Location: Risk Management
Risk Management
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has a formal series of
processes that it uses to identify, assess and control the threats to
achieving its objectives - or seize those opportunities that may arise.
It is important to remember that any change involves risk and there are
risks inherent in any decision, however small those risks might be. The
Council is embarking on an ambitious programme to improve the way we
provide services and top deliver excellence to our citizens. These
changes may involve a high level of risk - but the opportunities
outweigh the threats.
Risk Management is a modern management technique that we use to
effectively manage potential opportunities and threats to achieving our
objectives - whether that's implementing a project, taking
action on a business plan or achieving the outcomes of a service
improvement plan.
Risk Management is not about taking no risks at all - it is about being
able to take bigger risks - but, calculated and controlled risks to
improve the services our public receives. If we only ever looked on the
negative side of things we might have difficulty persuading anyone to
embark on a new course of action but a structured approach to risk
taking will help us with our decision making by highlighting areas of
concern and of benefit for all to see.
All facets of the Council's Delivering Excellence programme will
include assessments of the risks to achieving success. This means that
shocks and crises can be minimised.
The Council's "Risk, Managed" Toolkit is used for the
risk assessment process.
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A one page Summary of the
process is available here:
An example of the type of blank
Assessment form used in the process is here:
The Council's Risk Management Strategy also requires
that an annual report on progress in Risk Management is made to
Cabinet. Since last year's report, steady progress
continues to be made - particularly in the areas of service
delivery planning and major projects. The Strategy is here.
The Council's Risk Management Statement is summarised here:
The Council also requires its support providers to take the
necessary steps to identify their own risks as part of their
own strategic processes. By this the Council can increase its
confidence in partnership dealings with organisations that have
shown they have a clear and transparent approach to risk. The
draft standard can be found here:
Details of the Action Plan for Risk Assessment for Voluntary
and Small Providers can be found here: