Emergency management agencies frequently encounter Wicked Problems—complex, evolving issues that resist resolution due to changing operational environments, resource constraints, or political priorities. Lessons Management Frameworks (LMF) is designed to support continuous learning, yet many lessons using the LMF approach remain unresolved or stagnate under designations such as Closed, or No Further Action Required, contributing to inefficiencies in the lessons management. The challenge arises from the lack of a structured mechanism to assess whether residual risk has been reduced to an acceptable level, leaving lessons either indefinitely open or prematurely closed.
While ISO 31000 recognises residual risk assessment as a critical element of risk governance, existing lessons management frameworks—including NATO’s Lessons Learned Handbook (2022), the UK Resilience Academy’s Best Practice Guidance (2024) or AIDR Lessons Management handbook—do not explicitly integrate risk assessment practice for lesson closure. This paper introduces a risk-based enhancement to the LMF, proposing that lessons be evaluated against an agency’s tolerable risk threshold to determine whether further action is required. If residual risk is within acceptable organisational limits, a lesson can be reclassified as "Lesson Acknowledged", freeing resources to address higher-priority risks while maintaining accountability in lessons tracking.
This approach ensures that Wicked Problems do not hinder organisational learning, enabling agencies to balance continuous improvement with operational realities. By incorporating residual risk assessment into the LMF, lessons management becomes a dynamic, risk-informed process, allowing agencies to transition from a static repository of unresolved lessons to an agile, decision-driven framework that enhances emergency preparedness and resilience.