Governance
Risk register
Formal definition
In governance, Risk register refers to a register used for identifying, logging, and resolving operational risks before they become major service failures.
What this actually means for you
Trustees and governance leads should treat Risk register as an operating standard: set severity definitions and escalation SLAs so teams respond proportionately and quickly, then review it before board and committee decisions.
Example: In a live quarterly cycle, Risk register is applied like this: a high-severity incident triggers a same-day response call with owners, mitigations, and review deadlines. The team then records the decision trail in risk registers, issue logs, and status updates.
Related guides and whitepapers
Read deeper guidance and implementation detail connected to this term.
A two-page charity risk register that actually changes decisions - the key fields, maintenance rhythm, and traps that turn most registers into shelf-ware.
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A practical succession planning guide for UK charity chief executives, chairs, trustees and specialists. Proportionate, written down, refreshed annually.
How to write a UK charity EDI policy that staff and trustees actually use: structure, length, operational hooks, and the governance that keeps it alive.