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This chapter considers some of the key gaps in resilience research in the public sector, specifically: (1) the potential negative implications of organisational efforts to support resilient behaviour – i.e., ‘the dark side of resilience’; and (2) the relationship between resilience and value-based motivations specific to the sector, primarily public service motivation (PSM).

This piece argues that current studies on resilience have adopted an overly positive tone that may not reflect the full range of consequences associated with building a resilient organisation, especially in the public sector. Issues related to burnout, fatigue and feelings of inadequacy resulting from the ‘need’ to be resilient have not been sufficiently explored, and furthermore, we currently know very little of the link between these issues and employees' desire to have a meaningful contribution to people's lives, i.e., one of the key motivational drivers in the public sector.

This chapter highlights several unanswered questions in the extant literature, and proposes several avenues for further research, aiming to bridge these knowledge gaps and identify new ways to effectively manage future crises and developments in the sector.

To set the context for this edited collection by situating the discussion within both a global setting as well as examining the development and framing of processes, initiatives, policy paradigms and theoretical models which have shaped contemporary discourse and practice.

To draw on extant and current academic literature, contemporary thinking derived from policy organisations, think tanks and governmental institutions but also draw on the experience and insights provided by the contributors.

There are three core findings drawn prior to March 2022. Firstly, that the overall impact of the Global Financial Crash of 2008 and COVID-19 marks a new paradigm shift that will, more likely, shape thinking over the next decade; secondly, global attention to the climate emergency and sustainability agendas suggest that new forms of locally led responses will be necessary; and thirdly, the perceived political uncertainty of the institutions of the European Union and the USA make the stability of the policy making process and its responses to COVID-19 or the Climate Emergency much less predictable over the next 5–10 years.

This series of essays reflects the work undertaken by each of those contributing to the collection. Each author was invited to start with their primary research focus and to take their ideas and thinking for a ‘walk’ in order to stimulate discussion, novel thinking and different approaches to policy dilemmas.