Streamlining the risk assessment process
Project ID: 21L
CEBRA Project Leader: Tim van Gelder
MPI Sponsor: Michael Ormsby
MPI Division: Plant Risk Analysis te Nikau, Biosecurity New Zealand
MPI Project Manager: Michael Ormsby
Risk assessment is time consuming and often inefficient. Risk assessors currently spend around half their time searching for, identifying, compiling, assessing, and documenting information. An Import Risk Analysis (IRA) assesses the risks posed by pests or diseases associated with a commodity that a country might import. Developing an IRA takes considerable time and resources. At the same time, the demand for completed IRAs is increasing. The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has invested significant resources into clearing a backlog of risk assessment work. However, increasing demands for international trade opportunities mean that these investments are only a short-term solution. Longer term benefits require improved efficiency of IRA production beyond existing practices within MPI.
Outcomes of this project are to develop systems and/or technology to streamline the way that assessors search for, identify, compile, assess, and document information for risk assessment. The expected benefits would be to significantly reduce resources required to complete risk assessments and improve the quality and timeliness of risk assessment outputs.