The following summarises the latest version of the College Risk Register:
Financial sustainability
Risk
Significant changes to the higher education operating context threaten long-term growth, our reputation for excellence and future financial sustainability.
Risk management approach
The Council has established a Finance Task Force, comprising certain non-executive members of Council and senior College leaders, which will meet during 2019–20 to identify the actions needed to boost the level of cash generated from operating activities in order to offset rising cost pressures from, for example, pensions. We continue to lobby relevant external bodies so that they are aware of the impact that changes in the operating environment might have (e.g. tuition fee rates, pension contributions).
Operational transformation and change
Risk
Our transformation programme does not deliver the scale of change or cost efficiencies required to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our operating model.
Risk management approach
A review of the College’s operating model for its support services is underway, with the twin aims of improving satisfaction and reducing cost. It seeks to do this by eliminating duplicated effort and tackling inefficient processes. A clarification of decision rights and thorough lessons-learnt reviews are helping ensure that the delays experienced to date in delivering the major projects within the programme can be avoided going forwards.
Staff recruitment, retention and wellbeing
Risk
Inability to attract and retain staff due to pay and benefits provision, the high cost of living in London, dissatisfaction associated with pensions, and uncertainty related to Brexit.
Risk management approach
Pay and benefits are benchmarked annually. As a result of the last review the introduction of a revised academic pay scale for 2018–19 saw salaries raised at the lower levels. We actively engage with UUK and USS to support efforts to find a sustainable solution to the pension issue. We conduct biennial staff surveys and all departments are required to prepare action plans in response to emerging issues. The College updates its website with the latest information on Brexit that is relevant for our staff and sends regular briefings to ensure staff feel as informed as is possible in the current situation. The College is adding to its stock of key worker accommodation, though demand will continue to far outstrip supply.
Infrastructure and capital plan
Risk
Failure to optimise investment in our existing and planned infrastructure and property portfolio means we are not able to meet staff and student expectations of a world class academic institution.
Risk management approach
Our Estates Strategy Group meets regularly to prioritise investment in our estate recognising the key trade-offs between faculties, between research and education, and between growing the future and protecting the present. The completion of the Academic Strategy will help with the making of these trade-offs. However, the key constraint remains the amount of capital available to invest in the estate, hence the importance of the work of the Finance Task Force.
Research
Risk
Our research quality and/or impact does not at least maintain its current level or fails to keep pace with our peer group.
Risk management approach
Research quality is maintained by our continued focus on excellence in hiring academic staff and by having a supportive environment that includes investments in President’s PhD studentships, Imperial College Research Fellows and Frontier Research Awards that fund new areas with high potential.
Research impact is enhanced by having strong relationships with a wide range of corporate partners, by encouraging entrepreneurship in our staff and students, and by having a comprehensive innovation ecosystem that supports all stages of the impact lifecycle.
Research volume and quality will be included within the scope of a new series of rolling reviews of departments (three to four per year) that the Provost and Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) are starting in 2019–20.
Income diversification
Risk
Failure to grow income from our commercial and related ventures activities and from fundraising leaves insufficient financial resource available to deliver our capital and core activity growth ambitions.
Risk management approach
The income from fundraising has grown substantially over the last five years as we have invested in building a professional Advancement team. The focus now is on further increasing the productivity of this team to best practice levels. This continues to be an ever-increasing source of investment funds.
In our more directly commercial businesses, we have a clear demarcation between those that rely on leveraging our property portfolio and our position as a world class university in London, and those that take advantage of our brand, know-how and IP. The former is more capital intensive and in the short-term is about using debt to create self-sufficient revenue generating assets. The risk mitigation here is around ensuring rigorous due-diligence and oversight of each investment.
The latter is less capital intensive but holds the risks associated with starting up or investing in new businesses. Here, the focus is clearly on understanding the business risk and whether it justifies the investment, and making sure we have sufficient protection of our brand, IP and know-how.
Legal, regulatory and compliance
Risk
Failure to follow College policies and procedures, or to develop College policies and processes adequately, could lead to failure to comply with legal and regulatory requirements.
Risk management approach
A new regulatory oversight process was implemented in early 2019 to provide us with increased assurance that the College is complying with all requirements.
Student experience and education
Risk
Failure to innovate and improve the quality of our education and support student experience and wellbeing threatens both our ability to support and recruit the best students, and our reputation for excellence, impacting our competitive position and ability to meet our regulatory requirements.
Risk management approach
The Learning and Teaching Strategy promotes innovation in education across the College, so that we offer all our students a world leading, rigorous, evidence-based, inclusive education. Student wellbeing is a critical part of the student experience and we provide a full range of support services to equip our students to manage the demands of College life.
Brexit
Risk
Continued uncertainty related to Brexit and political challenges, linked to global activities and partnerships, impacts research and industry funding, staff retention and student recruitment.
Risk management approach
We continue to advocate for the UK to remain in a research union with Europe. We are supporting and building our bilateral collaborations in Europe and are building additional partnerships across the world. We lobby the UK government on the value in investment in international collaborations. Our website is updated regularly to help our community keep informed on the implications of Brexit for them. Our internal Brexit Response Group has been developing contingency plans for potential disruptions to the movement of goods and people following Brexit.
Student recruitment
Risk
Failure to balance the numbers of international students across a range of countries leads to a sudden drop in recruitment if there are visa or similar issues with a particular country and promotes a bicultural rather than multicultural experience for our students.
Risk management approach
We have committed funding to explore various approaches to marketing in countries from where we feel the College has potential to grow its intake.
Business interruption and cyber
Risk
A serious incident or event could cause physical and/or reputational damage to the College in addition to severely impacting continuity of our critical operations.
Risk management approach
A generic business continuity plan with defined roles and responsibilities is in place and this is tested annually against different scenarios. We support a level of data security control, training and awareness in line with ISO standards and Cyber Essentials, a UK government information assurance scheme.
Widening participation
Risk
Failure to meet the targets in the Access and Participation Plan we are required to have in place by our regulator (the Office for Students) puts us in breach of one of our ongoing conditions of registration.
Risk management approach
We have recently launched a new five-year programme, agreed with the Office for Students for Access and Participation, with the aim of widening participation through a new series of outreach activities, and more targeted deployment of existing initiatives, for students from disadvantaged groups. Progress against this is monitored by a specific working group within the College which reports to the President’s and Provost’s Boards. Additional resource is being dedicated to evaluating the impact of our programme.
NHS partnerships
Risk
Continuing pressure on NHS budgets, staffing and organisational changes leads to substantial weakening in the capability of College’s NHS Partner Trusts with consequent serious impact on the capability of the Faculty of Medicine.
Risk management approach
We have a good understanding of our overlaps and interdependencies with the NHS (estates, health and safety, HR). The Academic Health Science Centre is the vehicle for the Faculty of Medicine’s engagement with closest NHS partners and is underpinned by a commitment to a common agenda. The regular meetings at various levels within this structure provide visibility of any emerging issues in the partners, giving us more time to prepare a response. Independently, our decisions around our estate and staff appointments are informed by this risk.
Translation and impact
Risk
Failure to provide the technology transfer mechanisms to manage and exploit the College’s intellectual property or facilitate academics and students to engage sufficiently in entrepreneurial activities leading to reduction in the impact of the College’s research.
Risk management approach
A new technology transfer mechanism and support structure has been in place since March 2019, insourcing this activity and bringing together all aspects of intellectual property management in one team. This gives us greater control over development of projects and finding suitable funding.