Looking for how organizations use scenario planning to address risks and capitalize on opportunities?

Recent events have highlighted the importance of planning for an uncertain future.  The ERM Initiative is excited to release this new case study A Look into The Future with Scenario Planning: A Survey of ERM Practices that looks at ways multiple organizations use scenario planning to address uncertainty and identify the risks and opportunities that may arise under different conditions.  

The case study focuses on the use of scenario planning as part of an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process, by examining the objectives for scenario planning, the development and evaluation of scenarios, and the ways that outcomes from scenario planning are used.

Examples of Scenario Planning

The case study is based on input from 20 companies covering 12 different industries including healthcare, financial services, pharmaceuticals, apparel, personal products, beverages, utilities, and others.  In addition, the study identifies critical success factors, areas targeted for improvement, common barriers, and the use of technology in the process.

Tips for Effective Scenario Planning

The case study addresses these topics:

  • Identifying and defining the purpose of the scenario planning workshop:
  • Planning the scenario planning activities and how the sessions will be structured and facilitated.
  • Pinpointing both internal and external inputs to the process, such as subject matter experts, risk owners, senior management and ERM leaders.
  • Summarizing and aggregating outcomes from the various scenario planning activities.
  • Managing critical factors for a successful scenario planning workshop, including common barriers to the process
  • Leveraging technologies tools to help facilitate scenario planning activities.

The case study ends with a summary of several best practices.

Download the case study

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ERM Enterprise Risk Management Initiative 2022-02-23