Risk Appetite Statement
DCU, (hereinafter referred to as the ‘University’), in taking a responsible approach to risk management, seeks to limit its exposure to adverse risk across all risk categories, while also striving to successfully deliver on its mission and objectives as set out in the University’s Strategic Plan 2023-2028 – Transformation for an unscripted future.
This Risk Appetite Statement (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Statement’) is intended to:
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define the risk universe for the University;
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establish a consistent view of the risk parameters within which the University operates;
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establish boundaries for risk management activities to determine whether further risk mitigation strategies or actions are required to reduce the risk to an acceptable level;
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act as a guide to assist in decision making; &
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support the successful achievement of the University’s strategic objectives.
A Risk Appetite refers to the amount of risk that an organization is prepared to accept, tolerate or be exposed to at any given point in time. In the context of the University this Statement seeks to summarize its tolerance for risk across a range of activities. Consequently, it contributes to the University’s commitment to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance and professional conduct, while also being consistent with, and maintaining, its credibility with a broad range of stakeholder groups.
The University can be risk taking or risk averse and different levels of risk appetite will apply to different activities. The University recognizes that risk appetite is not static; that its appetite for risk varies according to the activity undertaken and that its acceptance of risk is subject to ensuring that both the potential benefits and downsides of a particular activity are fully understood. This Statement is an integral element of the University’s risk management framework and it sets a risk appetite that ranges over three risk categories (i.e. Lw, Medium and High). The University’s appetite for risk across these categories is outlined in this Statement and its Appendix.
This Statement applies to all units of the University, both academic and central services, and to its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Responsibility for managing the activities of the University within the parameters of this Statement lies primarily with the Executive of the University with addition of the Heads of both academic and central service units and the Managing Directors of its wholly owned subsidiaries.
The Statement is broadly defined for the key activities of the University which are aligned to both its strategic and operational objectives as well as the associated risk levels. The key activities are defined below.
The University engages in a wide range of activities in pursuit of its strategic objectives as set out in its strategy. It recognizes that this requires some degree of risk and that external and internal forces, which often cannot be predicted, may have a significant impact on achieving these strategic objectives. In order to achieve these strategic goals, the University must be willing to sometimes take and accept risk and is therefore willing to take or accept a medium to high level of risk in pursuit of its overall strategic priorities. There is low willingness to accept risks which have no alignment with our Strategy or which may tarnish the University’s reputation, its role in the community and/or its values.
The University wishes to enhance its reputation as a research-intensive institution that is excellent, globally collaborative, creative, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial. It engages in research that serves and anticipates economic, societal and cultural needs and plays a transformative role in Irish society. Such is the nature and complexity of the major research challenges facing the world that international collaboration is essential in order to make significant and sustained advances. The University is committed to ambitious and performance driven progress in research, enterprise and innovation including knowledge exchange/transfer by:
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promoting new fields of research and generating critical mass in research capacity;
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developing further strategic academic and industrial collaborations and entering partnerships both nationally and internationally;
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facilitating enhanced research collaboration and research opportunities;
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supporting innovation and entrepreneurship and increasing the number of research students; &
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Further development of the DCU Alpha campus.
The University recognizes that this strategy will involve accepting a high risk appetite for investment to grow its research strengths through research grant applications, international research collaborations and developing linkages with industrial partners. Research activities are subject to ethical standards and health & safety regulations. The University has a low-risk appetite for research conduct that is unethical, non-compliant with legislation or compromises quality and/or reputation of the University.
The University is committed to ensuring a high-quality teaching and learning environment for all its students in addition to developing enhanced teaching methodologies and pedagogies. The University has a low risk appetite for poor teaching and learning outcomes or academic quality which would not achieve University standards and external accreditation requirements.
Delivery of the Teaching and Learning strategic objectives requires on-going investment in teaching and learning infrastructure across three academic campuses. In addition, the University recognizes the need to identify workable solutions to meet the increased demands from a diverse and expanding student population and to further its work with professional bodies and industry to ensure the continued success of our graduates and their employers. The University has a high risk appetite for transnational education and partnerships and for academic programme development including the online learning environment that enhances student learning outcomes and experience. This involves pursuing an academic programme which is relevant to current employment and industry needs.
The University has an international presence through academic linkages and strategic partnerships with overseas universities and is committed to the continued growth of its international student population. The University’s strategy is to continue to develop as a global university by continuing to expand its international presence and student cohort through academic linkages, partnership arrangements and other co-operative structures while also recognizing that there is an increased degree of risk in developing these international activities.
The University has a medium to high risk appetite for Internationalisation where the strategy supports the mission and vision of the University while acknowledging a low appetite for investment in developing campuses outside of Ireland. There is low appetite for Internationalisation that does not align with the University’s values and quality standards.
At the core of the mission and values of the University is to provide the highest quality international standard education and research experience for its students within a multi-campus environment. The University is committed to the further enhancement of this student-centric, supportive learning environment through infrastructural investment and the continual updating of the academic programmes. The University recognizes that this investment in the educational continuum involves an increased degree of risk in pursuit of key strategic objectives and in so doing it accepts a medium to high risk appetite subject to ensuring that the potential benefits and risks are fully understood before developments are authorized and that practical and sensible measures are embedded with the system to mitigate risk.
The University is committed to making a positive impact on our local, regional, national and global communities through research, education and knowledge exchange by leading public debate and providing critical analysis on areas of societal importance. Through a range of initiatives, (including formal credentialing and curricular recognition) the University will continue to foster student engagement and volunteering.
It is important that the University establishes and maintains effective partnerships and engagement with key strategic stakeholders in the eastern corridor region, as well as both nationally and internationally.
The University has a medium to high risk appetite range for Engagement, where the strategy supports the mission and vision of the University and while acknowledging this increased level of risk it is committed to ensuring that potential benefits and risks are fully understood before developments are authorized and that sensible measures are embedded to mitigate risk.
The University, which operates across a multi-campus environment 24/7 365 days of the year, is committed to maintaining continuity of all aspects of its operations and has a low to medium appetite range for any risk, incident or event which could impact upon the University’s normal operations of teaching and learning, research and innovation.
Governance means the way in which the University is organised, its decision-making processes and its risk management. The University seeks to have a robust governance structure, including a clear organisational structure with well-defined lines of responsibility, effective risk management processes, and control mechanisms underpinned by appropriate policies.
The risk culture of the University is intrinsically linked to governance and encompasses the collective mindset and the shared set of norms, attitudes and behaviours related to the awareness, management and control of risks at all levels in the University. It influences the day-to-day decisions of staff and management and shapes their risk-taking behaviour.
The tone from the top and leadership play a crucial role in creating a culture of prudent risk-taking within the University. A culture of effective communication and challenge and diversity should exist at all levels in the University.
It is essential that the composition of key decision making bodies, including the Governing Authority and University Executive and their respective sub-committees, provides it with the diversity of knowledge, skills and experience necessary to ensure its effectiveness. This includes the establishment of a culture of constructive challenge and a ‘speak-up’ culture to create a safe environment in which concerns can be raised along with a quality of debate that facilitates the decision-making process.
The University has a low risk appetite relating to conduct and behaviours that are not in line with our values and our equality, diversity and inclusion objectives.
Failures in governance and/or compliance in the current environment poses significant reputational and financial risks for the organisation.
The University has a low risk appetite for decisions that may compromise our compliance with statutory, regulatory or policy requirements and seeks to ensure there is a culture of good governance and transparency in decision making in the organisation.
Talent risks relate to the University recruiting, maintaining, and developing a high-quality academic and professional staff in-order to achieve its strategic aims. People are at the heart of the University and it is essential that the University has the right mix of staff skills to enable it to deliver on its strategic objectives. The University has a low risk tolerance for the operational capabilities associated with our staff and their competence levels. The University relies on the skills, experience and dedication of its staff to ensure the on-going delivery and quality of its education, research, engagement and operational systems and processes.
We are willing to take appropriate risks when it comes to recruitment, using creative and pioneering ways of finding and attracting new talent in a very competitive marketplace in particular where it helps deliver on our equality, diversity and inclusion objectives.
At the core of the mission and values of the University is to provide the highest quality operational infrastructure for its students and staff within a multi campus environment. The University is committed to the further enhancement of this student-centric, supportive learning physical environment through infrastructural investment. The University recognizes that this investment involves an increased degree of risk in pursuit of key strategic objectives and in so doing is willing to accept primarily a medium to high risk appetite subject to ensuring that the potential benefits and risks are fully understood before physical developments are authorized and that practical and sensible measures are embedded with the system to mitigate risk.
Cyber security threatens the university's people, processes, systems, assets and infrastructure. The University has a low appetite for cyber threats that may lead to the loss of strategic and critical systems or information relating to staff, students, research, or other University operations.
The health, safety and wellbeing of staff, students and others on university campuses is of paramount importance to the University and consequently the University has a low risk appetite for such risks. However, it is not the University’s intention to avoid potentially risky activities which are part of managing a university and a strong culture of health and safety awareness and risk management is expected. This includes identifying and managing health and safety risks to the best extent possible. The University has a strong interest in protecting and preserving the environment, and hence, it has a low risk appetite for activities which will impact upon environmental safety.
The University has maintained a sound financial base and has an effective system of cost control, audit and oversight. In order to sustain its financial position and achieve the realization of its strategic goals the University has to look beyond exchequer funding and seek to grow commercial income opportunities. As a consequence, the University has a medium appetite for any risks which impact upon the achievement of financial goals and targets. In addition, the University recognizes a higher risk appetite in respect of Strategic Investment opportunities. The University will ensure that potential benefits are fully understood before developments that may impact upon financial performance and sustainability are implemented and that appropriate measures to mitigate risk are established and embedded.
The University has a low risk appetite for activities or investments that do not support our sustainability strategic objectives and the goals captured within the University’s Climate Action Plan.
The University has an established and enviable track record for world-class international teaching and learning, research and innovation, and it is critical that the University preserves its high reputation. The University is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, compliance and ethics, and has a low appetite for any breaches in statute, regulation, professional standards, research or medical ethics including systems and processes. The University has a low appetite for risk which would impact negatively on its reputation, brand, ethical standing or heritage which could lead to loss of confidence by the international community, research community and its stakeholders.
This Statement will be reviewed by the Risk Committee in line with its Terms of Reference as determined by the Governing Authority.
| Procedure Name | Risk Appetite Statement |  |
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| Unit Owner | Office of the Chief Operations Officer | ||
| Version Reference | Original Version 2.0 | Reviewed Version – N/a | |
| Approved by | Governing Authority | N/a | |
| Effective Date | 26th February 2025 | N/a | |