Statistical Review of Some Aspects of the 2016 UK National Risk Assessment

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The UK National Risk Assessment (NRA) is a classified biennial report which provides an assessment of the risks of civil emergencies in the UK over the next five years. The NRA is compiled by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) of the Cabinet Office, in conjunction with the Government Office for Science (GO-Science). The NRA is used by emergency planners and responders to assess and meet their obligations under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004). As such, it is a critical tool for protecting people and economic prosperity in the UK.This Internship proposal is to place Jonathan Rougier, Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Bristol, with the CCS and GO-Science for the period Oct 2016 through Jan 2017. Many of the major risks identified by the NRA arise from natural hazards, such as floods, storms, long hot and cold spells, droughts, and volcanic eruptions. Prof Rougier is an expert on uncertainty and risk assessment for natural hazards, and was the lead editor of Risk and Uncertainty Assessment for Natural hazards (CUP, 2013, 588 pages), to which he also contributed three chapters.While based at the CCS, Prof Rougier will review the risk assessment for for some of the natural hazards in the 2016 NRA, which is due out in August. Additionally, he will consider wider issues in the use of Reasonable Worst Case as a framework for national-scale risk assessment, and explore opportunities for incremental improvements in current practice. Finally, he will be on-hand to offer day-to-day advice on uncertainty and risk assessment across the full range of risks considered in the NRA.Prof Rougier will distribute his findings internally through the restricted website ResilienceDirect, and also in articles published on the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute blog, which currently has about 6,000 readers a month. It is hoped that this Internship will leave a legacy of improved practice in uncertainty and risk assessment at the CCS and GO-Science, and pave the way for a closer relationship between these two organisations and the University of Bristol.