Government Readiness Gap: When Responsibilities Outpace Institutional Capacity

Abdullah Saeed Al Habsi

Today, the responsibilities of governments are changing at a speed unlike traditional administrative shifts. Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, supply chains, energy, water, and food are no longer completely separate files; a disruption starting in one can spread to others within hours.

At the 2026 Ambassadors’ Retreat, organized by the World Government Summit Foundation in Dubai with representatives from over a hundred countries, a finding emerged that deserves reading beyond the poll numbers. The 2026 Global Ministers Survey, which included 61 ministers, showed that 79% expect their governments’ roles to expand in the future, while only 34% said their governments have fully embraced change. Funding shortages topped the obstacles at 36%, followed by skills and talent shortages at 18%, and cybersecurity challenges at 16%.

The Government Readiness Gap

The distance between 79% and 34% can be called the “government readiness gap”: the responsibilities carried by the state expanding faster than the institution’s ability to absorb, operate, and make decisions about them.

This gap does not necessarily show up in plans and strategies. An institution may possess an advanced digital platform, a transformation plan, and performance indicators, but it is truly tested when an unusual situation occurs and the responsibilities of more than one entity intersect.

Time to Authorized Decision

Here the question becomes: how long does it take for reliable information to travel from the point where a problem is discovered to the authority capable of making a decision? I propose that this time become an institutional indicator in its own right: “Time to Authorized Decision.”

In Egypt and the UAE, despite differences in size, structure, and challenges, there is great value in this question. As digital services and infrastructure expand and sectors become more interconnected, the speed of coordination between institutions becomes part of the quality of the service itself.

Artificial Intelligence and the Question of Authority and Responsibility

Artificial intelligence increases the importance of this issue. Machines can accelerate analysis, but they do not automatically resolve the question of authority and responsibility. If a system gives a recommendation that looks logical but is inappropriate for an exceptional case, who has the right to object? Who stops execution? And to whom is the case transferred?

Skill Shortages Go Beyond Programmers

Skill shortages should not be reduced to a need for more programmers. Institutions also need people who understand enough technology, law, operations, and management to translate between these fields and know when a technical problem turns into a leadership decision.

Funding Does Not Guarantee Readiness

Funding, in turn, does not guarantee readiness. Technology can be purchased in months, whereas institutional culture and pathways of authority and accountability take longer to change.

Cybersecurity and Decision Continuity

Cybersecurity is no longer merely network protection. As government services become digital, cybersecurity becomes part of the continuity of decisions, services, and public trust.

How Do We Measure Government Readiness?

Therefore, measuring government readiness requires testing four things: the speed of detecting change, the speed at which reliable information reaches the person in authority, the ability to coordinate when a problem crosses the boundaries of a single entity, and the ability to adjust a decision when conditions change.

When Conditions Become Harder Than the Plan

The best-prepared government is not necessarily the one that announced the largest number of transformation projects, but the one that can make a correct and revisable decision when multiple systems come under pressure at the same time.

The survey result does not say that governments are not changing; rather, it says that the scale of expected responsibility may outpace the speed of adaptation. Here precisely begins the next task: transforming change from a declared project into an institutional capability that functions when conditions become harder than the plan.

Title: Writer and researcher specializing in security, heritage, risk management, and operations rooms

Source: Government of Dubai Media Office / World Government Summit, Ambassadors’ Retreat 2026, September 28, 2026.

Published by Hany Sallam

Hany Sallam, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Scientific Magazine Ahram
An independent Arabic science magazine operating since 2008, dedicated to simplifying science, technology, space, natural phenomena and scientific stories for Arabic readers. The magazine includes sections such as “Zodiac Group” and “Stories and Tales”, alongside science topics that combine knowledge with a spirit of discovery. It operates independently and is not affiliated with Al-Ahram Press Foundation or any governmental body.