Scanning for emerging risk

Emerging risk is a fascinating area of risk management. So much to explore! It’s easy to get lost in the rabbit holes of the search. When pressed for time or resources, you may turn to a ‘future of…’ publication for the ‘top five trends’.

While these are great sources of information, they may not translate neatly to your organisation’s context. Then there are the risks that might emerge from within: a reprioritisation of strategic programs or organisational restructure for example.

Scanning broadly ­­­­- and to the fringes - may allow you to notice topics and signals that were not on your radar. Scanning deeply can give you a much more nuanced understanding of trends and the interactions between them. Early identification of the external and internal factors that may shape your risk landscape can be time-consuming. However, scanning is an investment that can save significant time and resources by avoiding or minimising issues down the track. Future you will thank you.

Emerging risk is a topic we love to talk about at Deciding Edge. We’re all about improving the agility and resilience of organisations through risk management. Being alert to emerging risk is an important component of any organisation’s approach to surviving and thriving in complexity and uncertainty. Yet we see too few with a comprehensive emerging risk program that strikes the balance between open-mindedness and focus.

That's why we created an 'Emerging Risk Guide'. The high-level process emerging risk scanning diagram above is an excerpt from the guide, which is available to our Risk-as-a-Service subscribers.