Implementation of Foresight for pre-travel risk assessments
Moving from the current paper-based system to an online platform has these benefits:
- Foresight uses real-time intelligence to calculate the risk rating for each trip, so travellers don’t need to assess this before starting a risk assessment;
- Real-time intelligence on risks and hazards for each country is available from within the platform to make it easier for travellers to identify and mitigate the risks they may face;
- Information about travellers’ plans gathered in the risk assessment can be used to provide other information and support to travellers before the trip starts, eg: about insurance, vaccinations, visas, information security, import/export issues.
- The risk assessment can be completed and sent for departmental approval (or escalation to SARAC) electronically;
- There is a single place where pre-travel risk assessments are stored, enabling departments to see easily where their staff and students are, and to follow up on contact plans for longer trips;
- The University can see where its staff and students are, and ensure proper support is provided to travellers, especially in case of emergencies overseas.
- Over time, the University can build up a picture of where its staff and students are travelling, to better understand the extent and character of its international activity.
Departments can continue to operate a paper-based system until they begin using Peregrine Foresight.
Pilot departments
The following departments are participating in a pilot of the Foresight system:
- Department of Archaeology
- Faculty of Education
- Department of Engineering
- Faculty of Law
- Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy
Approving risk assessments for large cohorts of students attending a placement
If risk assessments are being created for all placements outside Cambridge, there will be work needed to approve them, but using the system should make it easier to keep track of this. Risk assessments should be being undertaken under the existing guidance in any case.
Postgraduate students and the leave to work away policy
Under the current arrangements for Leave to Work Away, there is already a requirement to have completed a risk assessment as part of an application. Students can complete the risk assessment within Foresight and after departmental approval can create a PDF of the document for uploading to CamSIS.
Short term research visitors returning to their home country
If the visit to their home country relates to University business and isn’t personal travel, they will need to complete a risk assessment. Visitors can be added as users to Foresight by sending their name and email address to the Helpdesk.
Partner Institutes
Colleagues who are not current staff or students of the University but traveling on University business can be added as users to Foresight to use the system for pre-travel risk assessments. Please send their name and email address to the Helpdesk.
Training on how to use the system
We’ve produced training videos for travellers and approvers on how to create and review submissions.
There is also an existing 1 hour video on how to complete a comprehensive risk assessment.
Employees working remotely outside of the U.K. for a short-term period
Employees in this situation should complete the risk assessment process. Please consult the Short-term Remote Working Guidance.
Responding to emergencies
An Incident Management Plan is in process of being approved. The scope of the plan will include international emergencies such as the recent outbreak of hostilities in the middle east as well as an individual emergency affecting the traveller, such as a violent assault or medical emergency affecting only them. Under the plan, an Incident Response Team with representatives from the Safety Office, the Insurance team, emergency response company, and a representative from the traveller’s department would be assembled to manage the situation.