Created: July 24, 2013 at 11:07 AM | Updated: August 6, 2020 | By Community Resource Kit
A risk is a future factor or event that could negatively affect the project, service or programme you are planning.
Risks have two main aspects:
In all aspects of life there is some risk, so we have to be willing to work with it. The purpose of risk management isn't about totally avoiding risk but rather identifying and understanding the risks so we can better plan to deal with them.
The best way is to get together as a group and brainstorm the question: what could possibly go wrong? Look at all areas of your operation that could be affected, such as your objectives, the people inside and outside your group, your financial and other resources, your reputation. Write down a list of the potential risks.
Once you have identified the risks, they need to be assessed or measured in terms of the chance (likelihood) they will occur and the impact which might result if they occurred. Each risk can be rated using a Risk Scoring Matrix.
Impact |
severe |
6 |
8 |
9 |
moderate |
3 |
5 |
7 |
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minor |
1 |
2 |
4 |
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unlikely |
possible |
probable |
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Likelihood |
Risk No. |
Date Logged |
Risk Description |
Risk score |
Management Strategy |
Status (i.e. open/ closed) |
Risk management update |
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date |
detail |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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etc. |
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Some ways of dealing with the risk are:
Keep the risk register up-to-date and review it at each project management meeting. Things will change over time and if your risk management strategies are good, some risks should be reduced.
Risks are about uncertain events in the future. Over time the risk will either become a reality in which case you deal with it or it won't. Either way, the risk will have passed. Apart from reviewing your risk management, you do not need to spend any more time on it.
Next page: Monitoring and evaluation