Risk-Based Management Program improving City’s performance
The City continues to implement its Risk-Based Management Program and make headway on reducing the severity of its key strategic risks as identified in the release of the City’s Corporate Risk 2016 Annual Report.
“Risk management is not about eliminating the chances of something bad happening, it is about making sure the City is well positioned to respond to, and recover from, surprises and disruptions,” says City Manager, Murray Totland. “The City of Saskatoon, like all municipalities, faces many types of risk that, if not effectively managed, can impede the successful delivery of essential services our residents, workers and visitors rely on every day.”
Of the 23 risks identified through the Strategic Risk Assessment process, Totland says the City has been able to reduce the severity of 11 of its strategic risks from high (i.e. high likelihood and high impact) to medium (i.e. medium likelihood and medium impact), with three risks now assessed within a desired risk zone.
“When risk is managed effectively it supports continuous improvement and the way Saskatoon runs,” Totland says. “With that, our citizens are more likely to have greater confidence in how City Hall operates.”
At its March 6, 2017 meeting, the Standing Policy Committee on Finance will receive the Annual Report, updated information regarding each of the City’s key strategic risks and the additional risk mitigation activities planned for the next one-to-three years.
“Identifying, understanding, and managing our risks helps us make informed decisions,” says Director of Corporate Risk, Nicole Garman. “That means we can take a realistic look at what might happen, ways to control what we can, and what we can do to put those strategies into action.”
Building on the successes achieved to date, more operational, financial, and compliance risk assessments will be done in 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions and more Risk-Based Management information is available at saskatoon.ca/corporaterisk.