Known problem
State what is not working and why it matters.
Resolution Risk
Stop managing issues.
Start removing barriers.
The Resolution Risk Model transforms issue management into adaptive governance by making the barriers to resolution visible, actionable and connected to enterprise risk.
Contact AGRThe defining idea
A known problem becomes a risk when barriers prevent resolution.
A Resolution Risk combines the operational problem, the barriers preventing resolution and the impact if it remains unresolved. This changes the conversation from describing symptoms to removing constraints.
Resolution risk
Define the consequence if the problem remains unresolved.
Barrier analysis
Identify what is genuinely blocking improvement.
Targeted action
Direct ownership and resources at root causes, then learn.
The Resolution Risk Model
From issue logging to barrier removal.
Known problem
Define the operational issue clearly.
Resolution risk
Describe the consequence of continued failure to resolve it.
Barrier analysis
Expose the root causes and constraints preventing progress.
Targeted actions
Assign action directly against the barriers.
Resolution
Evidence that the underlying problem is genuinely improving.
Learning
Feed insight back into the risk view and future decisions.
Enterprise line of sight
Frontline problems become visible to the board without losing their operational meaning.
Resolution Risks can be reviewed through divisional governance, aligned to directorate risks, tested by the Audit and Risk Committee and connected to the Corporate Risk Register and Board Assurance Framework.
The result is a clear line of sight from barriers affecting day-to-day delivery to the strategic risks and assurances requiring board attention.
What this looks like in practice
Replace the label with the barrier that leaders can act on.
Corridor care
Move beyond “defibrillators are failing” to flow redesign, discharge misalignment and fragmented ownership.
Cyber compliance
Identify non-mandatory training and weak incentives as barriers, rather than repeatedly reporting completion gaps.
Workforce planning
Expose misalignment across redesign, productivity and recruitment instead of treating vacancies as the whole problem.
Assurance
Show whether barriers are being removed, not merely whether the issue remains on a list.
Guidance, not alarm
See the full picture. Choose with confidence. Align action.
See the conditions
Bring together the context, causes, dependencies and governance factors shaping the issue.
Clarify the choices
Make trade-offs visible so leaders can judge what requires attention and why.
Coordinate resolution
Align accountability, resources and decision rights around a credible path forward.
Adapt as conditions change
Review progress, learn and adjust rather than treating resolution as a one-off event.
Decision confidence
Better resolution strengthens more than the issue at hand.
Clearer priorities
Focus leadership attention on what genuinely prevents progress.
Stronger accountability
Clarify ownership, contribution and decision authority.
Better board conversations
Move discussion beyond status reporting to choices and consequences.
Greater resilience
Build the ability to learn, adjust and sustain progress as conditions change.
The future will bring uncertainty.
Your decisions do not have to.