Strategic risk appriasal

Our core capabilities

Environmental risks are inherently complex, comprised of unique characters manifested across different spatial and temporal scales. For organisations charged with managing a diverse portfolio of environmental risks (e.g. Defra), frameworks capable of promoting understanding and consistent assessment become valuable tools for informing decisions and prioritising risks.

In collaboration with Defra we have developed strategic risk appraisal (SRA) tools designed to help managers assess and compare disparate risks for the purpose of informing decisions about resource allocation, research orientation and proportionate risk management. Using a strong evidence base, these tools are supported by a range of experts, including environmental scientists, economist, social scientist and policy experts.

Intended for use by Defra’s Management Board, a total of 12 strategic environmental risks have been analysed (e.g. flooding, air quality, avian influenza, engineered nanomaterials, and biodiversity loss). The success of the tool is dependent upon its implementation within the organisation and this has required direct input from all levels - Defra’s Permanent Secretary through to senior managers, policy makers and technical experts. Publications will be available here soon.

The framework developed for Defra’s environmental risk portfolio is highly flexible and may be adapted for analysis of a range of risks pertaining to, for example, security risk, public health or financial risk. Currently, we are adapting our approach to understand and compare risks associated with renewable technologies within the context of a changing climate. We also feed into “Horizon Scanning and Futures” and apply SRA tools to long-term future scenarios.

Staff expertise

Dr George Prpich: strategic environmental risk appraisal, decision support, risk analysis.
Prof Simon Pollard: environmental risk management and governance, environmental engineering, interdependencies, waste, water, culture.
Fiona Lickorish: Horizon scanning and futures, scenario building.