Resilience by Design: Setting Common Rules for Critical Assets
9.30am – Registration
Participants arrive, register, and network before the first session.
10.00am – Welcome
Opening remarks and scene-setting for the day’s focus on resilience and asset standards.
10.15am – What Do We Mean by 'Resilience'?
How is resilience currently defined across different contexts such as assets, systems, and services?
What examples of definitions are already in use?
How can we clarify the language and assumptions around resilience?
How does the research and development landscape compare between the electricity and water sectors?
11.00am – Identifying Gaps in Current Asset Resilience (Interactive Input Session: Gaps and Overlaps)
Where are the gaps in current national standards for asset resilience?
What key elements are missing or unclear?
Why does the sector often appear insular, and how can we address cultural gaps?
How do we break down siloes between organisations such as the Environment Agency, water companies, and planning authorities?
11.45am – Break
12.00pm – Approaches to Systemic Risk & Resilience (Panel Discussion)
How should the sector approach systemic risk?
What are the interdependencies with energy, digital infrastructure, and transport?
Are we managing our digital assets appropriately in terms of cyber resilience?
What lessons can we learn from current best practices?
How does our approach compare with asset health management in sectors like highways, Network Rail, and gas?
12.45pm – Lunch
1.30pm – Optimal Operation vs Risk and Resilience (Debate)
What is the most effective way to manage assets: through risk and resilience thinking, or through maintaining optimal operation?
Is focusing on risk and resilience the right framing for asset management, or does it limit our options?
2.00pm – Delivering a Framework for National Standards
What should a national framework for asset standards include?
What are the core elements: minimum standards, benchmarking, and flexibility?
What roles should regulators, utilities, and other stakeholders play?
What can we learn from the DEFRA report on SuDS, and where does it provide strength?
2.30pm – Next Steps for Policy & Implementation (Workshop)
How can we translate today’s insights into actionable policy?
What should be prioritised in the short and medium term?
What can we learn from the telecoms sector, particularly in terms of interoperability and monitoring hidden assets?
Why has water lagged behind gas and electricity in these areas, and how can we catch up?
3.00pm – Summary
Final reflections and synthesis of key learnings and next steps.
3.15pm – Close