Risk management

Risk Management forms a key part of the University’s effective governance arrangements and includes the Risk Management Policy, Risk Appetite Statements and the Institutional Register of Strategic Risk.

Effective risk management supports institutional strategic planning, decision making processes and prioritisation, and strengthens our ability to be agile whilst ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of the University.

The University of Stirling recognises that there is risk involved in delivering its strategy. This is both in responding to challenges and from inaction in the face of opportunities. The Risk Management Policy aims to strengthen our ability to respond to risk in a way that contributes positively to the University achieving its objectives and sets out our approach to effective risk management which includes the key roles and responsibilities.

The Risk Appetite Statements provide an agreed understanding of the University’s tolerance for risk and articulate the University’s willingness to accept risk in pursuit of its objectives. The Institutional Register of Strategic Risk is reviewed as part of the planning and budgeting cycle and enables the University to systematically identify and evaluate risks that could impact on delivery of the University’s strategic objectives.

Risk Management Policy

The purpose of the Risk Management Policy is to ensure that risk is considered in the development and delivery of the University’s activities, and effective risk management is integrated into our decision-making processes through the identification, evaluation, monitoring, and review of risks in a systematic and proactive manner. The Risk Management Policy provides a definition of risk and sets out the key roles and responsibilities.

Risk Appetite Statements

The risk appetite statements articulate the University’s willingness to accept risk in pursuit of its objectives.  Categories of risk covering a range of activity have been defined in the Risk Appetite Statements and the proposed threshold of risk the University is willing to accept for each. 

Agreeing risk appetite statements and thresholds for risk in this way enable the University to align its residual (or current) risk with what the University considers to be acceptable levels of exposure to risk as part of the assessment process.  This approach supports a more informed discussion and decision making around whether the controls the University has in place are appropriate, and how the University prioritises actions and allocates resources effectively.