Helping Defra tackle complexity

During 2019 and 2021, Risk Solutions as part of a CECAN Ltd team helped develop the Complexity Evaluation Framework and the Theory of Change Toolkit to help Defra policy-makers, analysts and commissioners navigate the complexity inherent in their work.  more...

Valuing FSA R&D Activity

The Food Standard Agency are an independent Government department working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to protect public health and consumers' wider interests in food. Their aim is to use their expertise and influence so that people can trust that the food they buy and eat is safe and honest. This project, delivered by Risk Solutions with support from Live Economics and CECAN Ltd, is to develop a methodology that FSA can use to assess the business case, and make decisions, regarding funding of research and development projects, whose outcomes are often uncertain and long term.  more...

Understanding the Impact of Interacting Risks

Climate change affects many sectors, but the way that climate change risks interact between sectors is not well understood. Risk Solutions are working with climate resilience experts from WSP, ADAS and UCL, helping the Climate Change Committee (CCC) better understand how climate related risks interact and how the effects of risks cascading through systems can affect impacts. The study represents an important new source of evidence for the UK governments next climate change risk assessment.  more...

Water Abstraction Reform

Risk Solutions helped Defra design and test changes to the regime that govern how users can abstract water from rivers and ground water aquifers, in response to increasing pressures from demographic and climate change. We managed a multi-disciplinary team that engaged water users, environmental groups and regulators in the construction of an integrated water resource and economic behavioural model - using the technique of agent based modelling.  more...

Development of a Network Performance Model

The network performance model (NPM) was developed for Highways England by Risk Solutions. It is a software model that supports analysis of traffic performance on the strategic road network (SRN). It is used by the HA national intelligence unit (NIU) to support their analysis of network performance. Highways England uses this type of analysis to characterise the past performance of its roads, as well as to project scenarios about its expected future performance given various road investment strategies.  more...

Developing a Safety Risk Model

Risk Solutions has developed a comprehensive Safety Risk Model that analyses the risks to road users, road workers and Traffic Officers associated with the operation, maintenance and improvement of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in England. The work involves sophisticated data analytics and visualisation of complex road safety risk.  more...

Foot and Mouth

Following the 2001 outbreak of FMD, Defra imposed a 20-day standstill period prohibiting any livestock movements off-farm following the arrival of an animal. The 20-day rule caused significant difficulties for farmers. The Lessons Learned Inquiry, which reported in July 2002, recommended that the 20-day standstill remain in place pending a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the standstill regime. This was commissioned in September 2002.   more...