How can governments build trust and demonstrate value to a skeptical public?
The work of the government and public sector is profoundly challenging in 2025. By focusing on integrated risk management, public sector leaders can deliver better on their obligations to constituents and support their agencies to shape the future with confidence.
From growing geopolitical complexity to contested action on climate change, governments globally must navigate a diverse, interconnected and rapidly evolving risk landscape in 2025. This work, of wrestling with “wicked problems,” has always been the domain of governments, and necessarily involves making potentially unpalatable decisions today to prevent larger crises tomorrow. What’s more, it must be done without compromising public service delivery or fiscal responsibility, and while seeking to sustain and grow political capital.
With both public expectations and skepticism of government simultaneously high, managing this complex risk landscape effectively isn’t only a strategic necessity. It’s also an opportunity to rebuild public trust by showing that proactive governance can provide tangible benefits.
To explore the opportunity, EY has published a new report, “How can governments build trust and demonstrate value in a time of skepticism and change?”. It identifies the top 10 risks for governments and public sector organizations globally in 2025 and suggests concrete actions for leaders to consider.
Read a summary of the report from EY, download it in full or listen to an audio version on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Audible.
The ability to manage risks effectively determines success
As the global risk landscape becomes more interconnected, the trade-offs government and public sector leaders must manage are becoming more acute and urgent to progress. For example, what are the fiscal risks of increasing defense spending when economic growth is low? Or the opportunity costs of allocating more resources to defense at the expense of social programs? What are the economic risks of moving too fast on the transition to net zero? Or the environmental risks of moving too slowly?
Governments’ ability to resolve these trade-offs and manage these risks has become an increasingly important determinant of success. It depends on the person in public office being willing to make potentially unpopular but necessary decisions for the public good. The extent to which they will do so comes down to their expertise, ethics, and the system of rules and protocols within which they operate.
It also requires a deep foundation of public trust. Yet according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, published on 20 January, government is distrusted in 17 of the 28 countries measured. And the 2024 election supercycle failed to improve trust. In other words, public trust in government is falling just when it’s needed the most.
To add to the challenge, governments aren’t afforded the same opportunity as the private sector to innovate and experiment in ways that result in failures and lessons. Why? Because there’s an expectation that every dollar directly delivers value to the public and maximizes political capital.
In my own home country of Australia, for example, there’s a strong expectation that our governments will step in quickly when communities have been decimated by floods or fires. But there’s also a deep reluctance to give governments access to personal information that would allow financial support to flow quickly to where it’s most needed.
Put simply, there’s a tension between what we say we want our governments to deliver for us and our willingness to trust them to do so — particularly in ways that are untried and untested. But when the public perceives the consequent inaction by governments as failure, it can feed into populist narratives about their ineffectiveness. And as the 2024 election supercycle showed, this can lead many incumbents to lose power or big chunks of their majorities.
Shaping the future with confidence
Our report aims to help government and public sector leaders address this tension by proving the value of their initiatives and building public trust in their decision-making. By adopting an integrated approach to risk management, public sector leaders can better anticipate and mitigate potential threats. This proactive stance can better equip them to meet their obligations effectively, even amid high constituent expectations and limited financial resources.
Collaborative and confident public leadership is crucial to this process. An integrated risk management framework offers systematic and transparent assessments, allowing government leaders to make informed decisions across silos and clearly communicate their rationale. In turn, this fosters public and institutional understanding as well as support for difficult choices, highlighting the risks of both change and maintaining the status quo.
In an era marked by uncertainty, the ability to foresee and address global risks and public needs is more critical than ever. Government and public sector institutions that prioritize integrated risk management and effective leadership in 2025 will not only help restore public trust. They will also help strengthen societal resilience and confidently shape a more secure and adaptable future.
Read the report from EY: How can governments build trust and demonstrate value in a time of skepticism and change? To stay informed on government and public sector insights from EY click here.
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