5. Risk management

Radboud University sees risks as events that can be controlled with careful consideration. However, this does not mean that all risks can be prevented. Risks are assessed in relation to the strategy and the objectives of the university. In order to achieve the university’s strategy, it is sometimes necessary to take certain risks in a deliberate and controlled manner, with other risks being deliberately avoided or mitigated.

Risk management is an integral part of the planning and control cycle. In 2021, steps were taken to deal consciously and deliberately with risks within the organisation as well as to transparently identify the opportunities arising from external trends and developments. Risk management policy was also formulated and adopted in 2021. The approach developed for this purpose is shown in the diagram below.

The faculties are now translating the Radboud University strategy, ‘A Significant Impact’, into faculty-level strategies. Risk management was an important point of attention. In 2021, the university discussed the most important risks for realising the faculty strategies and the necessary control measures together with the faculties and institutes. We also conducted a dialogue about risk appetite, which is the degree to which the university is prepared to take risks to achieve its strategic objectives. These sessions will be continued in 2022. A separate fraud risk analysis is currently being carried out to make strategic decisions that contribute to effective fraud prevention.

The risks identified by faculties, institutes and other organisational units have been consolidated. Only the biggest risks for the university as a whole are included in the overview below. The magnitude of the risks determines their order and is a result of the input from the various organisational units combined with the outcome from the risk management sessions in 2021. This is reflected in the risk score, which was determined based on the likelihood and impact of the described risk. The risks are related to the strategic objectives as included in ‘Our mission, vision, strategy and key values’ and described in terms of the main external trends and developments that affect the various risks.

The dependence on ICT was already high and is still increasing. More and more processes are being digitised and – certainly since the pandemic – staff and students are increasingly working and studying off campus. ICT facilities must be available always and everywhere – and safely – regardless of location, time or type of device.

Collaboration with scientists from other universities is essential for high-quality, interdisciplinary research. This requires a technical infrastructure that facilitates international exchange and is as open as possible. At the same time, we see that the number of cybercrime threats is increasing; targeted and sophisticated attacks on Radboud University are a regular occurrence. Particular risks are posed by hacks, phishing and (other) ransomware attacks (e.g., system failure, theft of personal data, and compromised scientific data integrity). That leads to a constant search for balance between openness on the one hand and security on the other, which sometimes impedes openness. Digital security requires policy (frameworks), awareness of staff and students, a Radboud-wide security organisation (governance), monitoring of all network traffic and the latest technical measures.

More and more services are being provided from the cloud. An important consideration in the cloud transition is the processing of academic data and staff and students’ personal data by cloud service providers. Purchasing a cloud-based application is easy. To limit the proliferation of cloud contracts, it is necessary to develop frameworks, create awareness and take technical measures to guarantee privacy and security.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant prospect, but part of the services we purchase from large suppliers, such as the online collaboration environment Microsoft 365. AI is also increasingly being used in the research domain. To protect our employees’ and students’ personal data and our scientific data, it is crucial that we limit the use of AI to areas where it is in the best interest of Radboud University (e.g., research) and our employees and students.

International collaboration in science and higher education offers many opportunities. At the same time, it is important that we as knowledge institutions remain alert to possible risks of foreign interference, misuse of knowledge or ethical issues related to the application of research results. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has developed a Knowledge Security Service Desk for this purpose. In addition, the Dutch knowledge sector as a whole collaborated with the national government to develop the National Guideline for Knowledge Security. Radboud University will use this guideline to sharpen and deepen our own policy.

Attracting, developing and retaining staff is essential to our education and research goals and to running a healthy business in all its facets, from both a quantitative and qualitative point of view. Economic growth, an ageing population and a ‘talent mismatch’ have led to scarcity in the job market. As a result, competition on the job market is fierce and is expected to increase further in the coming years.

Being an attractive employer is becoming the most important driver to retain employees. Continuous development in the field of knowledge and skills will become business critical, as will clarifying career paths. This is how talent development and mobility come together in sustainable employability.

Diversity is also receiving increasing social attention. Connectedness, equality and ‘belonging’ are therefore becoming important factors in the perception of attractive employment. Being an inclusive organisation is an increasingly important factor for an organisation’s success worldwide. Employees who feel safe and included in the team and organisation are more productive and innovative and perform better. A ‘diverse’ employee base in all respects contributes to this, but diversity does not end at increasing the inflow of female professors or increasing cultural diversity. A crucial element is working towards a safe, inclusive work environment where people can be themselves and bring out the best in themselves.

The pandemic has ‘reinvented’ work. Staff resilience has proved enormous, and the university has been challenged to adapt existing (work) structures to the new ways of working and collaborating that have emerged. 90% of working people in the Netherlands indicate that they want to have the freedom to choose where their work is done: at the office, at home or elsewhere. Hybrid working is therefore the third development that requires attention from the university as a working environment and in our role as an attractive employer.

The fourth development is that in 65% of cases, an organisation’s sustainability agenda determines whether an employee wants to commit to the organisation. In a tight job market, sustainability is a vital key to binding people to the university.

The four developments outlined above are global trends that also affect the university. Attracting, developing and retaining talent requires a focus on being an attractive employer and sustainable employability in an inclusive organisation.

The Dutch government presented their coalition agreement titled ‘Looking out for each other, looking forward to the future’ on 15 December 2021. This coalition agreement includes various investments for higher professional and academic higher education. For instance, investments will be made in free and independent research and development, attention will be paid to increasing the predictability of funding, the National Growth Fund will be continued and there will be room to tackle workloads. The loan system will also be abolished, leaving the investments from the study financing resources untouched. It is still not clear how the coalition agreement will be implemented. In implementing the coalition agreement, other relevant developments will be considered. These are outlined in the National Research Agenda, the Strategy& report ‘Adequacy, efficiency and cost allocation at the MBO, HBO and WO level’, the Berenschot study on financial and implementation effects of flexible participation in higher education, the Investment Agenda of the Knowledge Coalition and the NWO Strategic Plan.

The projected regional shrinkage is a demographic factor for the university. Statistics Netherlands (2020) projects that the total population of the Netherlands will exceed 19 million in 2038, and the reference projection from the Ministry for Education, Culture and Science (2021) predicts a 15% increase in the total number of university students in the next 15 years. However, in Radboud University’s primary recruitment areas (Gelderland, Noord-Brabant, Limburg) there will be a decrease in the number of secondary education pupils until 2035 (and thereby also the number of potential students) according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. On the other hand, Radboud University will see an influx of international students.

(Academic) integrity is crucial for ensuring high-quality research and education and for maintaining a safe and healthy organisational culture.

Climate change is now one of the world’s greatest challenges. Taking care of the world around us is increasingly high on the agenda. For example, agreements have been made at the European level to combat climate change and reduce CO₂ emissions. In 2019, the European Commission presented the Green Deal and the EU Member States agreed that the EU must ultimately be climate neutral by 2050. Climate policy has also been enacted in the Netherlands to meet those goals, as have policies on raw materials. The Netherlands is aiming for a circular economy in 2050. The first target set by the government-wide programme for a Circular Dutch Economy is halving primary raw materials consumption. The goal is to introduce reusable disposable cups and food packaging from 2023.

Organisations are also increasingly expected to take responsibility for their supply chains. At the end of 2021, the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation announced the imminent introduction of new national legislation on international corporate social responsibility. Radboud University also influences its environment – both positively and negatively – through our activities.

The importance of connecting with society is increasing. In education, civil society is playing a growing role in the content of study programmes. In research, the emphasis is increasingly on collaboration in public-private consortia in order to attract indirect government funding and contract funding. The university has been asked to make the social impact of research and innovation more visible.

In the coming years, the university will strongly invest in maintenance, renovation, and new construction.

In 2020, the university and the rest of the world was confronted with the coronavirus pandemic. Necessary and understandable measures that were taken by the government to mitigate the spread of the virus had far-reaching consequences for the university.