Alarm, the public risk management association has launched a new Risk Management Toolkit. Developed in association with Marsh, a global leader in insurance broking and risk management, the Toolkit builds on Alarm’s Core Competencies in Public Service Risk Management and has been designed to provide a ‘how to’ guide to the management of risk in public service organisations.

The Alarm Risk Management Toolkit differs from other risk management guides as it has been designed specifically for individuals working in a public service environment who have responsibility for managing risk or are tasked with implementing or improving the management of risk across their organisation.

The Toolkit provides clear guidance on the terminology associated with risk management and the process itself, along with a set of practical tools and techniques that will help you manage risks, deliver objectives, meet targets and maintain organisational resilience. The Guide and Toolkit will be particularly useful to public service professionals who are new to risk management or who have responsibility for the training of others, as the templates provided in the toolkit can be customised for the needs of you and your organisation.

To read more or to purchase the Toolkit visit the Alarm website.

Quote: “Economic imbalances and social inequality risk reversing the gains of globalization, warns the World Economic Forum in its report Global Risks 2012. These are the findings of a survey of 469 experts and industry leaders, indicating a shift of concern from environmental risks to socioeconomic risks compared to a year ago. Respondents worry that further economic shocks and social upheaval could roll back the progress globalization has brought, and feel that the world’s institutions are ill-equipped to cope with today’s interconnected, rapidly evolving risks. The findings of the survey fed into an analysis of three major risk cases: Seeds of Dystopia; Unsafe Safeguards and the Dark Side of Connectivity. The report analyses the top 10 risks in five categories – economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological – and also highlights “X Factor” risks, the wild card threats which warrant more research, including a volcanic winter, cyber neotribalism and epigenetics, the risk that the way we live could have harmful, inheritable effects on our genes. Key crisis management lessons from Japan’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters are highlighted in a special chapter.”

Bron: Alex Wittenberg, Partner, Oliver Wyman Global Risk Center

Recent global shocks, such as the 2008 financial crisis, have driven policy makers and industry strategists to re-examine how to prepare for and respond to such events in the future, whether they arise in financial, natural, public health or even political systems. This OECD report is part of the organisation’s pioneering work on the policy implications of emerging and systemic risks and supports the development of foresight capacity in its Member countries. The report’s findings draw primarily from analysis contained in five case studies on different types of events: financial crises, cyber risks, pandemics, geomagnetic storms and social unrest – some of which have proven capacity to produce global shocks. All five background papers are available separately on the OECD website: www.oecd. org/futures.

Global leaders are acutely aware that anothersystemic shock could severely challenge economic recovery, social cohesion and even political stability. Visible indicators of vulnerability persist in the forms of economic imbalances, volatile commodity prices and currencies, colossal public debts and severe budget deficits. Less visible than these metrics are the drivers of vulnerability that tightly weave interconnections between commercial supply chains, technological systems and investment vehicles underlying the global economy. Unanticipated events such as natural disasters, failures in key technical systems or malicious attacks could disrupt these complex systems and produce shocks that propagate around the world.

There is a palpable sense of urgency to identify and assess risks arising from vulnerabilities in these crucial systems, and to develop policies that will bolster efforts for prevention, early warning and response to ensure sustained economic prosperity. This urgency explains the demand for OECD to deliver strategic advice on preparing for and responding to potential global shocks mired in uncertainties.

Since the beginning of this project in 2009, the world has witnessed the effects of a global financial meltdown, the first declared pandemic in over 40 years, political upheaval in the MENA region, the BP oil spill, closure of European air space due to a volcanic ash cloud, and most recently the Tohuku earthquakes, tsunami and ensuing nuclear reactor accidents at the Fukushima power plant. Never before have global risks seemed so complex, the stakes so high, and the need for international co-operation to deal with them so apparent.

 Download Future Global Shocks

The 2010-2011 World Disaster Reduction Campaign “Making Cities Resilient” addresses issues of local governance and urban risk while drawing upon previous ISDR Campaigns on safer schools and hospitals, as well as on the sustainable urbanizations principles developed in the UN-Habitat World Urban Campaign 2009-2013.”

Source: United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

Source: United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)

The partnership of RMP and PRIMO is focused on strengthening the dissemination of relevant public risk related information in the Dutch and English language area’s by further investing in newsletter, website and magazine. The second focus point is to contribute to a further development of the PRIMO Academy, which comprises scientific research and education development.

RMP Managing Director Kaz Janowicz, PRIMO Europe President Tom Wustenberghs and PRIMO Founding President Jack P. Kruf are very content with the new partnership and are looking forward to a fruitful partnership.’

John O’Dea speaks to Martin Vella about the importance of developing exchanges of information and expertise to establish risk management as a natural and integral part of good public governance.

EDITOR’S NOTE
John O’Dea is President of PRIMO Malta and a member of the Executive Board of PRIMO Europe, a Pan-European organisation registered and domiciled in Brussels, was set up at a UDITE meeting in Dublin in 2007, to enhance public risk management as an integral part of public governance. He has had a varied career in top managerial and executive posts in the manufacturing, retail and hospitality industries and is currently employed as a consultant with Scotts Supermarkets.

COPORATE BRIEF
PRIMO Europe was created on the 6′th December 2005, by UDITE- the Pan- European Union of Local Authority Chief Executives of Europe with the aim of making risk management an essential part of good management in the public sector. Since its inception, PRIMO Europe has developed rapidly with chapters in Denmark, France, Nederland, Flanders and now also in Malta – a network which offers its members a comprehensive web library, guidance and counseling, as well as an introductory online course in risk management.

TEU: How would you define risk management and what are its benefits?
JO:Risk can be defined as the combination of the probability of an event and its consequences. Quite a mouthful! Basically, in every type of undertaking, there is the potential for events and consequences that constitute opportunities for benefit or threats to success. Risk Management is concerned with both positive and negative aspects of risk and looks at risk from both perspectives. In the field of safety it is generally recognised that consequences are only negative and therefore the management of safety risk is focused on prevention and mitigation of risk.

Risk Management is a central part of any organisation’s strategic management. It is a process whereby organisations methodically address the risks prevalent to their activities with the goal of achieving constant benefit within each activity and across the range of all activities. The focus of risk management is the identification and treatment of these risks. Additionally, it increases the probability of success, and reduces both the probability of failure and the uncertainty of achieving the organisation’s overall objectives.

TEU: What is PRIMO Europe’s philosophy towards financial risks?
JO: PRlMO stands for Public Risk Management Organisation. It was founded to enhance public risk management as an integral part of public governance. PRIMO is only concerned in financial risks, in so far as how the performance of banks (which were bailed out with public funds) affects the public sector. A case in point is how the global credit crunch has adversely affected and limited public spending on the infrastructure in local government all over Europe where budgets have been trimmed to the bone.

” Risk Management is concerned with both positive and negative aspects of risk”

TEU: What is the importance of risk management in the overall strategy of PRIMO Malta?
JO: PRlMO Malta’s mission is to inculcate and embed public risk management and best practice in both local and national government institutions. PRIMO is the offspring of UDITE, (Union des Dirigeants Territoreaux Europeans) the Pan European federation of local government chief executives. UDITE is a professional networking organisation for local government chief executives across Europe. With around 15,000 members and working as the umbrella organisation across 15 EU countries, UDITE links with its members’ local government national associations to promote constructive relations between chief executives and senior managers.

The executive board of UDITE, of which I was a member, had long discussed the need to set up an independent organisation to promote public risk management; PRIMO was set up at a UDITE meeting in Dublin in 2007.

TEU: How will the PRIMO Academy promote risk management and how will it provide a competitive edge?
JO: The PRIMO Academy is still in its formative stage. The PRIMO Board unanimously agreed to set up an academy to foster and promote risk management to its members and to members of UDITE. I contacted Maven Training – a private organisation that provides training in MoR (Management of Risk) for ALARM – the British national forum for risk management in the public sector and similar European organisations. The PRIMO Academy, will offer training courses, seminars and briefings that attract PDUs (Professional Development Units), which provide evidence of continuing professional development and help maintain professional certification. The PRIMO Academy will enable risk, project and change professionals to gain PDUs via its accredited training courses (foundation and practitioner), workshops briefings and special interest forums.

Download original article

Your organization won’t innovate productively unless some underlying factors are in good shape. If “10″ is outstanding and “1″ is poor, how do you rate your organization on each of these?

1. A compelling case for innovation. Unless people understand why innovation is necessary, it always loses to core business or the performance engine in the battle for resources. The performance engine is bigger, is the center of power, and can justify resources based on short term financial results. So the case for innovation has to be made, and it better be compelling. Read more >

Source: Marsh, PRIMO

La gestion des risques occupe une place de plus en plus importante dans les préoccupations des dirigeants territoriaux. Dans un contexte de quête d’efficience plus marquée, de diversification des outils de la commande publique et de développement des partenariats, la gestion des risques devient un élément incontournable de la gestion publique. Elle participe à l’optimisation des ressources comme à l’atteinte des objectifs.

Download publication