Cranfield University researches risk management in international water utilities

Cranfield University has embarked on a major research project, funded by the Water Research Foundation (WRF), focused on the implementation of risk management practice in international water utilities.

The $300,000 project, Real-life enterprise resilience, aims to develop a toolkit of resources including an interactive i-book, based on world-leading academic research, for practical use by utility managers in the field.

The City of Calgary’s water and wastewater utility is among a number of forward-thinking public utilities supporting the project looking to secure water services for their citizens in the future.

Rob Pritchard, General Manager, Utilities & Environmental Protection for the City of Calgary, said: “Utility companies rely on the WRF and others to translate academic concepts into usable tools in practical formats. While there is a plethora of resilience programs and projects, even at the international level, there is no practice-led resource for water utility managers that supports a response to regulatory calls for improved resiliency. This project will address that need, and Calgary citizens will benefit as a result.”

The project strengthens Cranfield’s position with the influential Water Research Foundation, a leading organisation in the US that aims to advance the science of water to protect public health and the environment. A number of water utility co-funders helped to match the WRF funding for the research through a tailored collaboration programme.

The resources developed by the project will enable the management of extrinsic threats and systemic risk, support the development of proactive adaptation strategies, while creating long-term strategic value with stakeholders. This will subsequently provide senior and executive management with cutting-edge advances to ensure their companies can operate efficiently and prosperously in the decades ahead.

Dr Simon Jude, Cranfield Institute for Resilient Futures and principal investigator, said: “The desire for resilient water utilities has become an international keystone of utility governance. This project aims to close the gap between regulatory calls for greater resilience, academic thinking and practical application. This is applicable, hard science for the workers in the field and executives in the board room, with the purpose of delivering a more sustainable, resilient water supply for future generations.

“This is the latest in a series of projects that have been developed from the technical to the managerial level and from an internal to external focus. Our work, supported by the Cranfield Water Science Institute, has looked at risk analysis tools, through to risk management culture, risk in the board, integrated risk, and now is looking at real-life enterprise resilience and practical application.”

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