Research Interests

The RMA has a small research team that supports our work by providing the literature searches that must underpin all our initiatives. We are committed to evidence based practice as an essential foundation of best practice.

We have commissioned several pieces of research and such work is published on our website. We also undertake studies at the request of the Scottish Government and the agencies involved in the management of risk specifically to assist in the promotion of best practice in particular endeavours.

Our role in providing impartial advice in the field of risk management precludes us from selecting or advocating particular risk instruments, although through national working groups, we support our stakeholders in the implementation of the instruments that they select. This has been a significant aspect of our recent work, and we consider our publication of the Risk Assessment Tools Evaluation Directory to be evidence of our impartiality and commitment to best practice.

We also publish standards and guidelines for risk assessment and management, and accredit manners of risk assessment and management. A ‘manner’ is the term used in our legislation to identify an approach rather than a single instrument or type of instrument. Such publications and accreditation decisions must be based on the best available evidence and also be fit for purpose in the field.

For practitioners wishing to develop their knowledge and understanding of the broad field of risk assessment and management we also provide a further reading list.

We encourage visitors to our website to explore the expressions of interest and future research links as developments in these areas as we will be posting opportunities for collaborative working