1. GE.
Economic Commission for Europe
Steering Committee on Trade Capacity and Standards
Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation
and Standardization Policies
Twenty-fifth session
Geneva, 2 (pm) - 3 December 2015
Item 5 of the provisional agenda
Risk management in regulatory systems
Progress report on the activities of the Group of Experts on
Managing Risks in Regulatory Systems*
Submitted by the Rapporteur1
Summary
At its twenty-fourth session, the Working Party approved the priorities and plan of work
for 2015 of the Group of Experts on Risk Management in Regulatory Systems (GRM).
The plan focused on broadening the work of the GRM in the area of crisis management
in regulatory frameworks (including participation in the Sendai Conference on Disaster
Risk Reduction), as well as on the implementation of the risk management
recommendations and tools developed by the Group in 2011-2014 across various fields
and sectors.
This document presents the main results achieved by the Group as of September 2015,
provides details of the GRM’s activities and meetings, reports on the progress in the
completion of the project plan approved by the Working Party upon the establishment of
the GRM, and presents priorities and a plan of work for 2016.
An annex includes the names of the individuals and organizations that have participated
in the work of the Group.
* This document was submitted late due to delayed inputs.
1
At its twentieth session, the Working Party established a Group of Experts on Risk Management in
Regulatory Systems and adopted its terms of reference, and requested it to report on activities to the
Working Party (ECE/TRADE/C/WP.6/2010/2 para.9).
United Nations ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2015/5
Economic and Social Council Distr.: General
29 September 2015
Original: English

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I. General information on the Group
1. The Group of Experts on Risk Management in Regulatory Systems was established
by the Working Party in 2010.
2. The Group of Experts aims at an improved management of hazards that have the
potential to affect the quality of products and services, and/or cause harm or damage to
people, the environment, property and immaterial assets. The Group will work towards this
goal by developing and sharing best practice as regards the use of risk management tools in
regulatory and managerial activities.
3. The Group functions on the basis of:
• A broad and diversified membership, with representation of different geographical
and economic regions, as well as of different areas of competence and end-users’
interest;
• Webinars and face-to-face meetings organized by use of an e-mail listserver and an
interactive website.
II. Main activities in 2015
4. The main results of the activities of the Group of Experts on Risk Management in
Regulatory Systems in the year to date are as follows:
Methodology and recommendations:
(a) Development of a methodology for running field projects aimed at the
implementation of the GRM recommendations within a given sector. The objectives of such
projects include:
i. Building capacity by regulatory stakeholders to identify and manage the risks
that confront the sector in which they operate
ii. Promoting a shared vision by all regulatory stakeholders of optimal regulatory
outputs proportionate to existing risks;
iii. Developing action plans to fully implement the risk management methodology
into a regulatory framework and to evaluate existing regulations against the
identified risks.
(b) Developing a new work strategy for the Group – transforming the GRM into a
more “on-demand” group:
i. Increasing the level of involvement of regulatory stakeholders in Group’s
activities;
ii. Inviting regulatory stakeholders (e.g. risk management officers at the
Ministries) to share their needs related to the application of risk management
tools in regulatory frameworks;
iii. Developing specific recommendations for regulatory stakeholders based on the
identified needs and demands.
Implementation of the recommendations and field projects:
(a) Running risk management projects aimed at the application of the GRM
recommendations in the regulatory frameworks of Nigeria and Malawi.
Application of recommendations to disaster risk reduction:

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(b) Application of the GRM recommendations to the specifics of Disaster Risk
Reduction
i. Strengthening partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction (UNISDR) and other UN agencies by forming the informal group of
experts on “Standards for DRR”
ii. participation in World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in
Sendai, Japan in March 2015;
iii. Establishing a partnership with ISO TC 292 on “Security and Resilience” and
contributing to its activities through a taskforce on “UN cooperation”
established under the TC and aiming at contributing to the implementation of
the outcome of the WCDRR and other important UN outcomes.
iv. Contribution of an article on DRR to the August-September 2015 issue of the
ISO Focus magazine (http://www.iso.org/iso/isofocus_111.pdf).
Contribution to the risk management work of other international organizations and
relevant stakeholders:
(c) Strengthening cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development
Organizatiion (UNIDO) and establishing cooperation with International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
III. Important activities prior to the current period
5. The Group benefits from the activities of the Working Party – also described in
document ECE/TRADE/C/WP.6/2012/5.
Since its establishment the Group’s most important accomplishments have been as follows:
Methodology and recommendations:
(a) Two recommendations, approved at the twentieth annual session of the Working
Party in 2011:
i. A general recommendation on the use of risk-management tools in regulatory
systems (Recommendation “R” “Managing Risk in Regulatory Frameworks”:
http://goo.gl/HTMYBQ);
ii. A specific recommendation, which describes how regulatory processes can
help prepare for and manage crisis including disasters (Recommendation “P”
“Crisis Management within a Regulatory Framework” http://goo.gl/zePK5O); ”
(b) The publication “Risk Management in Regulatory Frameworks: Towards a Better
Management of Risks”, available at: http://goo.gl/ri6D5K, and translated into Russian in
2014;
(c) Development of training materials and delivery of a training session on “Risk
Management in Regulatory Frameworks: Building Quality Infrastructure” for the staff of
the technical cooperation unit of the United Nations Organization for Industrial
Development (UNIDO);
(d) Analysis of a number of legislative texts that regulate the electrical appliances
sector in different jurisdictions from the perspective of the risk management framework
(2013);
(e) Finalization of the draft of the recommendation on improving consistency of risk
management legislation (2014);

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Implementation of the recommendations and field projects:
(a) Application of the GRM recommendations to regulatory practice in: Australia,
Brazil (presented at the Working Party’s session in 2013), Canada, New Zealand and
Mongolia.
Application of recommendations to disaster risk reduction:
(a) Organization of a workshop on “Disaster Risk Standards and Accountability for
Business and Citizens” at the UNISDR Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in
May 2013;
(b) Application of the GRM recommendations to the specifics of Disaster Risk
Reduction and publication of a background paper on “Standards and Normative
Mechanisms for Disaster Risk Reduction” for the 2015 edition of the Global Assessment
Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR 2015), available at: http://goo.gl/O5XpGp;
Contribution to the risk management work of other international organizations and
relevant stakeholders:
(a) Cooperation with ISO TC 262 (Risk management) on the use of the GRM best
practice;
(b) Participation in the work on the OECD Working Party on Consumer Product
Safety and participation in the Workshop on Product Risk Assessment (Tel Aviv, April
2012);
(c) Awareness-raising activities, including through social media and by participating
in the “First international conference on ISO 31000” (Paris, March 2012).
(d) Establishing cooperation with FERMA (Federation of European Risk Management
Associations), IFAC (International Federation of Accountants) and PRMIA (International
Professional Risk Management Association), UNISDR and UNIDO.
IV. Members and representation
6. As of September 2015, thirty experts participate in the Group. Members represent
the following areas of competence: planning, developing and implementing technical
regulations; disaster risk reduction, business continuity and resilience management;
choosing and implementing conformity-assessment procedures; cooperation among
business companies and regulators; risk-management methodologies and standards and
project management.
7. The work is coordinated by Messrs. Donald Macrae and Valentin Nikonov.The
updated list of members is attached to the present report as an annex, and can also be found
on the website.
V. Summary of webinars and meetings
8. Bi-monthly webinars and electronic data exchange are the usual means of
communication in the Group. The Group held five webinars between August 2014 and
September 2015.
9. At its nineteenth webinar, held on 9 October 2014, the GRM approved its priorities
and the plan of work for the year 2015. The GRM also discussed its contribution to the
recently established Group of experts on Standards for Disaster Risk Reduction in view of
the WCDRR.

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10. At its twentieth webinar, held on 5 February 2015, the GRM discussed its
contribution to the Sendai Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The Chair of the GRM
(Kevin Knight) would be moderating a working session at the Conference and members
exchanged ideas on subjects that could be added to the agenda. The webinar also included a
presentation on “Photovoltaic generation on disaster recovery”, on electricity generation
technologies during crisis.
11. A UNIDO staff and the coordinator of the GRM updated the the GRM on the
preliminary results of the implementation of the GRM recommendations in Nigeria (as part
of the bigger project of UNIDO aimed at building national quality infrastructure in this
country). Based on the results of the activities in Nigeria, the GRM approved a
methodology for running field projects to implement the GRM recommendations. This
included a recommendation: that the main concepts of risk management in regulatory
frameworks should be referred to in the high-level policy documents, and that specific
implementation plans should be developed and implemented within the existing regulatory
frameworks for pilot sectors. At the webinar, the GRM also discussed issues related to
management of systemic risk in regulatory frameworks.
12. At the twenty-first webinar, held on 7 May 2015, the Secretariat and the Chairperson
presented the results the Sendai Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The event on
Standards in Disaster Risk Reduction had been well attended and successful. It had
strengthened the understanding of a broad audience on how standards should be applied at
various stages of disaster risk management process: during disaster risk identification, at
preparing for disasters stage, disaster management, recovery etc.
13. The coordinator of the GRM presented a methodology for running risk management
projects and outlined the results of a field project conducted in Malawi (as part of a larger
UNIDO project in the country). He explained that the risk management approach is only
one of the tools available in regulatory review and reform. The GRM approach was a
framework-based approach, and as such it required setting up an institutional and analytical
framework. This framework would then be tasked to gather objective evidence on the need
to regulate and review existing and new regulations. As such, it was different from other
approaches that required expert judgment in analysing existing regulatory requirements and
provide recommendations for reform. Although the GRM approach required more effort, it
is fully owned by the country and self-sustainable.
14. At the webinar, the members of the Group also discussed and approved the strategy
of becoming a more “on-demand” group and strengthening the involvement of regulatory
stakeholders (especially from developing countries) in its activities and providing guidance
on risk management implementation based on specific demands of regulators.
15. At its twenty-second webinar, held on 26 June 2015, the GRM discussed a checklist
of law and disaster risk reduction – as presented by Tessa Kelly, Senior Disaster Law
Officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). It
was noted that the checklist was based on joint pioneering work by the IFRC and the
UNDP on the role of legislation in disaster risk reduction, which had led to the publication
of the largest comparative study of legislation for disaster risk reduction: “Effective law and
regulations for disaster risk reduction: a multi-country report” (see: https://goo.gl/697Z3w
for details of that study).
16. At the twenty-third webinar, held on 13 August 2015, the members of the Group
discussed its participation at the Annual Session of the Working Party 6 in December 2015.
The Secretary of the WP.6 provided general information on the Annual Session.
17. The GRM also started a discussion on new trends in risk management, such as
machine learning and the use of sophisticated predictive algorithms, along with their

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possible application within regulatory frameworks. The GRM agreed to continue its work
on the subject.
18. The Coordinator of the GRM (Donald Macrae) updated the Group on the progress in
the field projects in Mongolia and Brazil.
19. The Group decided to start gathering contact details of people carrying out risk
management related functions (similar to those of risk officers in business companies) at
various Ministries, in order to implement its strategy of becoming a more ‘on-demand’
group.
VI. Progress in the completion of the initial plan
20. The following table provides information on when and how each of the tasks listed
in the plan of work for 2015 (contained in ECE/TRADE/C/WP.6/2014/5) was performed
and what the result was.
Fields and tasks Results/Comments
Disaster risk reduction and participation in
World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
(Sendai, Japan, March 2015).
The GRM participated in the conference, a
working session was chaired by Kevin Knight.
Participation in the preparation and launch of a
project aimed at increasing awareness of
voluntary standards by the Disaster Risk
Reduction community;
The GRM contributed to the work of the Group
on Standards in Disaster Risk Reduction.
Conducting field projects and trainings to
regulatory stakeholders;
Field project were conducted in Nigeria and
Malawi (as part of UNIDO projects), Mongolia
and Brazil.
Developing new recommendations; A methodology on running risk management
projects was developed and approved by the
GRM.
Promotion of GRM’s work; GRM’s work was promoted at the Sendai
Conference and during the implementation of the
field projects.
Establishing liaisons with other risk management
organizations.
The GRM strengthened cooperation with
UNISDR, FERMA, PRMIA, UNIDO, ISO and
IFAC, and established cooperation with IFRC.
VII. Priorities and the plan for 2015
21. The main priorities for the GRM in the next year are as follows:
(a) Finalizing a recommendation on the implementation of the GRM best
practice in sectoral projects;
(b) Becoming an “on-demand” group: identifying the needs of regulatory
stakeholders related to risk management and and providing specific recommendations;
(c) Developing recommendations and methodologies on application of big data
and machine learning technologies within regulatory frameworks;

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(d) Promotion of GRM’s work, also through field projects and trainings;
(e) Establishing and strengthening liaisons with other risk management
organizations.
13. The main risks for the successful completion of the project include:
• insufficient funding for the organization of the work and for the field work
• insufficient involvement by member States

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Annex I
List of members (as of 30 August 2015)
Chairperson
Kevin Knight (Chair, Technical Committee 262: Risk management, International
Organization for Standardization)
Coordinators
Donald Macrae (Independent consultant)
Valentin Nikonov (Project Manager, Bank24.ru)
Active members
1. Alberto Alemanno (Associate Professor of Law, HEC Paris, France)
2. Lorenzo Allio (Independent Consultant on Regulatory Reform and Risk Regulation,
and representative of the European Risk Forum)
3. Florentin Blanc (The World Bank Group)
4. Bo Yumin (National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment, China)
5. Ronald Cormier (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canada)
6. Alex Dali (President, Global Institute for Risk Management Standards, G31000,
France)
7. A.M. Dolan (University of Toronto, Canada)
8. Graeme Drake (Committee on conformity assessment, International Organization for
Standardization ISO))
9. Valery Hurevich, (Belarusian State Institute for Standardization and Certification
(BelGISS), Belarus)
10. Phil Kelly (Liverpool Business School, United Kingdom)
11. Markus Krebsz (Risk Reward Limited, United Kingdom)
12. Sean MacCurtain (Secretary, Committee on conformity assessment, International
Organization for Standardization (ISO))
13. Justin McCarthy (PRMIA)
14. Alpaslan Menevşe, Chairman, Mirror Technical Committee ISO 31000, Turkey
15. Peter Morfee (Ministry of Economic Development, New Zealand)
16. Greg Paoli (Risk Sciences International, Canada)
17. Christophe Renard (Cotecna, Switzerland)
18. Mikhail Rogov (RusRisk, RusHydro, Russian Federation)
19. Dan Roley (Caterpillar, United States)
20. Marc Schaedeli (Group for Risk Management, Nestlé)

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21. Paul Taylor (Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA),
United Kingdom)
22. Olivier Testoni (International Telecommunication Union)
23. Jan van Tol (Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations, Netherlands)
24. Vincent Tophoff (Senior Technical Manager, International Federation of Accountants)
25. Simon Webb (The Nicholas Group, United Kingdom)
26. Paul Hopkin (Institute of Risk Management, United Kingdom)
_______________