1. Practitioners’ Research “by the profession, for the profession”
James Orr
Chair, Research Steering Committee

2. Overview Structure of Practitioners’ Research Activities
What “Research” means to Practitioners
What’s Good and What Might be Better
What for the Future?

3. Research Steering Committee Faculty Research Committee
Structure
Education and Continuing Professional Development Board
Research Steering Committee
Faculty Research Committee
Practice Board Representatives
Annual Research Grants
EPSRC Quantitative Finance Programme
Standing Research Groups (6)

4. Links to Practice Boards
Life Research Committee
Social Policy Board
FIB
GIRO
Research Steering Committee
Pensions Technical Support and Research Committee

5. Research Steering Committee
Working Parties in 2001
Life Research Committee (12)
Social Policy Board (12)
FIB (22)
Research Steering Committee
GIRO (22)
Pensions Technical Support and Research Committee (2)

6. Annual Research Grants
Responsive mode research
request for applications for research relevant to actuarial profession
£295k over , supporting 39 small, short-term projects of actuarial relevance
typically awarded to university researchers
More “Directed” for 2003
“broad themes” of interest to profession
e.g. “Retirement Issues”, “Risk and Regulation in Financial Institutions”

7. EPSRC Quantitative Finance Programme
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
one of seven Research Council’s
administers UK Government research activities
sought partner in financial services industry
working with Actuarial Profession
~10:1 funding support (for our £30k)
larger (~£100k), longer (3 years) projects
started 2001, just selecting 2002 projects

8. “Research” for Practitioners
Working Parties
group of practising actuaries from related field
practical topic, of relevance to work
review or development of practice
value in sharing ideas and debating approach
“process” as much a deliverable as paper/presentation at conference

9. What’s Good? Active involvement of members
Sharing and capturing knowledge on best practice
Networking
Honing lines of argument and thinking/debating skills
Contributing to collective effort

10. What Might be Better? Formal research process literature search
plan of research
adequate research resources
involving experts from academia
“peer review”

11. What for the Future? Greater commitment to and visibility of research?
more money?
more partnerships?
Developing formal research skills for “The Actuary of the Future”?
dissertations?
CPD credits for research papers?
Discuss!