The ICE/CICES Management Panel’s risk work has developed over a number of decades developing the conceptualisation and understanding of risks, opportunities and threats.
The current area of focus for the ICE’s risk work is on Enterprise Risk Management. The details of this project are below, further down the page you can find details on the previous work done in the following areas:
- Enterprise Risk Management or ERM is the totality of the risks an organisation faces.
- STRATrisk is the management of a business’s strategic risks
- OPrisk is the management of a business’s operational risks.
Enterprise risk management (ERM)
The ERM group is a combined expert panel consisting of engineers and actuaries. The Joint ICE, Faculty of Actuaries Enterprise Risk Management Group was established to stimulate discussion and act as a focal point for thought leadership on the debate surrounding contemporary risks at the strategic/supra-strategic level. The documents available on this page are intended to stimulate the consideration for high-level management of risks, uncertainties and opportunities, among other topics.
These reports should therefore not be taken as a final position or policy statement, as our understanding develops we will continue to update these articles periodically. If you have any comments or would like to be involved in this spearheading of modern risk management please contact Matthew.Parker@ice.org.uk.
Please follow the links below to view our work:
Strategic risk
Strategic risks are the system of future opportunities and threats that are so significant that they could materially impact the enterprise's achievement of its main purpose or even survival. It's the biggest risk, including the risk that an organisation may undertake the wrong projects to achieve its strategic objectives.
ICE is involved in the STRATrisk Group. STRATrisk is a site dedicated to understanding and managing strategic risks and associated opportunities. The STRATrisk Group, chaired by ICE member Mike Nichols of Nichols Group, has produced Strategic Risk: A Guide for Directors. The guide and CD sets out a recommended approach to the management of strategic risk, STRATrisk, and an explanation of how to apply the approach.
Project risk
Project risk includes all the risks that are within the projects that are still being managed separately by the rest of the business/organisation.
ICE and the Actuarial Profession have been co-operating on risk management issues for over 10 years. Both professions are currently working together under the RAMP (Risk Analysis and Management for Projects) Working Party. The working party is updating the RAMP Handbook, a guide which shows how RAMP can enable one to identify, analyse, and respond to risks, and place financial values on them. The group recently conducted an online survey to gauge the effectiveness of the handbook and to look at ways to improve the publication.
The RAMP Working Party has recently commissioned research on the social and environmental aspects of major projects. 'Incorporating Principles of Sustainable Development within the Design and Delivery of Major Projects: An International Study with Particular Reference to Mega Urban Transport Projects' is being carried out by the Omega Centre based at University College London.
The project outcomes can be found in the Executive Summary and the final report.
Operational risk
Operational risk includes all the other risks of an on-going business. These include the risks which arise from projects undertaken in the past that are now in their operational phases and are no longer being managed as separate projects but as part of the main on-going business.
OPrisk recently had a project funded by ICE's Research & Development Enabling Fund, supporting the detailed scoping of a project in order to produce best practice guidance on managing operational risk. The report can be found here.