Defined by the International Standards Organisation as “the ability of an organisation to absorb and adapt in a changing environment”, resilience has helped CERN to conduct its world-leading research for over 70 years. However, all organisations constantly need to strengthen their ability to withstand challenges, so, in that spirit, the CERN Executive Board approved a new Organisational Resilience Policy on 3 March.

Drawn up by the Improvement, Continuity and Sustainability Group in the Organisational Support and Improvement Department (OSI-ICS), the new policy covers the three pillars of CERN’s resilience activities:

1. Risk management: the systematic identification, assessment, handling and monitoring of risks that could materially affect CERN’s interests.
2. Business continuity management: safeguarding the continuity of critical activities and CERN’s ability to restore operations following a disruptive event.
3. Crisis management: preparing CERN to respond to extraordinary events that require timely, informed, coordinated decision-making due to their uncertainty and volatility.

Together, these activities are critical to CERN's operations. While they are not new, OSI-ICS now has the mandate to make them more coherent and ensure that they are aligned with internationally recognised standards.

Some of the first changes to be made will concern risk management, with the aim of embedding it as a strategic tool built into CERN’s decision-making processes. A new integrated enterprise risk management function within OSI-ICS will replace the Enterprise Risk Management Advisory Committee (ERMAC) and will report to the new Site Operations Board.  

Risks will still be owned and managed by the departments and sections exposed to them, which are responsible for implementing resilience processes within their areas of responsibility. OSI-ICS will help departments identify their risks and record them in a structured risk register, enabling a consistent and comparable view of risks across the Organization. Additionally, OSI-ICS will support the Management in defining the Organization’s risk appetite, to ensure that CERN manages its risks in an informed, targeted and dynamic manner, in line with the levels of risk it has chosen to accept.

Look out for updates and advice in future Bulletin articles as the policy’s implementation phase rolls out during 2026. Everyone is invited to play their part in making CERN more resilient, and the OSI-ICS team are keen to support you in this.