Community Risk Management: not just risk management

Many local governments have a problem: they know it, they ignore it, and it doesn’t go away. This problem goes by different names, like – lack of transparency, going behind our backs, taxation without representation, and ?%@*&%! “Our Trustees consulted with a company before it went out to bid.” “How can they approve such a thing when so many letters to the editor are opposed?” “They passed a tax surcharge again?! Why was that authorized?”

The root cause of this problem has different origins: citizen complaints are lost and/or not responded to; issues lose their place in line due to a more forceful voice in the room; proposed solutions are not explained clearly, or are made with limited input producing poor outcomes. And others, but you get the point.

We have the problem, the fix is to install a reasonable information management structure that guarantees a full, complete, and explainable assessment of any issue. Does a method exist that both enables better decisions, and increases transparency? Fortunately one does. And forms of it are in use by fire departments, financial institutions, construction contractors, healthcare providers, and local government agencies and departments. It’s called risk management, and it’s been around a fairly long time.

The central idea behind risk management is the comparison of the degree of harm or loss with the likelihood of that harm occurring. And this idea can be applied to the functioning of local communities.

A good example is the La Crosse, Wisconsin Fire Department’s Division of Community Risk Management. They state that their “number one priority is the health and safety of La Crosse residents.” And they mean it. The division provides a full range of services including: “construction and property maintenance inspection operations, residential rental inspections, electrical, erosion control, HVAC, and plumbing inspections, tavern and rooming house inspections, abandoned and junk vehicles on private property enforcement, and public fire and life safety education, outreach, and engagement.” “The Community Risk Management division collaboratively works with other agencies and organizations to analyze and assess risks within the La Crosse community with the goal of preventing or mitigating the risks deemed to have the highest association to loss of life, and negative health, safety, and economic impacts.”

Risk management (also sometimes called “risk reduction”) likely came about as a response to the developments of two technologies. In the late 1800s, those working with the new systems of fire extinguishing sprinklers and electrical utilities recognized the need for standards in construction and safety management. Thus was born the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). NFPA standards initially focused on fire and electrical dangers, but their codes are now embedded in many disciplines, including, most recently, local communities.

Community Risk Management (CRM) takes this basic assessment formula, but instead of oversight provided by the fire department, it’s turned over to the local government itself: a risk management group is comprised of all department heads of that government. Bringing all departments together helps assure that all specialties have a voice in decision-making, and it offers a variety of viewpoints from different fields. It also helps promote relationships and accountability – all good things for government.

In practice, the CRM group lists the component parts of a proposed issue – the risk factors – then sorts these by the level of concern for each factor in order to better understand which factor represents the greatest concern. The next steps are to offer proposals that remedy those concerns, and then to decide if the remedy is worth implementing, like comparing the medication side effects to the disease.

For example, if the concern is pedestrian safety at a particular intersection, the factors may be the numbers and speeds of vehicles, and the length of the pedestrian crossing. Corrective actions might include shortening the crosswalk, installing a stop sign or traffic light, or utilizing a traffic calming device such as a speed hump. Each action will have issues of its own, like financial cost and logistical planning. The assessment is choosing the most beneficial course.

This assessment process is one component of CRM. The others are equally important: issue tracking, documenting the assessment process, and communicating the results. The entire process helps assure that issue resolutions are reasoned, comprehensive in oversight, and transparent - all good things for the functioning of government and the satisfaction of those governed.

Additional information at: https://communityriskmanagemen...