopicon’s red-teaming format for stress-testing organisations against disruptive scenarios — was presented at the Netwerkdagen Crisisbeheersing in the Netherlands, the annual gathering of professionals working in civil protection, safety regions, and crisis management.

The presentation drew on Pantopicon’s recent work with Veiligheidsregio Zeeland, where ShockBox is being used to explore the region’s resilience to long-duration power outages. It was warmly received by peers in the field, with several conversations sparked around how the format could support other safety regions and public-sector organisations facing similar resilience questions.

ShockBox is designed to make uncomfortable conversations productive: which of an organisation’s assumed-stable inputs aren’t, who they depend on that has never been named, and what day three of a serious disruption actually looks like. While the method has been developed in the context of foresight and futures work, its applicability reaches well beyond the public sector — into utilities, logistics, healthcare, and any organisation whose continuity plans deserve a serious stress test.

Curious to put your own organisation through a ShockBox session? Get in touch.